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 Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its ea ...

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. Bec ...

-sized soybean was discovered in Korea at the Mumun-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 K ...

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-coloure ...

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 ...

: 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 prin ...

, 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 : 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 ...

: 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 brow ...

, was started by Kim Yeo-ik () in the middle of the 17th century. *Pollock farming : In 2016, the

National Institute of Fisheries Science The National Institute of Fisheries Science (previous called National Fisheries Research and Development Institute or NFRDI), is a scientific body operated by the South Korean government, under the authority of the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, ...

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 schooling fish widely distributed in the North Pacific, with largest concentrations fou ...

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, Japane ...

'', 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. 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'', 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 Jumon ...

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, Germany (license plate code IN) * In, Russia, a town in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast Businesses and organizations * Independ ...

; one of the most notable among them is

Ansi Fortress Ansi City (; Goguryeo: 安寸忽; ), also known as Ansi Fortress, was a Goguryeo fortified city in present-day Liaoning province, China. The city was founded in early 4th century after Goguryeo conquered the area, and received its name from a ...

, 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 : Koreans created a unique and distinct pagoda 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 tim ...

: 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'' 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 i ...

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. Hi ...

: The ''

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

: 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 by at least 67 years. He al ...

(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 ...

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 ('' ...

: 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 discovered and constructed the Ree group in the mathematical field of

group theory In abstract algebra, group theory studies the algebraic structures known as groups. The concept of a group is central to abstract algebra: other well-known algebraic structures, such as rings, fields, and vector spaces, can all be seen as ...

. *

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 H ...

-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 p ...

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 punctuation ...

: 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 cut, l ...

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 an ...

: 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 blind, deafblind or who have low vision. It can be read either on embossed paper or by using refreshable braille display ...

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 limit ...

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 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, a ...

: 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 voll ...

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 ...

, 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 o ...

. ''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 shore bombardment and anti-aircraft roles. The term generally refers to tube-launched projectile-firing weapons and excludes ...

: 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.

ships at the

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 Royal Korean Navy during the Joseon dynasty from the early 15th century ...

, 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. Th ...

: 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 a ...

: 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 ...

: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 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, 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 Copper(II) oxide or cupric oxide is an inorganic compound with the formula CuO. A black so ...

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 fift ...

. *

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. *

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 ...

: 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 for ...

: '' 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 The ''janggu'' (, also transliterated as ''janggo'' or ''changgo'') or sometimes called ''seyogo'' (slim waist drum) is the most representative drum in traditional Korean music. It is available in most kinds, and consists of an hourglass-shaped ...

: First depicted in

murals, the ''janggu'' is the most representative drum in traditional Korean music. *

Gayageum The ''gayageum'' or ''kayagum'' (in Korean 가야금, 伽倻琴 in Chinese characters) is a traditional Korean plucked zither with 12 strings, though some more recent variants have 18, 21 or 25 strings. It is probably the best known traditional ...

: The most representative traditional instrument of Korea, the ''gayageum'' was created in Gaya during the 6th century, and based on the Chinese

guzheng The zheng () or gu zheng (), is a Chinese plucked zither. The modern guzheng commonly has 21, 25, or 26 strings, is long, and is tuned in a major pentatonic scale. It has a large, resonant soundboard made from ''Paulownia'' wood. Other co ...

. *

Pansori ' () is a Korean genre of musical storytelling performed by a singer and a drummer. The term ''pansori'' is derived from the Korean words ''pan'' (Hangul: 판) and ''sori'' (Hangul: 소리), the latter of which means "sound." However, ''pan' ...

: 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 ''

gosu Gosu (고수) is a Korean term used to refer to a highly skilled person. In computer gaming the term is usually used to refer to a person who dominated games like ''StarCraft'', ''Counter-Strike'', Tekken, ''Warcraft III'', ''Diablo II'', ''Dot ...

'' drummer. ''Pansori'' was inscribed in the ''Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity'' by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

in 2008. * North Korean instruments : North Korea has developed many modernized instruments based on

traditional instruments A folk instrument is a musical instrument that developed among common people and usually does not have a known inventor. It can be made from wood, metal or other material. Such an instrument is played in performances of folk music. Overview The ...

. The ''

sohaegeum The sohaegeum () is a North Korean musical instrument, developed in the 1960s. It is essentially a modernized form of the ''haegeum'' (a traditional Korean bowed vertical fiddle). ''So'' (hanja: 四) in ''sohaegeum'' means "four", because it has ...

'', ''junghaegeum'', ''daehaegeum'', and ''jeohaegeum'' are four-stringed fiddles of varying sizes, based on the traditional ''

haegeum The ''haegeum'' () is a traditional Korean string instrument, resembling a vertical fiddle with two strings; derived from '' xiqin'', traditional Instrument of Xi people, which was introduced in Goryeo Dynasty through Northern Song. It has a ...

''. 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 The ''taepyeongso'' (lit. "big peace wind instrument"; also called ''hojok'', ''hojeok'' 호적 號笛/ 胡笛, ''nallari'', or ''saenap'', 嗩吶) is a Korean double reed wind instrument in the shawm or oboe family, probably descended from th ...

''. *

K-pop K-pop (), short for Korean popular music, is a form of popular music originating in South Korea as part of South Korean culture. It includes styles and genres from around the world, such as pop, hip hop, R&B, experimental, rock, jazz, go ...

