This is a list of Korean inventions and discoveries; Koreans have made contributions to science and technology from ancient to modern times. In the present,

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

plays an active role in the ongoing Digital Revolution, with one of the largest electronics industries and most innovative economies in the world.

Agriculture

* Soybean cultivation : The first unambiguously domesticated,

cultigen A cultigen () or cultivated plant is a plant that has been deliberately altered or selected by humans; it is the result of artificial selection. These plants, for the most part, have commercial value in horticulture, agriculture or forestry. Beca ...

-sized soybean was discovered in Korea at the

Mumun The Mumun pottery period is an archaeological era in Korean prehistory that dates to approximately 1500-300 BC. This period is named after the Korean name for undecorated or plain cooking and storage vessels that form a large part of the potter ...

-period Daundong site. * Heated greenhouse : The first description of a heated greenhouse is from the ''

Sanga Yorok ''Sanga Yorok'' (hangul:산가요록, hanja:山家要錄) is a Korean cook book written in hanja in about 1459 by the royal family doctor, Jeon soon. The work also incorporates descriptions of farming. The terminology means "records for farming vil ...

'', a treatise on husbandry compiled by a royal physician of the

Joseon Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and re ...

dynasty of Korea during the 1450s, in its chapter on cultivating vegetables during winter. The treatise contains detailed instructions on constructing a greenhouse that is capable of cultivating vegetables, forcing flowers, and ripening fruit within an artificially heated environment, by utilizing ''

ondol Ondol (; , Hangul: 온돌, 溫堗, ) or gudeul (Hangul: 구들, ) in Korean traditional architecture, is underfloor heating that uses direct heat transfer from wood smoke to heat the underside of a thick masonry floor. In modern usage it refers ...

'', the traditional Korean underfloor heating system, to maintain heat and humidity; cob walls to insulate heat; and semi-transparent oiled '' hanji'' windows to permit light penetration for plant growth and provide protection from the outside environment. The

Annals of the Joseon Dynasty The ''Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty'' (also known as the ''Annals of the Joseon Dynasty'' or the ''True Record of the Joseon Dynasty''; ko, 조선왕조실록 and ) are the annual records of Joseon, the last royal house to rule ...

confirm that greenhouse-like structures incorporating ''ondol'' were constructed to provide heat for

mandarin orange The mandarin orange (''Citrus reticulata''), also known as the mandarin or mandarine, is a small citrus tree fruit. Treated as a distinct species of orange, it is usually eaten plain or in fruit salads. Tangerines are a group of orange-coloured ...

trees during the winter of 1438. *

Rain gauge A rain gauge (also known as udometer, pluvia metior, pluviometer, ombrometer, and hyetometer) is an instrument used by meteorologists and hydrologists to gather and measure the amount of liquid precipitation over a predefined area, over a period o ...

: The first standardized rain gauge, called the ''

cheugugi Cheugugi (Hangul: 측우기, Hanja: 測雨器) is the first well-known rain gauge invented and used during the Joseon dynasty of Korea. It was invented and supplied to each provincial offices during the King Sejong the Great's reign. As of 2010, on ...

'', was invented during the reign of

Sejong the Great Sejong of Joseon (15 May 1397 – 8 April 1450), personal name Yi Do (Korean: 이도; Hanja: 李祹), widely known as Sejong the Great (Korean: 세종대왕; Hanja: 世宗大王), was the fourth ruler of the Joseon dynasty of Korea. Initial ...

in the Joseon dynasty of Korea. The ''cheugugi'' was used throughout the country for official purposes. In the 15th century, Korea was the only country to use a quantitative measuring device for the purpose of meteorological observation. * Korean hand plow : The ''homi'', which dates back to the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

, is one of the most representative agricultural tools of Korea. Its signature tapered blade was developed during the Later Silla period. In recent times, the ''homi'' (known by names such as the "Ho-Mi EZ Digger" and "Korean hand plow") has gained popularity in the West.

Aquaculture

Fishing net A fishing net is a net used for fishing. Nets are devices made from fibers woven in a grid-like structure. Some fishing nets are also called fish traps, for example fyke nets. Fishing nets are usually meshes formed by knotting a relatively thin ...

: Limestone net sinkers discovered in Korea dating to 27,000 BC are the earliest evidence of fishing by nets and also the oldest fishing implements found to date in the world. *

Whaling Whaling is the process of hunting of whales for their usable products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that became increasingly important in the Industrial Revolution. It was practiced as an organized industry ...

: The earliest depictions of whaling have been discovered in Korea at the Neolithic Bangudae site, which may date back to 6000 BC. Bangudae is the earliest evidence for whaling. *

Seaweed farming Seaweed farming or kelp farming is the practice of cultivating and harvesting seaweed. In its simplest form, it consists of the management of naturally found batches. In its most advanced form, it consists of fully controlling the life cycle of ...

: The earliest cultivation of '' gim'', an

edible seaweed Edible seaweed, or sea vegetables, are seaweeds that can be eaten and used for culinary purposes. They typically contain high amounts of fiber. They may belong to one of several groups of multicellular algae: the red algae, green algae, and ...

, was started by Kim Yeo-ik () in the middle of the 17th century. *Pollock farming : In 2016, the National Institute of Fisheries Science of South Korea succeeded in farming

Alaska pollock The Alaska pollock or walleye pollock (''Gadus chalcogrammus'') is a marine fish species of the cod genus ''Gadus'' and family Gadidae. It is a semi-pelagic Shoaling and schooling, schooling fish widely distributed in the North Pacific Ocean, N ...

for the first time in the world, allowing the fish to lay eggs a year and 8 months after birth, as opposed to 3 years in the wild. Alaska pollock is considered the "national fish" of Korea and is prepared in a number of dishes, including ''

myeongnan-jeot Pollock roe, also pollack roe (also known as ''myeongnan'' and ''tarako'') is the roe of Alaska pollock (''Gadus chalcogrammus'') which, despite its name, is a species of cod. Salted pollock roe is a popular culinary ingredient in Korean, Japa ...

'', which was introduced and popularized in Japan as "''mentaiko''" in the 20th century.

Architecture

Underfloor heating Underfloor heating and cooling is a form of central heating and cooling that achieves indoor climate control for thermal comfort using hydronic or electrical heating elements embedded in a floor. Heating is achieved by conduction, radiation and ...

: One of the earliest systems of underfloor heating, dating back 2,500 years, was invented and widely used by Koreans. The Korean ''

'' heating system was thought to be the oldest of its kind until the recent archaeological discovery of a similar heating system in the Alaskan

Aleutian Islands The Aleutian Islands (; ; ale, Unangam Tanangin,”Land of the Aleuts", possibly from Chukchi language, Chukchi ''aliat'', "island"), also called the Aleut Islands or Aleutic Islands and known before 1867 as the Catherine Archipelago, are a cha ...

. However, the archaeologist who discovered it agrees with Korean researchers that the two systems developed independently, based on the distance of 5,000 kilometers and the absence of ''ondol'' in the areas between them. Some Korean researchers have explained this phenomenon by hypothesizing that a whale-hunting people from the Korean Peninsula migrated by sea to Alaska during prehistoric times. Inspired by the Korean ''ondol'' hydronic radiant floor heating system, the American architect

Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key role in the architectural movements o ...

developed and introduced the first "radiant heating system" using hot water pipes. *

Refrigeration The term refrigeration refers to the process of removing heat from an enclosed space or substance for the purpose of lowering the temperature.International Dictionary of Refrigeration, http://dictionary.iifiir.org/search.phpASHRAE Terminology, ht ...

: The ancient

Silla Silla or Shilla (57 BCE – 935 CE) ( , Old Korean: Syera, Old Japanese: Siraki2) was a Korean kingdom located on the southern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula. Silla, along with Baekje and Goguryeo, formed the Three Kingdoms of K ...

kingdom created an early refrigeration system called ''

seokbinggo An ice house, or icehouse, is a building used to store ice throughout the year, commonly used prior to the invention of the refrigerator. Some were underground chambers, usually man-made, close to natural sources of winter ice such as freshwater ...

'', which were subterranean chambers used to store ice and food. *

Korean fortress Korean fortresses are fortifications constructed by Koreans since the Three Kingdoms of Korea period. Koreans developed a unique and distinct fortress tradition. Korea, beginning with Goguryeo, has been called "a country of fortresses"; almost 2, ...

