Korea Science and Engineering Foundation(KOSEF) was established in 1977 to promote university research in science and engineering. KOSEF focused on university research as the South Korean government regarded the university as the locus of basic research.This thesis analyzes their intimate relationship and the changing perceptions toward basic research in the 1970s and the 1980s by examining the establishment process and operation of KOSEF during this period. The South Korean government’s decision to enroll universities in national development was influenced by the change in the government’s views toward basic research. On the other hand,the importance of basic research as a prerequisite for advanced training grew as the government moved to recast the universities into institutions producing personnel highly trained in technology-intensive fields.As late as the early 1970s, universities in Korea could not participate in research and development for national development. In the late 1960s and the early 70s, the main social function of universities, especially those in the fields of science and engineering, was to produce entry-level technicians. It was only in the late 1970s that research began to find a stable place within universities. They were not regarded as a full partner in national development until the mid 1980s.The sweeping transformation of the academic sector during the 1970s and 80s was made possible due to the change in the government’s view toward basic research. The driving force for KOSEF’s establishment came from the idea that basic research was required for the training of highly skilled technical personnel for the heavy and chemical industries. Moreover, the expectation that basic research could also contribute to technological development for economic growth contributed to the expansion of public investment in basic research.The operation of KOSEF not only reflected the government’s viewtoward basic research but also had an effect on determining the character of the basic research in universities. During its early years,KOSEF emphasized the educational aspect of basic research and tended to spread out its resources evenly among various field in science and engineering. However, KOSEF’s funding pattern changed rather abruptly in the mid-1980s, largely due to the new technology-drive policy. The focus of basic research was now on those areas and projects that directly preceded technology development and commercial applications, which was regarded as critical for national needs at the time. It was around this time that fields in the applied sciences and engineering began to grow markedly faster than those in pure science.This thesis shows that the government’s view on basic research and the role of universities in national development have mutually influenced each other. Examining their intertwined history allows us to trace the process through which South Korea developed its national R&D system. In the 1970s and 80s, the Korean government promoted universities and encouraged basic research, based on the belief that academic basic research would contribute to national development in the long term. Therefore, the social role of universities in Korea should be understood within a broader historical framework, rather than a narrow, local, and short-term contexts.
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