: K-pop, or South Korean popular music, began in 1992 with the debut of

Seo Taiji and Boys () was a South Korean music group active from 1992 to 1996. The three members of the boy band, Seo Taiji, Yang Hyun-suk and Lee Juno, experimented with many different genres of popular Western music. Seo Taiji and Boys was highly successful an ...

, 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 idol groups such as

BTS BTS (), also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a South Korean boy band formed in 2010 and debuting in 2013 under Big Hit Entertainment. The septet—consisting of members Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jungkook—co-writes and co-produ ...

Painting

Chaekgeori, Late nineteenth-century, Private Collection

Chaekgeori Chaekgeori (), translated as "books and things", is a genre of still-life painting from the Joseon period of Korea that features books as the dominant subject. The ''chaekgeori'' tradition flourished from the second half of the 18th century to th ...

: ''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 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 Double-entry bookkeeping, also known as double-entry accounting, is a method of bookkeeping that relies on a two-sided accounting entry to maintain financial information. Every entry to an account requires a corresponding and opposite entry to ...

: 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 Kaesong (, ) is a special city in the southern part of North Korea (formerly in North Hwanghae Province), and the capital of Korea during the Taebong kingdom and subsequent Goryeo dynasty. The city is near the Kaesong Industrial Region close to ...

, a center of trade and industry, at least two centuries earlier than in Italy. *

Public opinion polling An opinion poll, often simply referred to as a survey or a poll (although strictly a poll is an actual election) is a human research survey of public opinion from a particular sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinion ...

: 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

disabled Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, se ...

, called the ''myeongtongsi'' (), was created by the

government during the early Joseon period. The government-organized ''myeongtongsi'' regularly held events for the 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 Parental leave, or family leave, is an employee benefit available in almost all countries. The term "parental leave" may include maternity, Paternity (law), paternity, and adoption leave; or may be used distinctively from "maternity leave" an ...

: In 1426, Sejong the Great enacted a law that granted government ''

nobi ''Nobi'' were members of the slave class during the Korean dynasties of Goryeo and Joseon. Legally, they held the lowest rank in medieval Korean society. Like the slaves, serfs, and indentured servants of the Western Hemisphere, ''nobi'' wer ...

'' 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 was a Korean Confucian social reform movement in late Joseon Dynasty. ''Sil'' means "actual" or "practical", and ''hak'' means "studies" or "learning". It developed in response to the increasingly metaphysical nature of Neo-Confucianism ( ...

: ''Silhak'', also known as "Practical Learning", is a Korean

school of thought A school of thought, or intellectual tradition, is the perspective of a group of people who share common characteristics of opinion or outlook of a philosophy, discipline, belief, social movement, economics, cultural movement, or art movement. ...

developed by the ''

seonbi Seonbi or sŏnbi were scholars during the Goryeo and Joseon periods of Korea who served the public without a government position, choosing to pass up positions of wealth and power to lead lives of study and integrity. Those who chose to serve the ...

'' 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 Jeong Yak-yong (August 5, 1762 – April 7, 1836) or Chong Yagyong, often simply known as ‘Dasan’ (茶山, one of his ‘ho’ / pen-names meaning ‘the mountain of tea’), was a Korean agronomist, philosopher, and poet. He was one of the ...

, emphasized human equality and advocated economic, educational, and social reform. *

Juche ''Juche'' ( ; ), officially the ''Juche'' idea (), is the state ideology of North Korea and the official ideology of the Workers' Party of Korea. North Korean sources attribute its conceptualization to Kim Il-sung, the country's founder and ...

: Juche, translated as "self-reliance" or "self-determination", is the 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 ''Blue Ocean Strategy'' is a book published in 2004 written by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne, professors at INSEAD, and the name of the marketing theory detailed on the book. They assert that these strategic moves create a leap in value for ...

: The ''blue ocean strategy'' was developed by

W. Chan Kim W. Chan Kim (; born 1951) is a South Korean business theorist. He is a Professor of Strategy and Management at INSEAD, and co-director of the INSEAD Blue Ocean Strategy Institute in Fontainebleau, France. He is known as co-author of the 2005 book ...

and Renée Mauborgne, who argue that companies can succeed not by battling competitors, but rather by creating ″blue oceans″ of uncontested market space. * 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 in South Korea is the first U-City in the world.

Physical science

Vinylon Vinylon, also known as Vinalon, is a synthetic fiber produced from polyvinyl alcohol, using anthracite and limestone as raw materials. Vinylon was first developed in Japan in 1939 by Ri Sung-gi, Ichiro Sakurada, and H. Kawakami. Trial production ...

: In 1939, vinylon, the second man-made fiber to be invented, after

nylon Nylon is a generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers composed of polyamides ( repeating units linked by amide links).The polyamides may be aliphatic or semi-aromatic. Nylon is a silk-like thermoplastic, generally made from petr ...

, was developed by Ichiro Sakurada, Ri Sung-gi, and Hiroshi Kawakami at

Kyoto University , mottoeng = Freedom of academic culture , established = , type = Public (National) , endowment = ¥ 316 billion (2.4 billion USD) , faculty = 3,480 (Teaching Staff) , administrative_staff = 3,978 (Total Staff) , students = 2 ...

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 Positron emission tomography (PET) is a functional imaging technique that uses radioactive substances known as radiotracers to visualize and measure changes in metabolic processes, and in other physiological activities including blood flow, ...