: Koreans developed a unique and distinct fortress tradition. Korean fortresses were based on a stone culture and built with stones on natural mountainous terrain; therefore, they are conceptually completely different compared to Chinese fortresses, which were based on an earth culture and built with bricks and stamped earth on flat land. Korean fortresses were invented by

Goguryeo Goguryeo (37 BC–668 AD) ( ) also called Goryeo (), was a Korean kingdom located in the northern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula and the southern and central parts of Northeast China. At its peak of power, Goguryeo controlled most ...

and spread to

Baekje Baekje or Paekche (, ) was a Korean kingdom located in southwestern Korea from 18 BC to 660 AD. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla. Baekje was founded by Onjo, the third son of Goguryeo's founder Jum ...

and

, and then inherited and further developed by

Goryeo Goryeo (; ) was a Korean kingdom founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Korean Peninsula until 1392. Goryeo achieved what has been called a "true national unificati ...

and then

. Goguryeo fortress ruins have been found in about 170 sites to date, including

in China IN, In or in may refer to: Places * India (country code IN) * Indiana, United States (postal code IN) * Ingolstadt Ingolstadt (, Austro-Bavarian: ) is an independent city on the Danube in Upper Bavaria with 139,553 inhabitants (as of Ju ...

; one of the most notable among them is Ansi Fortress, which successfully defended against

Tang Taizong Emperor Taizong of Tang (28January 59810July 649), previously Prince of Qin, personal name Li Shimin, was the second emperor of the Tang dynasty of China, ruling from 626 to 649. He is traditionally regarded as a co-founder of the dynasty ...

during the

Goguryeo–Tang War The Goguryeo–Tang War occurred from 645 to 668 and was fought between Goguryeo and the Tang dynasty. During the course of the war, the two sides allied with various other states. Goguryeo successfully repulsed the invading Tang armies dur ...

. Korea, beginning with Goguryeo, has been called "a country of fortresses"; almost 2,400 mountain fortress sites have been found in Korea. Korean-style fortresses can also be found in Japan, which were constructed and supervised by immigrants of Baekje origin. *

Korean pagoda Korean pagodas are a traditional Korean architectural form that began in the Three Kingdoms of Korea period. Koreans created a unique and distinct pagoda tradition using stone. History Pagodas were created in India using earth, then in China usi ...

: Koreans created a unique and distinct

pagoda A pagoda is an Asian tiered tower with multiple eaves common to Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Vietnam, and other parts of Asia. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most often Buddhist but sometimes Taoist, ...

tradition using stone. Pagodas were created in India using earth, then in China using wood, which spread to the

Three Kingdoms of Korea Samhan or the Three Kingdoms of Korea () refers to the three kingdoms of Goguryeo (고구려, 高句麗), Baekje (백제, 百濟), and Silla (신라, 新羅). Goguryeo was later known as Goryeo (고려, 高麗), from which the modern name ''Kor ...

, and then Japan; however, the pagoda tradition of

East Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea and ...

diverged, with China creating pagodas using bricks, Korea creating pagodas using stone, and Japan continuing to use wood. Korean stone pagodas were first created in

during the early 7th century and then inherited by

Later Silla Unified Silla, or Late Silla (, ), is the name often applied to the Korean kingdom of Silla, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, after 668 CE. In the 7th century, a Silla–Tang alliance conquered Baekje and the southern part of Goguryeo in the ...

; 90% of the pagodas in Later Silla were made of stone. The stone pagoda tradition was propagated by the great abundance of high quality granite in Korea, which also led to other granite creations such as the

Seokguram The Seokguram Grotto is a hermitage and part of the Bulguksa temple complex. It lies four kilometers east of the temple on Mt. Tohamsan, in Gyeongju, South Korea. It is classified as ''National Treasure No. 24'' by the South Korean government ...

and

Cheomseongdae Cheomseongdae ( ko, 첨성대; Hanja: , ) is an astronomical observatory in Gyeongju, South Korea. Cheomseongdae is the oldest surviving astronomical observatory in Asia, and possibly even the world. It was constructed in the 7th century in the ...

, a devoutly Buddhist state, also inherited the stone pagoda tradition.

Astronomy

Star chart A star chart is a celestial map of the night sky with astronomical objects laid out on a grid system. They are used to identify and locate constellations, stars, nebulae, galaxies, and planets. They have been used for human navigation since ...

: The earliest known constellation patterns in Korea can be found on

dolmens A dolmen () or portal tomb is a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more upright megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the early Neolithic (40003000 BCE) and were somet ...

dating back to 3000 BC. The ''

Cheonsang Yeolcha Bunyajido Cheonsang Yeolcha Bunyajido (; ) is a fourteenth-century Korean star map, copies of which were spread nationwide in the Joseon Dynasty. The name is sometimes translated as the "chart of the constellations and the regions they govern." King Tae ...

'' is a

planisphere In astronomy, a planisphere () is a star chart analog computing instrument in the form of two adjustable disks that rotate on a common pivot. It can be adjusted to display the visible stars for any time and date. It is an instrument to assist ...

inscribed on black marble that was completed in 1395 during the reign of King Taejo; according to its inscription, it is based on a star chart from ancient

that was lost during wartime. It is known as the world’s second oldest star chart engraved in stone, after the Chinese Suzhou Star Chart of 1247. However, the ''Cheonsang Yeolcha Bunyajido's'' stellar positions indicate an epoch dating back to the first century AD, thus making it the oldest actual representation of the stars in the world. *

Astronomical observatory An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysical, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. His ...

: The ''

'' is the oldest surviving astronomical observatory in Asia, and possibly the world. It was constructed in

Seorabeol Gyeongju ( ko, 경주, ), historically known as ''Seorabeol'' ( ko, 서라벌, ), is a coastal city in the far southeastern corner of North Gyeongsang Province in South Korea. It is the second largest city by area in the province after Andong, ...

, the capital of

, during the reign of

Queen Seondeok Queen Seondeok of Silla ( ko, 선덕여왕 ; 595~610 – 17 February 647/January 8, Lunar Calendar) reigned as Queen Regnant of Silla, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, from 632 to 647. She was Silla's twenty-seventh ruler, and its first re ...

in the 7th century. Modeled on

's ''Jeomseongdae'', which now exists only in historical records, the ''Cheomseongdae'' influenced the construction of a Japanese observatory in 675, and Duke Zhou's observatory in China in 723.

Mathematics

Latin square In combinatorics and in experimental design, a Latin square is an ''n'' × ''n'' array filled with ''n'' different symbols, each occurring exactly once in each row and exactly once in each column. An example of a 3×3 Latin sq ...

: The first literature on the Latin square dates back to the monograph ''Gusuryak'' () by the Joseon mathematician

Choi Seok-jeong Choi Seok-jeong (; 1646–1715) was a Korean politician and mathematician in the Joseon period of Korea. He published the ''Gusuryak'' () in 1700, the first known literature on Latin squares, predating Leonhard Euler Leonhard Euler ( , ; ...

(1646–1715), predating

Leonhard Euler Leonhard Euler ( , ; 15 April 170718 September 1783) was a Swiss mathematician, physicist, astronomer, geographer, logician and engineer who founded the studies of graph theory and topology and made pioneering and influential discoveries in ma ...

by at least 67 years. *

Hexagonal tortoise problem The hexagonal tortoise problem () was invented by Korean aristocrat and mathematician Choi Seok-jeong (1646–1715). It is a mathematical problem that involves a hexagonal lattice, like the hexagonal pattern on some tortoises' shells, to the (''N ...

: The hexagonal tortoise problem () was invented by Choi Seok-jeong during the Joseon period. *

Ree group In mathematics, a Ree group is a group of Lie type over a finite field constructed by from an exceptional automorphism of a Dynkin diagram that reverses the direction of the multiple bonds, generalizing the Suzuki groups found by Suzuki using a dif ...

