Ko San (born October 19, 1976) is CEO and founder of TIDE Institute and ATEAM Ventures.

Biography

Ko, San was born in

Busan Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, w ...

, South Korea. A graduate of

Hanyoung Foreign Language High School Hanyoung Foreign Language High School (Hangeul: 한영외국어고등학교, Hanja: 漢榮外國語高等學校) is a high school in South Korea. Located in southeast Seoul, South Korea, the medium-sized college preparatory school was founded i ...

, Ko studied mathematics and cognitive science at

Seoul National University Seoul National University (SNU; ) is a national public research university located in Seoul, South Korea. Founded in 1946, Seoul National University is largely considered the most prestigious university in South Korea; it is one of the three "S ...

. He won a bronze medal at a national amateur boxing tournament in 2004 and climbed a 7,546-meter high mountain in China's

Xinjiang Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...

Province, Muztagh Ata, the same year. After graduating at Seoul National University, he started working at Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology as a researcher. His research topic was computer vision. On December 25, 2006, he was chosen as one of two finalists in the

Korean Astronaut Program The Korean Astronaut Program was an initiative by the South Korean government to send the first Korean into space via the Russian space program. A ten day flight to the International Space Station (ISS) with astronaut Yi So-yeon occurred in 2008 ...

, set to fly as a crew on the Russian

Soyuz TMA-12 Soyuz TMA-12 was a Soyuz mission to the International Space Station (ISS) which was launched by a Soyuz FG rocket at 11:16 UTC on 8 April 2008. It docked to the Pirs module of the station on 10 April 2008. Landing occurred at 03:37 on 24 October ...

in April 2008. On September 5, 2007, the

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

Ministry of Science and Technology chose Ko San over

Yi So-Yeon Yi So-yeon (born June 2, 1978) is a South Korean astronaut and biotechnologist who became the first Korean to fly in space. Upon return from her mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS), Yi continued as a KARI researcher attending ...

based on performance in

tests Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

during training in Russia. However, on March 10, 2008, this decision was reversed, after the

Russian Federal Space Agency The State Space Corporation "Roscosmos" (russian: Государственная корпорация по космической деятельности «Роскосмос»), commonly known simply as Roscosmos (russian: Роскосмос) ...

asked for a replacement because Ko apparently violated security protocol for maintaining secret information twice at the

Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center The Yuri A. Gagarin State Scientific Research-and-Testing Cosmonaut Training Center (GCTC; Russian: Центр подготовки космонавтов имени Ю. А. Гагарина) is a Russian training facility responsible for train ...

. After returning from Russia he continued working at Korea Aerospace Research Institute. He started studying public policy at the

John F. Kennedy School of Government The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

in 2010. Now he is taking a leave of absence from the

to run an NGO, TIDE Institute, which he founded in February 2011. In April 2013 he opened Fab Lab Seoul, a public open space where tools for digital fabrication such as 3D printers, CNCs and laser cutters are available for startups and makers.

References

External links

Korean Will Go Into Space in 2008Two astronaut finalists pass medical checks
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ko, San South Korean astronauts People from Busan Seoul National University alumni 1976 births Living people

Biography

See also

References

External links