: 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 Positron emission tomography–magnetic resonance imaging (PET–MRI) is a hybrid imaging technology that incorporates magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) soft tissue morphological imaging and positron emission tomography (PET) functional imaging. T ...

fusion molecular imaging device for neuro-molecular imaging. * Invisible axion : The invisible axion was first originally proposed by the theoretical physicist

Kim Jihn Eui Kim Jihn-eui (born July 30, 1946) is a South Korean theoretical physicist. His research interests concentrate on particle physics and cosmology and has many contributions to the field, most notably the suggestion of the invisible axion. Birth a ...

. * 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. *

Holotomography Holotomography (HT) is a laser technique to measure three-dimensional refractive index (RI) tomogram of a microscopic sample such as biological cells and tissues. Because the RI can serve as an intrinsic imaging contrast for transparent or phase ob ...

: Researchers at

KAIST The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) is a national research university located in Daedeok Innopolis, Daejeon, South Korea. KAIST was established by the Korean government in 1971 as the nation's first public, research ...

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 Color charge is a property of quarks and gluons that is related to the particles' strong interactions in the theory of quantum chromodynamics (QCD). The "color charge" of quarks and gluons is completely unrelated to the everyday meanings of col ...

: In 1965,

Moo-Young Han Moo-Young Han (November 30, 1934 – May 15, 2016) was a South Korean-born American physicist. He was a professor of physics at Duke University. Along with Yoichiro Nambu of the University of Chicago, he is credited with introducing the SU(3) sy ...

and

Yoichiro Nambu was a Japanese-American physicist and professor at the University of Chicago. Known for his contributions to the field of theoretical physics, he was awarded half of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2008 for the discovery in 1960 of the mechanism ...

first introduced a new hidden symmetry among quarks, which is the origin of what is now called the color SU(3) symmetry. * Lee-Weinberg bound : In 1977, Benjamin W. Lee and

Steven Weinberg Steven Weinberg (; May 3, 1933 – July 23, 2021) was an American theoretical physicist and Nobel laureate in physics for his contributions with Abdus Salam and Sheldon Glashow to the unification of the weak force and electromagnetic interact ...

introduced the Lee-Weinberg bound, about the cosmological lower bound on heavy

neutrino A neutrino ( ; denoted by the Greek letter ) is a fermion (an elementary particle with spin of ) that interacts only via the weak interaction and gravity. The neutrino is so named because it is electrically neutral and because its rest mass is ...

masses. *Computational materials physics : In 1979, Ihm Jisoon first introduced a new field in

condensed matter physics Condensed matter physics is the field of physics that deals with the macroscopic and microscopic physical properties of matter, especially the solid and liquid phases which arise from electromagnetic forces between atoms. More generally, the ...

, called ''computational materials physics''. *

Supersolid In condensed matter physics, a supersolid is a spatially ordered material with superfluid properties. In the case of helium-4, it has been conjectured since the 1960s that it might be possible to create a supersolid. Starting from 2017, a defini ...

: In 2004, Eunseong Kim and Moses H. W. Chan discovered the first evidence of a superfluidlike state in solid helium. *

Graphene Graphene () is an allotrope of carbon consisting of a single layer of atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice nanostructure.

: In 2005,

Philip Kim Philip Kim is a South Korean physicist. He is a condensed matter physicist known for study of quantum transport in carbon nanotubes and graphene, including observations of quantum Hall effects in graphene. Academic career Kim studied physics at ...

and

Andre Geim , birth_date = , birth_place = Sochi, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union , death_date = , death_place = , workplaces = , nationality = Dutch and British , fields = Condensed matter physics , ...

'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 Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is a vacuum deposition method used to produce high quality, and high-performance, solid materials. The process is often used in the semiconductor industry to produce thin films. In typical CVD, the wafer (substra ...

, which triggered chemical researches toward the practical applications of graphene. *

Gravitational microlensing Gravitational microlensing is an astronomical phenomenon due to the gravitational lens effect. It can be used to detect objects that range from the mass of a planet to the mass of a star, regardless of the light they emit. Typically, astronomers ...

: 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. * 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 :

POSCO POSCO (formerly Pohang Iron and Steel Company) is a South Korean steel-making company headquartered in Pohang, South Korea. It had an output of of crude steel in 2015, making it the List of steel producers, world's fourth-largest steelmaker by ...

and Siemens VAI developed a new iron-making technology called FINEX in which molten iron is produced directly using

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the for ...

fines and non-coking

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dead ...

rather than traditional

blast furnace A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally pig iron, but also others such as lead or copper. ''Blast'' refers to the combustion air being "forced" or supplied above atmospheric ...

methods through

sintering Clinker nodules produced by sintering Sintering or frittage is the process of compacting and forming a solid mass of material by pressure or heat without melting it to the point of liquefaction. Sintering happens as part of a manufacturing ...

and reduction with coke. * Smart prosthetic skin : Researchers 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 ...

developed a "smart prosthetic skin" that can sense pressure, heat, and moisture. *Giga steel : Giga steel is a type of steel developed by

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 The triangle of U ( ) is a theory about the evolution and relationships among the six most commonly known members of the plant genus ''Brassica''. The theory states that the genomes of three ancestral diploid species of ''Brassica'' combined to c ...

: In 1935, the Korean-Japanese 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 ''Brassica'' () is a genus of plants in the cabbage and mustard family (Brassicaceae). The members of the genus are informally known as cruciferous vegetables, cabbages, or mustard plants. Crops from this genus are sometimes called ''cole cro ...