: The Korean mathematician

Rimhak Ree Rimhak Ree (alternative spelling: Im-hak Ree, December 18, 1922 – January 9, 2005) was a Korean Canadian mathematician. He contributed in the field of group theory, most notably with the concept of the Ree group in . Early life Ree received h ...

discovered and constructed the Ree group in the mathematical field of

group theory In abstract algebra, group theory studies the algebraic structures known as group (mathematics), groups. The concept of a group is central to abstract algebra: other well-known algebraic structures, such as ring (mathematics), rings, field ...

. *

Chisanbop Chisanbop or chisenbop (from Korean ''chi (ji)'' finger + ''sanpŏp (sanbeop)'' calculation 지산법/指算法), sometimes called Fingermath, is an abacus-like finger counting method used to perform basic mathematical operations. According to ' ...

: Chisanbop is an

abacus The abacus (''plural'' abaci or abacuses), also called a counting frame, is a calculating tool which has been used since ancient times. It was used in the ancient Near East, Europe, China, and Russia, centuries before the adoption of the Hin ...

-like calculation system using fingers that was invented in Korea in the 1940s and brought to the West in the 1970s.

Writing

Featural writing system In a featural writing system, the shapes of the symbols (such as letters) are not arbitrary but encode phonological features of the phonemes that they represent. The term featural was introduced by Geoffrey Sampson to describe the Korean alpha ...

Hangul The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The let ...

is the world's first featural writing system, wherein the shapes of the letters are not arbitrary, but encode phonological features of the phonemes they represent. The Korean alphabet is unique among the world's writing systems, in that it combines aspects of featural, phonemic, and syllabic representation. Hangul, originally named ''

Hunminjeongeum ''Hunminjeong'eum'' () is a document describing an entirely new and native script for the Korean language. The script was initially named after the publication but later came to be known as hangul. Originally containing 28 characters, it was c ...

'', was personally created by

to promote literacy among the common people. *

Phonemic orthography A phonemic orthography is an orthography (system for writing a language) in which the graphemes (written symbols) correspond to the phonemes (significant spoken sounds) of the language. Natural languages rarely have perfectly phonemic orthographi ...

: Predating the creation of Hangul by hundreds of years, Koreans created various phonetic writing systems that were used in conjunction with

Hanja Hanja (Hangul: ; Hanja: , ), alternatively known as Hancha, are Chinese characters () used in the writing of Korean. Hanja was used as early as the Gojoseon period, the first ever Korean kingdom. (, ) refers to Sino-Korean vocabulary, wh ...

, including '' idu'', ''

hyangchal ''Hyangchal'' (, literally "vernacular letters", "local letters", or "corresponded sound") is an archaic writing system of Korea and was used to transcribe the Korean language in Chinese characters. Using the ''hyangchal'' system, Chinese chara ...

'', ''

gugyeol Gugyeol, also ''kwukyel'', is a system for rendering texts written in Classical Chinese into understandable Korean. It was chiefly used during the Joseon Dynasty, when readings of the Chinese classics were of paramount social importance. Thus, ...

'', and '' gakpil''. Some of them may have influenced the development of

kana The term may refer to a number of syllabaries used to write Japanese phonological units, morae. Such syllabaries include (1) the original kana, or , which were Chinese characters (kanji) used phonetically to transcribe Japanese, the most pr ...

in Japan.

Printing

Korean book-Jikji-Selected Teachings of Buddhist Sages and Seon Masters-1377

Movable type Movable type (US English; moveable type in British English) is the system and technology of printing and typography that uses movable components to reproduce the elements of a document (usually individual alphanumeric characters or punctuatio ...

: Movable metal type was invented in Korea in the early thirteenth century, predating

Gutenberg Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg (; – 3 February 1468) was a German inventor and craftsman who introduced letterpress printing to Europe with his movable-type printing press. Though not the first of its kind, earlier designs w ...

's invention in Europe by two centuries and advancing the movable type technology developed in the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

of China. The first book to be printed with movable metal type is the ''Prescribed Ritual Texts of the Past and Present'' in 1234 during the

period. The earliest surviving book to be printed with movable metal type is the ''

Jikji ''Jikji'' () is the abbreviated title of a Korean Buddhist document whose title can be translated to "Anthology of Great Buddhist Priests' Zen Teachings". The first

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

type in the world is the ''Byeongjinja'' created in 1436. Metal types were called ''juja'' (cast characters), and the Joseon government operated the ''jujaso'' bureau, a continuation of Goryeo's ''seojeogwon'', to print books and documents to be distributed to the central and local administrations, village schools, scholars, and officials. *

Newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports a ...

: The ''Jobo'', which is discussed in the

, is possibly the oldest newspaper in the world. Published in 1577, the ''Jobo'' was a privately run commercial newspaper, printed daily, that covered a range of topics, including weather, constellations, and current affairs. In 2017, a Korean monk claimed to have discovered an extant copy of the ''Jobo''.

Horology

* Mechanical water clock : In 1433, the scientist

Jang Yeong-sil Jang Yeong-sil (; ; 1390 – after 1442) was a Korean mechanical engineer, scientist, and inventor during the Joseon Dynasty (1392–1897). Although Jang was born as a peasant, King Sejong allowed Jang to work at the royal palace. Jang's invent ...

invented an automatic time-annunciating clepsydra called the ''Striking Palace Clepsydra'' under an order from

; the uniqueness of the clock was its capability to announce dual-times automatically with both visual and audible signals. Jang developed a signal conversion technique that made it possible to measure analog time and announce digital time simultaneously as well as to separate the water mechanisms from the ball-operated striking mechanisms. The conversion device was called ''pangmok'', and was placed above the inflow vessel that measured the time, the first device of its kind in the world. Thus, the ''Striking Palace Clepsydra'' is the first hydro-mechanically engineered dual-time clock in the history of horology. *Braille smartwatch : The world's first

Braille Braille (Pronounced: ) is a tactile writing system used by people who are visually impaired, including people who are Blindness, blind, Deafblindness, deafblind or who have low vision. It can be read either on Paper embossing, embossed paper ...

smartwatch, called the Dot, was developed by a Korean

startup company A startup or start-up is a company or project undertaken by an entrepreneur to seek, develop, and validate a scalable business model. While entrepreneurship refers to all new businesses, including self-employment and businesses that never intend t ...

. The Dot features a tactile button display and uses

Bluetooth Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology standard that is used for exchanging data between fixed and mobile devices over short distances and building personal area networks (PANs). In the most widely used mode, transmission power is limi ...

to connect to electronic devices.

Military

Traditional

* Iron plate armor : Iron plate armor was used by

and Gaya beginning in the early 4th century. According to the

Gyeongju National Museum The Gyeongju National Museum is a museum in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. Its holdings are largely devoted to relics of the Silla kingdom, of which Gyeongju was the capital. The museum is located immediately adjacent to the ...

, "The armor excavated from historic sites in Gujeongdong is plate armor, consisting of a number of long iron plates vertically linked with one another, a feature that is unique to armor found on the Korean Peninsula." *

Pistol A pistol is a handgun, more specifically one with the chamber integral to its gun barrel, though in common usage the two terms are often used interchangeably. The English word was introduced in , when early handguns were produced in Europe, an ...

: The "se-chongtong" was a handheld firearm that was developed in 1432 for use against the Jurchens. It measured 13.8cm, weighed 135g, and was held by a handle that worked like pliers that allowed spent barrels to be replaced with loaded ones. According to the Silok, it was convenient enough to be fired in succession by horsemen carrying multiple barrels, and during times of emergency, even women and children could use it easily. *

Hwacha The ''hwacha'' or ''hwach'a'' ( ko, 화차; Hanja: ; literally "fire cart") was a multiple rocket launcher and an organ gun of similar design which were developed in fifteenth century Korea. The former variant fired one or two hundred rocket-po ...

: The ''hwacha'' is a mobile

multiple rocket launcher A multiple rocket launcher (MRL) or multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) is a type of rocket artillery system that contains multiple launchers which are fixed to a single platform, and shoots its rocket ordnance in a fashion similar to a volle ...

that uses gunpowder to fire up to 200 ''

singijeon ''Singijeon'' or ''shinkichon'' ( ko, 신기전; Hanja: ; literally "Divine machine arrows") was a type of Korean fire arrow rocket, used during the era of the Joseon Dynasty (1392–1897). Multiple ''singijeon'' could be launched by ''hwacha ...