''. *

Hantavirus ''Orthohantavirus'' is a genus of single-stranded, enveloped, negative-sense RNA viruses in the family '' Hantaviridae'' within the order '' Bunyavirales''. Members of this genus may be called orthohantaviruses or simply hantaviruses. Orthohant ...

: 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 Hantavirus hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) is a group of clinically similar illnesses caused by species of hantaviruses. It is also known as Korean hemorrhagic fever and epidemic hemorrhagic fever. It is found in Europe, Asia, and Af ...

was developed in Korea in 1990. * Cloned dog : The world's first cloned dog,

Snuppy Snuppy (Korean: 스너피 a portmanteau of " SNU" and "puppy"; April 24, 2005–May 2015) was an Afghan hound, the first dog clone. The puppy was created using a cell from an ear from an adult Afghan hound and involved 123 surrogate mothers, of ...

the

Afghan hound The Afghan Hound is a hound that is distinguished by its thick, fine, silky coat and its tail with a ring curl at the end. The breed is selectively bred for its unique features in the cold mountains of Afghanistan. Its local name is ( ps, تاژ ...

, was cloned at

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 Western University developed the first genetically modified, whole-killed HIV vaccine to be approved for testing in humans, called the SAV001-H. *

Nanomedicine Nanomedicine is the medical application of nanotechnology. Nanomedicine ranges from the medical applications of nanomaterials and biological devices, to nanoelectronic biosensors, and even possible future applications of molecular nanotechno ...

: Cheon Jinwoo of

Yonsei University Yonsei University (; ) is a private research university in Seoul, South Korea. As a member of the "SKY" universities, Yonsei University is deemed one of the three most prestigious institutions in the country. It is particularly respected in the ...

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). * 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 drug A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field and ...

s **

Gemifloxacin Gemifloxacin mesylate (trade name Factive, Oscient Pharmaceuticals) is an oral broad-spectrum quinolone antibacterial agent used in the treatment of acute bacterial exacerbation of chronic bronchitis and mild-to-moderate pneumonia. Vansen Ph ...

is a

fluoroquinolone A quinolone antibiotic is a member of a large group of broad-spectrum bacteriocidals that share a bicyclic core structure related to the substance 4-quinolone. They are used in human and veterinary medicine to treat bacterial infections, as we ...

antibiotic developed by LG Life Sciences that is used in the treatment of acute bacterial exacerbation of chronic

bronchitis Bronchitis is inflammation of the bronchi (large and medium-sized airways) in the lungs that causes coughing. Bronchitis usually begins as an infection in the nose, ears, throat, or sinuses. The infection then makes its way down to the bronchi. S ...

and mild-to-moderate

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severit ...

. ** Balofloxacin is an orally active fluoroquinolone antibiotic developed by Choongwae Pharma for the treatment of urinary tract infections. **

Tedizolid Tedizolid (formerly torezolid, trade name Sivextro), is an oxazolidinone-class antibiotic. Tedizolid phosphate is a phosphate ester prodrug of the active compound tedizolid. It was developed by Cubist Pharmaceuticals, following acquisition of T ...

is an

oxazolidinone 2-Oxazolidone is a heterocyclic organic compound containing both nitrogen and oxygen in a 5-membered ring. Oxazolidinones Evans auxiliaries Oxazolidinones are a class of compounds containing 2-oxazolidone in the structure. In chemistry, they are ...

antibiotic developed by Dong-A ST, the specialty pharmaceuticals arm of Dong-A Socio Holdings, to treat patients with acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections. **

Gemigliptin Gemigliptin ( rINN), sold under the brand name Zemiglo, is an oral anti-hyperglycemic agent (anti-diabetic drug) of the dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor (DPP-4 inhibitor) class of drugs. Glucose lowering effects of DPP-4 inhibitors are mainly me ...

is a

dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor Inhibitors of dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP-4 inhibitors or gliptins) are a class of oral hypoglycemics that block the enzyme dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4). They can be used to treat diabetes mellitus type 2. The first agent of the class – sit ...

developed by LG Life Sciences to treat hyperglycemia in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. **

Evogliptin Evogliptin ( INN; trade names Suganon, Evodine) is an antidiabetic drug in the dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitor or "gliptin" class of drugs. It was developed by the South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK) ...

is a dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor developed by Dong-A ST. **

Fimasartan Fimasartan is a non-peptide angiotensin II receptor antagonist (ARB) used for the treatment of hypertension and heart failure. Through oral administration, fimasartan blocks angiotensin II receptor type 1 (AT1 receptors), reducing pro-hypertensi ...

is a non-peptide

angiotensin II receptor antagonist Angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs), formally angiotensin II receptor type 1 (AT1) antagonists, also known as angiotensin receptor blockers, angiotensin II receptor antagonists, or AT1 receptor antagonists, are a group of pharmaceuticals tha ...

developed by Boryung Pharmaceutical to treat

hypertension Hypertension (HTN or HT), also known as high blood pressure (HBP), is a long-term medical condition in which the blood pressure in the arteries is persistently elevated. High blood pressure usually does not cause symptoms. Long-term high b ...

and

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, an ...

. ** Radotinib is a drug for the treatment of

chronic myeloid leukemia Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), also known as chronic myeloid leukemia, is a cancer of the white blood cells. It is a form of leukemia characterized by the increased and unregulated growth of myeloid cells in the bone marrow and the accumulat ...