'' rockets at one time. The ''hwacha'' was invented in 1409, but saw its greatest use during the

Imjin War The Imjin River ( in South Korea) or Rimjin River ( in North Korea) is the 7th largest river in Korea. It flows from north to south, crossing the Demilitarized Zone and joining the Han River downstream of Seoul, near the Yellow Sea. The river i ...

, most famously in the

Battle of Haengju The Battle of Haengju took place on 14 March 1593 during the 1592–1598 Japanese invasion of Korea. The Japanese attack failed to overcome Haengju fortress. Background Gwon Yul was stationed at the fortress of Haengju, a wooden stockade on ...

. ''Hwachas'' were used against both land and sea targets. *

Naval artillery Naval artillery is artillery mounted on a warship, originally used only for naval warfare and then subsequently used for naval gunfire support, shore bombardment and anti-aircraft roles. The term generally refers to tube-launched projectile-firi ...

: The Koreans were innovators in the development of naval artillery, and produced the most advanced naval cannons in East Asia. In 1380, 100

ships armed with gunpowder weapons destroyed 500

Wokou ''Wokou'' (; Japanese: ''Wakō''; Korean: 왜구 ''Waegu''), which literally translates to "Japanese pirates" or "dwarf pirates", were pirates who raided the coastlines of China and Korea from the 13th century to the 16th century.Battle of Jinpo A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

. * Armored warship : The

turtle ship A ''Geobukseon'' ( ko, script=Hang, 거북선, ), also known as turtle ship in western descriptions, was a type of large Korean warship that was used intermittently by the Joseon Navy, Royal Korean Navy during the Joseon, Joseon dynasty from the ...

, also known as the ''geobukseon'', was the first armored warship in the world. Turtle ships were built during the Joseon dynasty beginning in the early 15th century up until the 19th century, but are most often associated with Admiral

Yi Sun-sin Admiral Yi Sun-sin (April 28, 1545 – December 16, 1598) was a Korean admiral and military general famed for his victories against the Japanese navy during the Imjin war in the Joseon Dynasty. Over the course of his career, Admiral Yi fough ...

, who used them in battle against the Japanese in the Imjin War (1592–1598). *

Bulletproof vest A bulletproof vest, also known as a ballistic vest or a bullet-resistant vest, is an item of body armor that helps absorb the impact and reduce or stop penetration to the torso from firearm-fired projectiles and fragmentation from explosions. T ...

: The ''

myeonje baegab Myeonje baegap (면제배갑, 綿製背甲) was a soft bulletproof vest invented during the Joseon in 1867. It was invented following the 1866 military French expedition to Korea and used in battle during the United States expedition to Korea in ...

'' was a soft bulletproof vest invented in 1867 in the Joseon dynasty. * Thousand paces gun : The ''cheonbochong'' (), or the "thousand paces gun", was a type of ''jochong'' matchlock musket invented in Joseon during the reign of King Sukjong (1674–1720). Compared to other ''jochongs'' of the time that had a range of 120m, the ''cheonbochong'' was recorded to have a range of 1200m. *

Time bomb A time bomb (or a timebomb, time-bomb) is a bomb whose detonation is triggered by a timer. The use (or attempted use) of time bombs has been for various purposes including insurance fraud, terrorism, assassination, sabotage and warfare. They ar ...

: The ''pigyok chinchollae'' (), also called the ''Flying Thunderbolt'', was a time bomb with an adjustable fuse mechanism that was invented by ''Yi Jangson'' and first used in the Imjin War at the ''Battle of Gyeongju'' in 1592. It was projected into enemy camps and formations using the ''wangu'' mortar, and also used at sea. *

Machine gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) a ...

:Perhaps the earliest predecessor to the modern machine gun are the chongtong (gun barrel) hwachas of the 15th century. The first of these were created in 1409, in which dozens of stacked rows of bronze gun barrels fired iron bolts. The Moonjong hwacha in 1451 carried 50 gun barrels which each fired sequentially 4 bolts each. The "box" of gun barrels was modular and could be installed and removed on the firing carriage. The gun-barrel type (as opposed to the rocket type) of hwacha predates the weapons considered the earliest forms of machine guns outside of Korea, the Chinese 'Po-Tzu Lien-Chu-P'ao' or 'string-of-100-bullets cannon' developed in the first quarter of the 17th century. The later jujachongtong hwacha developed in 1490 fired 15 iron bullets per barrel, and hundreds of the weapons were produced and deployed throughout the nation.

Modern

* Sentry guard robot : In 2006,

Samsung Techwin Hanwha Techwin (), founded as Samsung Techwin, is a video surveillance company. It is a subsidiary of Hanwha Group. The company employs 1,822 people and is headquartered in South Korea. Its total sales in 2020 were 529.8 billion South Korean won. ...

released the Samsung SGR-A1, a sentry guard robot designed to replace human counterparts at the

Korean Demilitarized Zone The Korean Demilitarized Zone (Korean: ; Hanbando Bimujang Jidae) is a strip of land running across the Korean Peninsula near the 38th parallel north. The demilitarized zone (DMZ) is a border barrier that divides the peninsula roughly in ha ...

. It is the first of its kind to have surveillance, tracking, firing, and voice-recognition systems built into a single unit. * Super aEgis II : In 2010, DoDaam Systems introduced the Super aEgis II, one of a new breed of automated weapon that can identify, track, and destroy a moving target at a distance of 4 km. * Airburst assault rifle : Daewoo's K11 is the first gun of its kind to be operational in the field, making the

Republic of Korea Army The Republic of Korea Army (ROKA; ko, 대한민국 육군; Hanja: 大韓民國陸軍; RR: ''Daehanminguk Yuk-gun''), also known as the ROK Army or South Korean Army, is the army of South Korea, responsible for ground-based warfare. It is the l ...

the first in the world to use an airburst assault rifle as standard issue.

Traditional medicine

* Kiln sauna : The traditional Korean

sauna A sauna (, ), or sudatory, is a small room or building designed as a place to experience dry or wet heat sessions, or an establishment with one or more of these facilities. The steam and high heat make the bathers perspire. A thermometer in a ...

, called the ''hanjeungmak'', is a domed structure constructed of stone that was first mentioned in the ''Sejong Sillok'' of the

in the 15th century. Supported by

, the ''hanjeungmak'' was touted for its health benefits and used to treat illnesses. In the early 15th century, Buddhist monks maintained ''hanjeungmak'' clinics, called ''hanjeungso'', to treat sick poor people; these clinics maintained separate facilities for men and women due to high demand. Korean sauna culture and kiln saunas are still popular today, and Korean saunas are ubiquitous. *

Hand acupuncture Koryo hand acupuncture is a modern system of acupuncture Acupuncture is a form of alternative medicine and a component of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in which thin needles are inserted into the body. Acupuncture is a pseudoscience; the ...

: ''Koryo hand acupuncture'' is a modern system of

acupuncture Acupuncture is a form of alternative medicine and a component of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in which thin needles are inserted into the body. Acupuncture is a pseudoscience; the theories and practices of TCM are not based on scientifi ...

, created by Yu Tae-u in the 1970s, in which the hand represents the entire body and is needled or stimulated during treatment. Hand acupuncture is popular among the general population as a form of self-medication in Korea, and has adherents in Japan and North America; it is also popular among overseas Koreans. Korean hand acupuncture is different from American hand reflexology, another form of alternative medicine. *Primo vascular system : The primo vascular system, also known as the Bong-Han system, is a new circulatory system discovered by

Kim Bong-Han Kim Bong-han (; born 1916) was a North Korean medical surgeon at Pyongyang Medical University and Kyung-Rak institute (KRI). He is primarily known for his research on a proposed mechanism for acupuncture that was not accepted by the mainstream ...

, a professor at the

Pyongyang Medical University Pyongyang Medical University is the top medical school in North Korea. History After the Department of Medical Science at Kim Il-sung University was split up in 1948, the Pyongyang Medical University was officially established by the North Kor ...

, in 1961. It is differentiated from the arteriovenous and lympathic systems by its unique anatomical and immunohistochemical signature. Originally named the "Substance of Kyungrak", Professor Kim proposed that the system represents the meridians and collaterals of

. The primo vascular system was scientifically confirmed in 2002.

Ceramics

* Inlaid celadon : Korean celadon reached its pinnacle with the invention of the ''sanggam'' inlay technique in the early 12th century during the

period. * Underglaze red : ''Jinsa'' "underglaze red", a technique using

copper oxide Copper oxide is a compound from the two elements copper and oxygen. Copper oxide may refer to: * Copper(I) oxide (cuprous oxide, Cu2O) * Copper(II) oxide (cupric oxide, CuO) * Copper peroxide (CuO2) * Copper(III) oxide (Cu2O3) * Copper(IV) oxide ...

pigment to create copper-red designs, was developed in Korea during the 12th century, and later inspired the "underglaze red" ceramics of the

Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fifth ...

. *

Buncheong ''Buncheong'', or ''punch'ong'', ware is a traditional form of Korean stoneware, with a blue-green tone. Pieces are coated with white slip (ceramics), and decorative designs are added using a variety of techniques. This style originated in the 15 ...

: During the

period, Koreans applied the ''sanggam'' tradition to create ''buncheong'' ceramics. In contrast to the refined elegance of Goryeo celadon, ''buncheong'' is designed to be natural, unassuming, and practical. However, the ''buncheong'' tradition was gradually replaced by

Joseon white porcelain Joseon white porcelain or Joseon baekja refers to the white porcelains produced during the Joseon dynasty (1392-1910). History White porcelains were preferred and praised over other porcelains during the time to represent Korean Confucian ethics s ...

, its aristocratic counterpart, and disappeared in Korea by the end of the 16th century. ''Buncheong'' became known and prized in Japan as

Mishima Mishima may refer to: Places * Mishima, Fukushima, a town in Fukushima Prefecture * Mishima, Kagoshima, a village in Kagoshima Prefecture * Mishima, Niigata, a town in Niigata Prefecture * Mishima, Shizuoka, a city in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan ...

. *

Karatsu is a city located in Saga Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, Japan. Its name, formed from the Japanese word roots 唐 ''kara'' (China, or continental East Asia in general), and 津 ''tsu'' (port), signifies its historical importance as a ...

: The Japanese Karatsu style of ceramics originated in Korea.

Music

Musical notation Music notation or musical notation is any system used to visually represent aurally perceived music played with instruments or sung by the human voice through the use of written, printed, or otherwise-produced symbols, including notation fo ...

: ''Jeongganbo'' is a unique traditional musical notation system created during the time of

that was the first East Asian system to represent rhythm, pitch, and time. *Janggu : First depicted in

murals, the ''janggu'' is the most representative drum in traditional Korean music. *Gayageum : The most representative traditional instrument of Korea, the ''gayageum'' was created in Gaya during the 6th century, and based on the Chinese guzheng. *Pansori : Originating in the 17th century during the Joseon period, ''pansori'', also known as "Korean folk opera", is a traditional genre of narrative song performed by a ''sorikkun'' singer and a ''Pansori gosu, gosu'' drummer. ''Pansori'' was inscribed in the ''Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity'' by UNESCO in 2008. *Music of North Korea#Instruments, North Korean instruments : North Korea has developed many modernized instruments based on Traditional Korean musical instruments, traditional instruments. The ''sohaegeum'', ''junghaegeum'', ''daehaegeum'', and ''jeohaegeum'' are four-stringed fiddles of varying sizes, based on the traditional ''haegeum''. The ''eoeungeum'' is a pear-shaped lute with 5 strings that is similar to the ''hyangbipa''. The ''cheolhyeongeum'' and ''ongnyugeum'' are modernized zithers, and the ''jangsaenap'' is a modernized ''taepyeongso''. *K-pop : K-pop, or South Korean popular music, began in 1992 with the debut of Seo Taiji and Boys, a band that challenged musical and societal norms in South Korea with music influenced by American genres. Today, K-pop leads the Korean Wave with Korean idol, idol groups such as BTS (band), BTS.

Painting

Chaekgeori, Late nineteenth-century, Private Collection

*Chaekgeori : ''Chaekgeori'' (), translated as "books and things", is a genre of still-life painting from the

period of Korea that features books as the dominant subject. The ''chaekgeori'' tradition flourished from the second half of the 18th century to the first half of the 20th century and was enjoyed by all members of the population, from the king to the commoners, revealing the infatuation with books and learning in Korean culture. *Munjado : ''Munjado'' (), also known as "flower writing" (), is a genre of Minhwa, Korean folk art that enjoyed popularity in the 18th and 19th centuries, in which large Chinese characters associated with Confucian philosophy are painted as a representation of their meaning, with depictions of related stories and themes painted into the characters themselves.

Science

Social science

*Double-entry bookkeeping system : It is believed that the world's first double-entry bookkeeping system, called the ''sagae chibubeop'', was developed in

and used by merchants in the capital of Kaesong, a center of trade and industry, at least two centuries earlier than in Italy. *Opinion poll, Public opinion polling : In order to provide equality and fairness in taxation for the common people,

issued a royal decree to administer a nationwide public opinion poll regarding a new tax system called ''Gongbeop'' in 1430. Over the course of 5 months, the poll surveyed 172,806 people, of which approximately 57% responded with approval for the proposed reform. *Society for the disabled : The world's first society for the Disability, disabled, called the ''myeongtongsi'' (), was created by the

government during the early Joseon period. The government-organized ''myeongtongsi'' regularly held events for the Visual impairment, blind to participate in rituals and ceremonies and receive treatment for illnesses, donations of food and other items, and training for certain jobs. *Parental leave : In 1426, Sejong the Great enacted a law that granted government ''nobi'' women 100 days of maternity leave after childbirth, which, in 1430, was lengthened by one month before childbirth. In 1434, Sejong also granted the husbands 30 days of paternity leave. *Silhak : ''Silhak'', also known as "Practical Learning", is a Korean school of thought developed by the ''seonbi'' that is dedicated to an empirical approach to statecraft based on pragmatism, instead of a blind and uncritical adherence to Confucianism. ''Silhak'' scholars, such as Jeong Yak-yong, emphasized human equality and advocated economic, educational, and social reform. *Juche : Juche, translated as "self-reliance" or "self-determination", is the List of political ideologies, state ideology of North Korea. Implemented in 1956, Juche follows the four principles of "autonomy in ideology, independence in politics, self-sufficiency in economy, and self-reliance in defense". *Blue Ocean Strategy : The ''blue ocean strategy'' was developed by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne, who argue that companies can succeed not by battling competitors, but rather by creating ″blue oceans″ of uncontested market space. *Smart city, U-City : U-City (ubiquitous city) is defined as a "next generation urban space" that includes an integrated set of ubiquitous services: a convergent form of both physical and online spaces. Songdo International Business District, Songdo in South Korea is the first U-City in the world.