, developed by Ilyang Pharmaceutical. ** Zabofloxacin is an investigational fluoroquinolone antibiotic to treat multidrug-resistant infections due to

gram-positive bacteria In bacteriology, gram-positive bacteria are bacteria that give a positive result in the Gram stain test, which is traditionally used to quickly classify bacteria into two broad categories according to their type of cell wall. Gram-positive ba ...

. It was discovered by Dong Wha Pharmaceuticals and licensed to Pacific Beach BioSciences for

development Development or developing may refer to: Arts *Development hell, when a project is stuck in development *Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting *Development (music), the process thematic material is reshaped *Photographi ...

. **

Udenafil The drug udenafil is marketed under the trade name Zydena. It is within the PDE5 inhibitor class (which also includes avanafil, sildenafil, tadalafil, and vardenafil). Like other PDE5 inhibitors, it is used to treat erectile dysfunction. Udena ...

is a

PDE5 inhibitor A phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor (PDE5 inhibitor) is a vasodilating drug that works by blocking the degradative action of cGMP-specific phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) on cyclic GMP in the smooth muscle cells lining the blood vessels supply ...

developed by Dong-A Pharmaceutical to treat

erectile dysfunction Erectile dysfunction (ED), also called impotence, is the type of sexual dysfunction in which the penis fails to become or stay erect during sexual activity. It is the most common sexual problem in men.Cunningham GR, Rosen RC. Overview of male ...

. ** Polmacoxib is a

nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) are members of a therapeutic drug class which reduces pain, decreases inflammation, decreases fever, and prevents blood clots. Side effects depend on the specific drug, its dose and duration of ...

developed by CrystalGenomics to treat

osteoarthritis Osteoarthritis (OA) is a type of degenerative joint disease that results from breakdown of joint cartilage and underlying bone which affects 1 in 7 adults in the United States. It is believed to be the fourth leading cause of disability in the ...

. ** Ilaprazole is a

proton pump inhibitor Proton-pump inhibitors (PPIs) are a class of medications that cause a profound and prolonged reduction of stomach acid production. They do so by irreversibly inhibiting the stomach's H+/K+ ATPase proton pump. They are the most potent inhibitors ...

developed by Ilyang Pharmaceutical to treat dyspepsia, peptic ulcer disease, gastroesophageal reflux disease, and duodenal ulcer.

Technology

Electronics

Metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor The metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET, MOS-FET, or MOS FET) is a type of field-effect transistor (FET), most commonly fabricated by the controlled oxidation of silicon. It has an insulated gate, the voltage of which d ...

(MOSFET) : In 1959,

Dawon Kahng Dawon Kahng ( ko, 강대원; May 4, 1931 – May 13, 1992) was a Korean-American electrical engineer and inventor, known for his work in solid-state electronics. He is best known for inventing the MOSFET (metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effe ...

and

Mohamed Atalla Mohamed M. Atalla ( ar, محمد عطاالله; August 4, 1924 – December 30, 2009) was an Egyptian-American engineer, physicist, cryptographer, inventor and entrepreneur. He was a semiconductor pioneer who made important contributions t ...

Bell Labs Nokia Bell Labs, originally named Bell Telephone Laboratories (1925–1984), then AT&T Bell Laboratories (1984–1996) and Bell Labs Innovations (1996–2007), is an American industrial research and scientific development company owned by mult ...

invented the metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET), a

semiconductor A semiconductor is a material which has an electrical conductivity value falling between that of a conductor, such as copper, and an insulator, such as glass. Its resistivity falls as its temperature rises; metals behave in the opposite way. ...

that is the basic element in most of today's

electronic equipment The field of electronics is a branch of physics and electrical engineering that deals with the emission, behaviour and effects of electrons using electronic devices. Electronics uses active devices to control electron flow by amplification a ...

. It is the basic building block of the Digital Revolution, and the most widely manufactured device in history. *

Floating-gate MOSFET The floating-gate MOSFET (FGMOS), also known as a floating-gate MOS transistor or floating-gate transistor, is a type of metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) where the gate is electrically isolated, creating a floating no ...

(FGMOS) :In 1967, Dawon Kahng and

Simon Min Sze Simon Min Sze, or Shi Min (; born 1936), is a Chinese-American electrical engineer. He is best known for inventing the floating-gate MOSFET with Korean electrical engineer Dawon Kahng in 1967. Biography Sze was born in Nanjing, Jiangsu, and grew ...

invented the floating-gate MOSFET, which provides the foundation for many forms of

semiconductor memory Semiconductor memory is a digital electronic semiconductor device used for digital data storage, such as computer memory. It typically refers to devices in which data is stored within metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) memory cells on a sil ...

devices. *

Synchronous dynamic random-access memory Synchronous dynamic random-access memory (synchronous dynamic RAM or SDRAM) is any DRAM where the operation of its external pin interface is coordinated by an externally supplied clock signal. DRAM integrated circuits (ICs) produced from the ...

(SDRAM) :The first commercial synchronous dynamic

random-access memory Random-access memory (RAM; ) is a form of computer memory that can be read and changed in any order, typically used to store working data and machine code. A random-access memory device allows data items to be read or written in almost the s ...

(SDRAM) was the

Samsung The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...

KM48SL2000

memory chip Semiconductor memory is a digital electronic semiconductor device used for digital data storage, such as computer memory. It typically refers to devices in which data is stored within metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) memory cells on a silic ...

. It was introduced by

Samsung Electronics Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (, sometimes shortened to SEC and stylized as SΛMSUNG) is a South Korean multinational electronics corporation headquartered in Yeongtong-gu, Suwon, South Korea. It is the pinnacle of the Samsung chaebol, a ...

in 1992, and mass-produced in 1993. * 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 A portable media player (PMP) (also including the related digital audio player (DAP)) is a portable consumer electronics device capable of storing and playing digital media such as audio, images, and video files. The data is typically stored o ...

: The world's first commercially available MP3 player, the MPMan, was launched by SaeHan Information Systems in 1997. * Graphics DDR SDRAM (GDDR SDRAM) : GDDR was initially known as DDR

SGRAM Synchronous dynamic random-access memory (synchronous dynamic RAM or SDRAM) is any DRAM where the operation of its external pin interface is coordinated by an externally supplied clock signal. DRAM integrated circuits (ICs) produced from the ea ...

(double data-rate synchronous graphics RAM). It was commercially introduced by Samsung Electronics in 1998. * MP3 phone : The first mobile phone to support MP3 playback, the SPH-M2100, was released by

in 1999. * TV phone : The world's first TV phone, the SCH-M220, was developed by Samsung in 1999. *

Tablet computer A tablet computer, commonly shortened to tablet, is a mobile device, typically with a mobile operating system and touchscreen display processing circuitry, and a rechargeable battery in a single, thin and flat package. Tablets, being compu ...

: 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. * Watch phone : The world's first watch phone, the SPH-WP10, was released by Samsung in 1999. * 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 Eye tracking is the process of measuring either the point of gaze (where one is looking) or the motion of an eye relative to the head. An eye tracker is a device for measuring eye positions and eye movement. Eye trackers are used in research ...

mouse that doesn't require users to wear special equipment, called the EyeCan, in 2012. * Touchscreen phone : The

LG Prada The LG KE850, also known as the LG Prada, is a touchscreen mobile phone made by LG Electronics. It was first announced on December 12, 2006 and was created in collaboration with Italian luxury designer Prada. It was made official in a press rele ...

is the world's first completely touchscreen mobile phone, and also the first mobile phone with a

capacitive touchscreen A touchscreen or touch screen is the assembly of both an input ('touch panel') and output ('display') device. The touch panel is normally layered on the top of an electronic visual display of an information processing system. The display is often ...

. * 5G smartphone : Samsung released the world's first 5G smartphone, the Galaxy S10 5G, in 2019. * 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 Indulge, in 2011. * Retina display : Apple's "Retina" display was invented by LG and bought by Apple. * 3D hologram : The world's first 360-degree color hologram was developed by the

Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute The Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute () is a Korean government-funded research institution in Daedeok Science Town in Daejeon, Republic of Korea. Overview Established in 1976, ETRI is a non-profit government-funded research i ...

in 2015. *

Universal Flash Storage Universal Flash Storage (UFS) is a flash storage specification for digital cameras, mobile phones and consumer electronic devices. It was designed to bring higher data transfer speed and increased reliability to flash memory storage, while reduci ...

: The world's first UFS memory cards were developed by Samsung. * Rollable keyboard : The world's first solid rollable keyboard was introduced by LG in 2015. *

Flexible battery Flexible batteries are batteries, both primary and secondary, that are designed to be conformal and flexible, unlike traditional rigid ones. They can maintain their characteristic shape even against continual bending or twisting. The increasin ...

: In 2012, researchers at

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 batteries A lithium-ion or Li-ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery which uses the reversible reduction of lithium ions to store energy. It is the predominant battery type used in portable consumer electronics and electric vehicles. It also see ...

. *

High Bandwidth Memory High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) is a high-speed computer memory interface for 3D-stacked synchronous dynamic random-access memory (SDRAM) initially from Samsung, AMD and SK Hynix. It is used in conjunction with high-performance graphics accelerato ...

: High Bandwidth Memory is a high-performance

RAM Ram, ram, or RAM may refer to: Animals * A male sheep * Ram cichlid, a freshwater tropical fish People * Ram (given name) * Ram (surname) * Ram (director) (Ramsubramaniam), an Indian Tamil film director * RAM (musician) (born 1974), Dutch * Raj ...

interface for 3D-stacked

DRAM Dynamic random-access memory (dynamic RAM or DRAM) is a type of random-access semiconductor memory that stores each bit of data in a memory cell, usually consisting of a tiny capacitor and a transistor, both typically based on metal-oxi ...

developed by

SK Hynix SK hynix Inc. is a South Korean supplier of dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) chips and flash memory chips. Hynix is the world's second-largest memory chipmaker (after Samsung Electronics) and the world's third-largest semiconductor company. ...

and

AMD Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) is an American multinational semiconductor company based in Santa Clara, California, that develops computer processors and related technologies for business and consumer markets. While it initially manufact ...

to be used in conjunction with high-performance graphics accelerators and network devices. * 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 in March 2014. * 3D nanoprinting pen : The first pen that performs 3D printing on the nanoscale was developed by Seongpil Hwang of

Korea University Korea University (KU, ) is a private research university in Seoul, South Korea, established in 1905. The university is included as one of the SKY universities, a popular acronym referring to Korea's three most prestigious universities. Th ...

in 2014.