Physical science

*Vinylon : In 1939, vinylon, the second man-made fiber to be invented, after nylon, was developed by Ichiro Sakurada, Ri Sung-gi, and Hiroshi Kawakami at Kyoto University in Japan. However, the fiber was largely ignored until Ri Sung-gi defected to North Korea in 1950 and led its production. Vinylon is the national fiber of North Korea, and is used for the majority of textiles, outstripping fibers such as cotton or nylon. *Positron emission tomography : Zang-Hee Cho and James Roberston were the first to propose a ring system that has become the prototype of the current shape of PET. Zang-Hee Cho also developed the first PET-MRI fusion molecular imaging device for neuro-molecular imaging. *Axion, Invisible axion : The invisible axion was first originally proposed by the theoretical physicist Kim Jihn Eui. *Mannque Rho#Research, Brown-Rho scaling : In 1991, Mannque Rho and Gerald E. Brown introduced Brown-Rho scaling, which predicts how hadronic masses scale in a dense medium. *Digital holographic microscopy, Holotomography : Researchers at KAIST developed the HT-1, a next-generation holographic microscope for 3D live cell imaging without the need for staining or labeling. The HT-1 is the first system to achieve high-resolution tomographic microscopy with full optical/electronic control, and do so without having a mechanical rotation system. *Color charge : In 1965, Moo-Young Han and Yoichiro Nambu first introduced a new hidden symmetry among quarks, which is the origin of what is now called the color SU(3) symmetry. *Light dark matter, Lee-Weinberg bound : In 1977, Benjamin W. Lee and Steven Weinberg introduced the Lee-Weinberg bound, about the cosmological lower bound on heavy neutrino masses. *Computational materials physics : In 1979, Ihm Jisoon first introduced a new field in condensed matter physics, called ''computational materials physics''. *Supersolid : In 2004, Eunseong Kim and Moses H. W. Chan discovered the first evidence of a superfluidlike state in solid helium. *Graphene : In 2005, Philip Kim and Andre Geim's groups independently demonstrated peculiar and outstanding properties of graphene, leading to an explosion of interest in graphene. In his Nobel lecture in 2010, Andre Geim said, "I owe Philip a great deal for this, and many people heard me saying – before and after the Nobel Prize – that I would be honoured to share it with him." In 2009, Hong Byung-hee pioneered the synthesis of large-scale graphene by chemical vapor deposition, which triggered chemical researches toward the practical applications of graphene. *Gravitational microlensing : In 1979, Kyongae Chang and Sjur Refsdal pointed out that a single star (a 'microlens') in a lens galaxy can cause flux variations on time scales of a year, leading to the Chang-Refsdal lens. *Diversity oriented fluorescence library approach : Young-Tae Chang pioneered the diversity oriented fluorescence library approach (DOFLA) using a fluorescent library, allowing clear imaging of pancreatic cells. *3D printing, Nano 3D printing : Seung Kwon Seol's team at the Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute used a new 3D printing technique to demonstrate for the first time 3D printed nanostructures composed entirely of graphene. *FINEX (steelmaking process), FINEX : POSCO and Siemens VAI developed a new iron-making technology called FINEX in which molten iron is produced directly using iron ore fines and non-coking coal rather than traditional blast furnace methods through sintering and reduction with coke (fuel), coke. *Artificial skin, Smart prosthetic skin : Researchers at Seoul National University developed a "smart prosthetic skin" that can sense pressure, heat, and moisture. *Giga steel : Giga steel is a type of steel developed by POSCO that can withstand over 100 kilograms per square millimeter, and is said to be "as light as aluminum but almost three times stronger," according to the company CEO.

Life science

*Triangle of U : In 1935, the Korean-Japanese Botany, plant scientist Woo Jang-choon proposed the Triangle of U, named after himself, which describes the evolution and relationships between members of the plant genus ''Brassica''. *Hantavirus : Hantaan, the prototype hantavirus, was first isolated by Ho Wang Lee and Karl M. Johnson in 1978, and the first hantavirus vaccine to protect against hantavirus hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome was developed in Korea in 1990. *Cloning, Cloned dog : The world's first cloned dog, Snuppy the Afghan hound, was cloned at Seoul National University and born in 2005. Snuppy was also used in the first successful breeding between cloned canines. *Preventive HIV vaccine : Chil-Yong Kang and his team at University of Western Ontario, Western University developed the first genetically modified, whole-killed HIV vaccine to be approved for testing in humans, called the SAV001, SAV001-H. *Nanomedicine : Cheon Jinwoo of Yonsei University demonstrated, for the first time, the nanoscale size-dependent MRI contrast effect, opening a new gateway to "nanomedicine", and also introduced the world’s most advanced nano-MRI technology, MEIO (magnetism-engineered iron oxide). *Percutaneous coronary intervention, Stent implantation of left main coronary artery stenosis : Park Seung-jung pioneered a new method using a stent as an alternative treatment for left main coronary artery stenosis, an abnormal narrowing of the aortic valve in the heart. *Video-assisted minilaparotomy surgery : Koon Ho Rha and Seung Choul Yang at Yonsei University invented video-assisted minilaparotomy surgery (VAMS), a hybridized form of laparoscopic and open surgeries. *Percutaneous endoscopic cervical discectomy : Sang-Ho Lee of Wooridul Spine Hospital pioneered percutaneous endoscopic cervical discectomy, which is the first laser-assisted endoscopic technique for herniated disc surgery. *Pharmaceutical drugs **Gemifloxacin is a fluoroquinolone antibiotic developed by LG Life Sciences that is used in the treatment of acute bacterial exacerbation of chronic bronchitis and mild-to-moderate pneumonia. **Balofloxacin is an orally active fluoroquinolone antibiotic developed by Choongwae Pharma for the treatment of urinary tract infections. **Tedizolid is an oxazolidinone antibiotic developed by Dong-A ST, the specialty pharmaceuticals arm of Dong-A Socio Holdings, to treat patients with skin and skin structure infection, acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections. **Gemigliptin is a dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor developed by LG Life Sciences to treat hyperglycemia in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. **Evogliptin is a dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor developed by Dong-A ST. **Fimasartan is a non-peptide angiotensin II receptor antagonist developed by Boryung Pharmaceutical to treat hypertension and heart failure. **Radotinib is a drug for the treatment of chronic myelogenous leukemia, chronic myeloid leukemia, developed by Ilyang Pharmaceutical. **Zabofloxacin is an investigational fluoroquinolone antibiotic to treat multidrug-resistant infections due to gram-positive bacteria. It was drug discovery, discovered by Dong Wha Pharmaceuticals and licensed to Pacific Beach BioSciences for drug development, development. **Udenafil is a PDE5 inhibitor developed by Dong-A Pharmaceutical to treat erectile dysfunction. **Polmacoxib is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug developed by CrystalGenomics to treat osteoarthritis. **Ilaprazole is a proton pump inhibitor developed by Ilyang Pharmaceutical to treat dyspepsia, peptic ulcer disease, gastroesophageal reflux disease, and duodenal ulcer.

Technology

Electronics

*MOSFET, Metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) : In 1959, Dawon Kahng and Mohamed Atalla at Bell Labs invented the metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET), a semiconductor that is the basic element in most of today's electronic equipment. It is the basic building block of the Digital Revolution, and the most widely manufactured device in history. *Floating-gate MOSFET (FGMOS) :In 1967, Dawon Kahng and Simon Sze, Simon Min Sze invented the floating-gate MOSFET, which provides the foundation for many forms of semiconductor memory devices. *Synchronous dynamic random-access memory (SDRAM) :The first commercial synchronous dynamic random-access memory (SDRAM) was the Samsung KM48SL2000 memory chip. It was introduced by Samsung Electronics in 1992, and mass-produced in 1993. *DDR SDRAM, Double-data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM) :First demonstrated by Samsung in 1997. Samsung released the first commercial DDR SDRAM chip in June 1998. MpMan mp-f60

*MP3 player : The world's first commercially available MP3 player, the MPMan, was launched by SaeHan Information Systems in 1997. *GDDR SDRAM, Graphics DDR SDRAM (GDDR SDRAM) : GDDR was initially known as DDR SDRAM, DDR SGRAM (double data-rate synchronous graphics RAM). It was commercially introduced by Samsung Electronics in 1998. *Portable media player#Mobile phones, MP3 phone : The first mobile phone to support MP3 playback, the SPH-M2100, was released by Samsung in 1999. *Portable media player#Mobile phones, TV phone : The world's first TV phone, the SCH-M220, was developed by Samsung in 1999. *Tablet computer : The first commercially available tablet computer, the GRiDPad, was manufactured by Samsung in 1989 after it absorbed GRiD Systems Corporation in 1988. The GRiDPad was modified from the Samsung PenMaster, which was never commercially released. *Smartwatch, Watch phone : The world's first watch phone, the SPH-WP10, was released by Samsung in 1999. *OLED#Manufacturers and commercial uses, Curved display smartphone : The world's first curved display smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy Round, was released by Samsung on 10 October 2013. *EyeCan : Samsung developed the first eye tracking mouse that doesn't require users to wear special equipment, called the EyeCan, in 2012. *Touchscreen#Capacitive, Touchscreen phone : The LG Prada is the world's first completely touchscreen mobile phone, and also the first mobile phone with a Touchscreen#Capacitive, capacitive touchscreen. *5G, 5G smartphone : Samsung released the world's first 5G smartphone, the Galaxy S10 5G, in 2019. *LTE (telecommunication), LTE mobile phone : Samsung released the world's first LTE mobile phone, the SCH-r900, in 2010, and the world's first LTE smartphone, the Samsung_Galaxy_S_(2010_smartphone)#Indulge, Samsung Galaxy Indulge, in 2011. *Retina display : Apple's "Retina" display was invented by LG and bought by Apple. *Hologram, 3D hologram : The world's first 360-degree color hologram was developed by the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute in 2015. *Universal Flash Storage : The world's first UFS memory cards were developed by Samsung. *LG Electronics#Rolly keyboard, Rollable keyboard : The world's first solid rollable keyboard was introduced by LG in 2015. *Flexible battery : In 2012, researchers at KAIST demonstrated the first fully functional all-flexible electronic battery system. In 2013, scientists led by Professor Lee Sang-young of Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology developed the world's first bendable lithium-ion battery, lithium ion batteries. *High Bandwidth Memory : High Bandwidth Memory is a high-performance random-access memory, RAM interface for Three-dimensional integrated circuit, 3D-stacked Dynamic random-access memory, DRAM developed by SK Hynix and Advanced Micro Devices, AMD to be used in conjunction with high-performance graphics accelerators and network devices. *Thermoelectric generator, Wearable thermoelectric generator : Researchers led by Byung Jin Cho at KAIST developed a glass fabric-based thermoelectric (TE) generator that is extremely light and flexible and produces electricity from the heat of the human body. *Transparent resistive random access memory : Transparent resistive random access memory (TRRAM) is the world's first transparent computer chip, invented by scientists at KAIST. *Online electric vehicle : Researchers at KAIST developed an electric transportation system in which online electric vehicles (OLEV) get power wirelessly through the application of shaped magnetic field in resonance, a new technology introduced by KAIST that enables electric vehicles to transfer electricity wirelessly from the road surface. The world's first OLEV buses began operation at the city of Gumi, North Gyeongsang, Gumi in March 2014. *3D printing, 3D nanoprinting pen : The first pen that performs 3D printing on the nanoscale was developed by Seongpil Hwang of Korea University in 2014.