Appliances

* Digital refrigerator : In 2000,

LG Electronics LG Electronics Inc. () is a South Korean multinational electronics company headquartered in Yeouido-dong, Seoul, South Korea. LG Electronics is a part of LG Corporation, the fourth largest ''chaebol'' in South Korea, and often considered as ...

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. * 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". * 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 A kimchi refrigerator is a refrigerator designed specifically to meet the storage requirements of kimchi and facilitate different fermentation processes. The kimchi refrigerator aims to be colder, with more consistent temperature, more humidit ...

: The kimchi refrigerator is designed to meet the storage requirements of

kimchi ''Kimchi'' (; ko, 김치, gimchi, ), is a traditional Korean side dish of salted and fermented vegetables, such as napa cabbage and Korean radish. A wide selection of seasonings are used, including ''gochugaru'' (Korean chili powder), sprin ...

. 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 A contactless smart card is a contactless credential whose dimensions are credit-card size. Its embedded integrated circuits can store (and sometimes process) data and communicate with a terminal via NFC. Commonplace uses include transit ticke ...

: Beginning in 1995,

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...

was the first city in the world to use contactless smart cards, for electronic ticketing. *

WiBro WiBro (''wireless broadband'') is a wireless broadband Internet technology developed by the South Korean telecoms industry. WiBro is the South Korean service name for IEEE 802.16e (mobile WiMAX) international standard. By the end of 2012, the ...

: Developed in 2005 by Samsung Electronics, WiBro, an abbreviation of wireless broadband, is the first commercial mobile

WiMax Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) is a family of wireless broadband communication standards based on the IEEE 802.16 set of standards, which provide physical layer (PHY) and media access control (MAC) options. The WiMA ...

system in the world. In April 2007, 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 Homeplus () is a Korean discount store retail chain running about 140 branches with 25,000 employees throughout South Korea. Homeplus is the second largest retailer in South Korea, behind Shinsegae Group's e-mart chain. Homeplus operates its ...

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. * 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 SK Telecom Co., Ltd. ( or ) is a South Korean wireless telecommunications operator and former film distributor and is part of the SK Group, one of the country's largest chaebols. It leads the local market with 50.5 percent share as of 2008. S ...

. It was developed in 2001 by the Korean firm Witcom. * 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

and introduced in 2004, HUBO is the world's second walking

humanoid robot A humanoid robot is a robot resembling the human body in shape. The design may be for functional purposes, such as interacting with human tools and environments, for experimental purposes, such as the study of bipedal locomotion, or for other pur ...

, and the first to move with a natural gait. *

EveR-1 Ever may refer to: * Ever (artist), creator of street art, from Buenos Aires, Argentina * Ever, Kentucky * -ever, an English suffix added to interrogative words in forms like ''wherever'' * KT Tech EVER, a South Korean mobile phone manufacture ...

: Developed by a team at the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology and introduced in May 2003, EveR-1 is the world's second 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 : Developed by a team at

Korea Institute of Science and Technology Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic of ...

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 Kyonggi University (KGU; ) is an accredited, private higher education institution, established in 1947. KGU has over 17,000 students in majors in undergraduate and graduate programs on two campuses. The main campus is in Suwon, located 30 miles f ...

, the robot prison guard uses 3D cameras to detect abnormal human behavior patterns. *Manned bipedal robot : South Korea's Method-2 is the world's first manned bipedal robot. * Ciliary microrobot : Hongsoo Choi's research team at the

Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST) (Korean: 대구경북과학기술원) is a public science and engineering university located in Daegu Technopolis, Daegu, South Korea. DGIST is one of the four public universities in S ...

developed the world's first ciliary microrobots, that can move and function like single cells. * Cancer-fighting nanobot : Scientists at the

Chonnam National University Chonnam National University (CNU) is one of ten Flagship Korean National Universities located in Gwangju and South Jeolla Province, South Korea. In March 2006, Yeosu National University merged with Chonnam National University to become a satellit ...

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. * 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 The thyroid, or thyroid gland, is an endocrine gland in vertebrates. In humans it is in the neck and consists of two connected lobes. The lower two thirds of the lobes are connected by a thin band of tissue called the thyroid isthmus. The ...

without scarring the neck.

Entertainment technology

* 4DX : Developed by South Korean conglomerate

CJ Group CJ Group () is a South Korean conglomerate holding company and one of the largest Chaebol headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous businesses in various industries of food and food service, pharmaceutics and biotechnology, ente ...

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. * Cinema LED screen : The world's first commercial cinema LED screen was developed by

and installed in the Super S auditorium at the

Lotte World Tower The Lotte World Tower () is a 123-story Megatall skyscraper located in Sincheon-dong, Songpa, Seoul, South Korea. It opened to the public on April 3, 2017, and is currently the tallest building in South Korea and the sixth tallest in the worl ...

in Seoul. The screen is 10.3 meters wide and runs at

4K resolution 4K resolution refers to a horizontal display resolution of approximately 4,000 pixels. Digital television and digital cinematography commonly use several different 4K resolutions. In television and consumer media, 38402160 (4K UHD) is the domi ...

, 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 An Internet café, also known as a cybercafé, is a café (or a convenience store or a fully dedicated Internet access business) that provides the use of computers with high bandwidth Internet access on the payment of a fee. Usage is generall ...