Appliances

*Internet refrigerator, Digital refrigerator : In 2000, LG Electronics introduced the world's first digital refrigerator called the Internet Digital DIOS. *Steam closet : In 2011, LG introduced a closet, called the Styler, that steam cleans clothing that's hung inside without the use of water or detergents; it is used in hotels, airports, casinos, and homes in Korea. *Washing machine#Modern washers, Wall-mounted drum type washing machine : In 2012, Dongbu Daewoo Electronics introduced the world’s first wall-mounted drum type washing machine called the "Mini". *Washing machine#Modern washers, Dual washing machine : In 2015, LG Electronics unveiled the world's first washing machine that allows for two separate loads to be washed simultaneously using the "TWIN Wash System". *Kimchi refrigerator : The kimchi refrigerator is designed to meet the storage requirements of kimchi. The first commercial kimchi refrigerator was created by Winia Mando in 1995. *Steam mop : Invented by Romi Haan in 2001, the steam mop is a type of electric mop that uses hot steam to disinfect floors.

Information technology

*Contactless smart card : Beginning in 1995, Seoul was the first city in the world to use contactless smart cards, for electronic ticketing. *WiBro : Developed in 2005 by Samsung Electronics, WiBro, an abbreviation of wireless broadband, is the first commercial mobile WiMax system in the world. In April 2007, KT Corporation, KT began full commercial WiBro services in the Seoul metropolitan area and its vicinity for the first time in the world. *Digital multimedia broadcasting : The digital multimedia broadcasting technology was developed in South Korea. It is a digital transmission system for sending multimedia to mobile devices. *Mobile television service : By developing digital multimedia broadcasting (DMB), Korea became the first nation in the world to officially introduce mobile television service in May 2005. *Virtual store : In 2011, Homeplus launched the world's first virtual store at Seolleung Station, enabling consumers to purchase items with their smartphones by scanning QR codes using the Homeplus app, then having the products delivered. *Ringing tone, Caller ringback tone : The caller ringback tone (CRBT) service, which allows subscribers to choose a piece of music or an audio clip that callers will hear in place of the standard 'ringing' tone when dialing the subscriber's number, was first offered in South Korea in 2002 by SK Telecom. It was developed in 2001 by the Korean firm Witcom. *Promissory note, Electronic promissory note : In 2005, the Korean Ministry of Justice and a consortium of financial institutions announced the service of an electronic promissory note service, after years of development, allowing entities to make promissory notes (notes payable) in business transactions digitally instead of on paper, for the first time in the world. *5G :In April 2019 Korea released the world's first 5G network, becoming the first country in the world to adopt 5G.

Robotics

*HUBO : Developed by KAIST and introduced in 2004, HUBO is the world's second walking humanoid robot, and the first to move with a natural gait. *EveR-1 : Developed by a team at the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology and introduced in May 2003, EveR-1 is the world's second android (robot), android. *Albert HUBO : Introduced in 2005, Albert HUBO is the world’s first walking humanoid robot with an android head. It was a collaboration between Hanson Robotics and KAIST. *MAHRU & AHRA, MAHRU : Developed by a team at Korea Institute of Science and Technology and introduced in March 2005, MAHRU (originally known as NBH-1) is the first network-based humanoid robot in the world. *Robot prison guard : In 2011, the world's first robot prison guard was introduced. Developed by Lee Baik-chul, a professor at Kyonggi University, the robot prison guard uses Stereo camera, 3D cameras to detect abnormal human behavior patterns. *Manned bipedal robot : South Korea's Method-2 is the world's first manned bipedal robot. *Microbotics, Ciliary microrobot : Hongsoo Choi's research team at the Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology developed the world's first Cilium, ciliary microrobots, that can move and function like single cells. *Nanorobotics, Cancer-fighting nanobot : Scientists at the Chonnam National University in South Korea developed the world's first cancer-fighting nanobot, a microscopic robot called a "bacteriobot", that is injected into the bloodstream and seeks out and destroys cancer cells while leaving healthy cells alone. *Thyroidectomy, Robotic thyroidectomy : Robot-assisted transaxillary thyroid surgery (RATS), also called robotic thyroidectomy (RT), is a minimally invasive surgical technique developed in Korea that can remove all or part of the thyroid without scarring the neck.

Entertainment technology

*4DX : Developed by South Korean conglomerate CJ Group in 2009, 4DX is the world's first 4D cinema technology, allowing a motion picture presentation to be augmented with environmental effects. *ScreenX : Developed by South Korean conglomerate CJ Group in 2012, ScreenX is the world’s first multi-projection system. It extends the images onto the theater walls to provide a 270-degree viewing environment. *LED display, Cinema LED screen : The world's first commercial cinema LED screen was developed by Samsung Electronics and installed in the Super S auditorium at the Lotte World Tower in Seoul. The screen is 10.3 meters wide and runs at 4K resolution, with brightness "ten times greater than that offered by standard projector technologies," according to Samsung. In 2018, Samsung debuted the world’s first 3D cinema LED screen.

Internet

*Internet café : In 1988, an archaic type of cybercafé called the "Electronic Café" was opened in front of Hongik University in Seoul,

by Ahn Sangsu and Keum Nuri. It had two 16-bit computers connected to an online service provider through a telephone line. The first modern Internet café in Korea was opened in 1994. Korean Internet cafés, called PC bangs, are also LAN gaming centers, and boomed during the late 1990s thanks to the growth of the Internet and gaming cultures. *MMORPG : Nexus: The Kingdom of the Winds was released by Nexon on 5 April 1996, making it one of the earliest graphical MMORPGs in the world. *Comparison of Q&A sites, Question-and-answer platform : Naver, the leading search portal in South Korea, pioneered a real-time community-driven question-and-answer platform called Knowledge Search in 2002. In 2005, Yahoo! launched Yahoo! Answers, which was modeled, in part, on Naver's Knowledge Search. *Loot box :The first known instance of a loot box system is believed to be an item called "Gachapon ticket" which was introduced in the Japanese version of ''MapleStory'', a side-scrolling MMORPG, in June 2004. Such tickets were sold at the price of 100 Japanese yen per ticket. Like real-life gachapon machines, players attained randomly chosen game items when they used the ticket on "Gachapon", an in-game booth that was distributed across the game world. *National intranet : North Korea's Kwangmyong (network), Kwangmyong is generally considered the first national intranet, launched in 2000. *eSports : The first eSports league in the field of online gaming started in Korea in 1997. In December 1997, PC bang chains opened the first national online gaming league, known as the "Korea Pro Gamers League". The term "eSports" was coined by Park Ji-won of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in February 2000 when he inaugurated the Korea e-Sports Association. OGN (TV channel), OGN was the first online game specialty channel in the world, and opened the world's first eSports dedicated stadium. *Social networking service : South Korea's Cyworld is the world's first mass social networking service. It was also the first in the world to have individual home pages and automated systems for contacting friends and relatives, leading to the creation of other popular sites such as Facebook and Myspace. *Free-to-play : The free-to-play business model in online games was created by Nexon in Korea. The first game to use it was Nexon's QuizQuiz (video game), QuizQuiz, released in October 1999, and made by Lee Seungchan, who would go on to create MapleStory. *Webtoon : In 2003, Daum (web portal), Daum launched the "Webtoon" digital platform, creating a new form of manhwa (comics) that utilizes major characteristics of digital technologies. According to the Korea Creative Content Agency, "Webtoons are not simply scanned versions of print comics. It’s a whole new, different genre tailored for the Internet age." *Mukbang : Mukbang, also called "eating broadcast" or "social eating", is a type of online broadcast in which the host eats while interacting with online viewers. The mukbang Internet culture began on AfreecaTV in 2009. *Citizen journalism : Launched in 2000, OhmyNews is the world's first online newspaper to publish reports by readers, or "citizen journalists", allowing civil participation in opposition of the conservative press. OhmyNews influenced the outcome of the 2002 South Korean presidential election, and is considered one of the country's most influential media outlets. *Sticker (messaging), Stickers : Developed by Naver Corporation, Naver for its Line (software), LINE instant messaging app in Japan, stickers are large detailed emoticons featuring popular characters and themes. The original default characters and stickers, known as the LINE Friends, were created by Kang Byeongmok, also known as "Mogi", in 2011. *Cryptocurrency exchange, Offline cryptocurrency exchange : Coinone, a Korean digital currency exchange company, opened a brick-and-mortar branch called Coinone Blocks that it claims is the world's first brick-and-mortar cryptocurrency trading floor. *Online Video Platform, Ad supported Online video platform :Founded in October 2004, Pandora TV is the first video sharing website in the world to attach advertisement to user-submitted video clips and to provide unlimited storage space for users to upload. *Live streaming, Live Streaming Platform :The earliest live streaming platform known outside of Korea was Livestream, launched in 2007. However, AfreecaTV was launched in 2005 making it the first live streaming platform in the world.

Traditional games

*Yut : ''Yut'' is an ancient Korean board game that is still played to this day, especially on ''Korean New Year, Seollal''. *Dice#Polyhedral dice, Polyhedral dice : ''Juryeonggu'' is a 14-sided die invented in the

period that was used in drinking games. *Tujeon : ''Tujeon'' is a traditional card game, originally based on Madiao, that is played with long rectangular numbered cards. It gradually became linked to gambling. *Seunggyeongdo : ''Seunggyeongdo'' is a traditional board game attributed to Ha Ryun that simulates climbing the

government career ladder and reaching the top by the end. *Seongbuldo : ''Seongbuldo'' is a traditional board game dating back to the

period that simulates the path to becoming a Buddha. It is still played by Buddhists in Korea.

Martial arts

*Taekkyeon : It is believed that ''taekkyeon'' originated from ''subak'' (手搏), based on the encyclopedia ''Manmulbo'' published in 1798. ''Taekkyeon'' almost disappeared during the 20th century but made a resurgence in modern times, and was inscribed in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists#Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity of UNESCO in 2011. *Ssireum : The earliest evidence of ''ssireum'', or "Korean wrestling", dates back to the Goguryeo period. Originally used in military applications, ''ssireum'' became a popular pastime of the people, including many Korean kings, during the Goryeo and Joseon periods. In the 20th century, ''ssireum'' became a nationally televised sport in South Korea. *Gukgung : ''Gukgung'', also known as ''gungsul'', is traditional Korean archery that makes use of the ''gakgung'', the traditional Korean composite bow made of horn.

Sports

*Jokgu : Inspired by the Southeast Asian sport sepak takraw, ''jokgu'' is a modern sport invented in 1960 by members of the Republic of Korea Air Force's 11th Fighter Wing that combines aspects of association football, football and volleyball. *Jangchigi : ''Jangchigi'', originally called ''dobogyeokdo'', is a traditional hockey-like sport that dates back to the Three Kingdoms of Korea, Three Kingdoms period. It is related to ''masanggyeokgu'', a traditional polo-like sport that also dates back to the Three Kingdoms period. *Taekwondo : Created in 1955, taekwondo has become the national sport of South Korea and an official Olympic sport since the 2000 Summer Olympics. Taekwondo is based on ''taekkyeon'' and Shotokan karate.

Products

*Italy towel : The Korean exfoliating mitt is a mass-produced bath product used to scrub and peel the outermost layer of skin; it was invented in Busan by Kim Pil-gon in 1962. Since then, the Italy towel has become a household item in Korean homes and a staple item in Jjimjilbang, Korean saunas. The Korean exfoliating mitt was named the Italy towel because the viscose fabric used to make it was imported from Italy at the time. *Gable top carton, Gable top : Gable tops were invented by Dr. Shin Seok-kyun in 1953 allowing for milk cartons to be sealed tight after opening for later use. Dr. Shin Seok-kyun, so-called Edison of Korea, unfortunately he couldn’t file his patent given the turbulent context in the middle of Korean War. Eventually, this gable top carton made its way into the U.S. by U.S. army and was set as the international standard.These days, gable top cartons are used all around the world. *Ondol#Dol bed, Electrically heated stone bed : The ''dol bed'', or stone bed, is a manufactured bed that has the same heating effect as ''

'' and is purported to have health benefits. The ''dol bed'' industry is estimated to be worth 100 billion Korean won, comprising 30 to 40 percent of the entire bed industry in South Korea; ''dol beds'' are most popular with middle-aged people in their 40s and 50s. *Circle Contact Lens, Circle contact lens : Special cosmetic contact lenses popular in Asia that make the eye's iris appear larger in different shades. This product was invented in South Korea. *Sheet Mask :Sheet masks are face-shaped sheet fabrics soaked in nutrition-packed solution called serum, used as skincare and beauty product originated in Korea.

Miscellaneous

*Thundersticks : Thundersticks, known as ''makdae pungseon'' in Korea, are inflatable plastic promotional noisemakers that are most often used at sporting events, political rallies, and concerts. ''Makdae pungseon'' were created by BalloonStix Korea and first used in 1994 at an LG Twins baseball game. *Jige : The ''jige'', also known as the A-frame carrier, is a traditional Korean wooden device for carrying heavy loads, that is adapted to Korea's rough mountainous terrain. The ''jige'' was adopted by United Nations troops during the Korean War. * Knowledge Industrial Center (Apartment-Type Factory) :The apartment-type factory (아파트형 공장) is legally defined as having 3 or more floors and accommodating 6 or more factories in the same building. The apartment-type factory was formed in order to solve industrial structure changes and offshoring of plants due to the rise of land value. The first apartment type-factory, Incheon Juan Apartment type factory were generated in 1989. In 2010, the term "apartment-style factory" was changed to "knowledge industrial center"(지식산업센터). Unlike traditional smokestack factories, the semi-industrial district knowledge industrial center makes efficient use of land and blends ICT, knowledge, and manufacturing industries into one building, creating a co-support system for medium sized businesses. Modern knowledge industrial centers have door-to-door interior hallways for vehicles and drive-in systems in multiple floors for truck loading, as well as special attention to quality employee experience through beautification and communal recreation. This type of factory has also been spread outside of Korea, such as Vietnam. *Icebreaker, Ice-breaking LNG carrier :The world's first ice-breaking LNG tanker was developed by DSME in 2016, and such ships have been instrumental to transporting natural gas from the arctic regions, where the environment made it very difficult in the past. *COVID-19 testing, Drive-through COVID-19 testing :South Korea pioneered the coronavirus drive-through testing system in the city of Goyang in 2020, during the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, COVID-19 Pandemic.

References

External links

Guide to Korean Culture 2016
{{Inventions Korea-related lists, Inventions and innovations Lists of inventions or discoveries, Korean Korean inventions, South Korean inventions,