: In 1988, an archaic type of cybercafé called the "Electronic Café" was opened in front of

Hongik University Hongik University (, colloquially ''Hongdae'') is a private university in Seoul, South Korea. Founded by an activist in 1946, the university is located in Mapo-gu district of central Seoul, South Korea with a second campus(branch campus) in S ...

by Ahn Sangsu and Keum Nuri. It had two 16-bit computers connected to an

online service provider An online service provider (OSP) can, for example, be an Internet service provider, an email provider, a news provider (press), an entertainment provider (music, movies), a search engine, an e-commerce site, an online banking site, a health site, ...

through a telephone line. The first modern Internet café in Korea was opened in 1994. Korean Internet cafés, called

PC bang A PC bang (Korean: PC방; literally " PC room") is a type of LAN gaming center in South Korea, where patrons can play multiplayer computer games for an hourly fee. The typical cost for an hour of play ranges from 500 to 1500 KRW (approximately ...

s, are also

LAN gaming center A LAN Gaming Center is a business where one can use a computer connected over a LAN to other computers, primarily for the purpose of playing multiplayer computer games. Use of these computers or game consoles costs a fee, usually per hour ...

s, and boomed during the late 1990s thanks to the growth of the Internet and gaming cultures. *

MMORPG A massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) is a video game that combines aspects of a role-playing video game and a massively multiplayer online game. As in role-playing games (RPGs), the player assumes the role of a Player charac ...

: 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. * Question-and-answer platform :

Naver Naver (Hangul: 네이버) is a South Korean online platform operated by the Naver Corporation. It was launched in 1999 as the first web portal in South Korea to develop and use its own search engine. It was also the world's first operator to ...

, 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! Yahoo! (, styled yahoo''!'' in its logo) is an American web services provider. It is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California and operated by the namesake company Yahoo Inc., which is 90% owned by investment funds managed by Apollo Global Mana ...

launched

Yahoo! Answers Yahoo! Answers was a community-driven question-and-answer (Q&A) website or knowledge market owned by Yahoo! where users would ask questions and answer those submitted by others, and upvote them to increase their visibility. Questions were org ...

, 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 ''MapleStory'' () is a free-to-play, 2D, side-scrolling massively multiplayer online role-playing game, developed by South Korean company Wizet. Several versions of the game are available for specific countries or regions, published by vari ...

'', a side-scrolling MMORPG, in June 2004. Such tickets were sold at the price of 100

Japanese yen The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third-most traded currency in the foreign exchange market, after the United States dollar (US$) and the euro. It is also widely used as a third reserve currency after the US dollar and the ...

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 A national intranet is an Internet protocol-based walled garden network maintained by a nation state as a national substitute for the global Internet, with the aim of controlling and monitoring the communications of its inhabitants, as well as r ...

: North Korea's Kwangmyong is generally considered the first national intranet, launched in 2000. *

eSports Esports, short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games. Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional sports, professional players, individually or as ...

: The first eSports league in the field of online gaming started in Korea in 1997. In December 1997,

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 South Korea's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) is a central government agency responsible for the areas of tourism, culture, art, religion, and sports. It has two vice ministers, three assistant ministers, one commission, and ...

in February 2000 when he inaugurated the Korea e-Sports Association. OGN was the first online game specialty channel in the world, and opened the world's first eSports dedicated stadium. *

Social networking service A social networking service or SNS (sometimes called a social networking site) is an online platform which people use to build social networks or social relationships with other people who share similar personal or career content, interests, ac ...

: South Korea's

Cyworld Cyworld () is a South Korean social network service. Cyworld was originally part of SK communication, and became an independent company in 2014. Members cultivate relationships by forming ''Ilchon'' (, Hanja: ) or "friendships" with each other ...

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 Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dust ...

and Myspace. *

Free-to-play Free-to-play (F2P or FtP) video games are games that give players access to a significant portion of their content without paying or do not require paying to continue playing. Free-to-play is distinct from traditional commercial software, which ...

: 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 Quizquiz or Quisquis was, along with Chalcuchimac and Rumiñawi, one of Atahualpa's leading generals. In April 1532, along with his companions, Quizquiz led the armies of Atahualpa to victory in the battles of Mullihambato, Chimborazo and ...

, released in October 1999, and made by Lee Seungchan, who would go on to create

. *

Webtoon Webtoons (), are a type of digital comic that originated in South Korea usually meant to be read on smartphones. While webtoons were mostly unknown outside of Korea during their inception, there has been a surge in popularity internationally ...

: In 2003, Daum launched the "Webtoon" digital platform, creating a new form of

manhwa (; ) is the general Korean term for comics and print cartoons. Outside Korea, the term usually refers to South Korean comics. is greatly influenced by Japanese Manga comics. Modern Manhwa has extended its reach to many other countries. ...

(comics) that utilizes major characteristics of digital technologies. According to the

Korea Creative Content Agency The Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) is a South Korean government agency which is affiliated with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and is charged with governing cultural content. As part of its partnership the Export-Import Bank ...

, "Webtoons are not simply scanned versions of print comics. It’s a whole new, different genre tailored for the Internet age." *

Mukbang A mukbang or meokbang ( ko, 먹방, ), also known as an eating show, is an online audiovisual broadcast in which a host consumes various quantities of food while interacting with the audience. It became popular in South Korea in 2010, and has s ...

: 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 Internet culture is a culture based on the many way people have used computer networks and their use for communication, entertainment, business, and recreation. Some features of Internet culture include online communities, gaming, and social medi ...

began on

AfreecaTV AfreecaTV ( ko, 아프리카TV, short for "Any FREE broadCAsting") () is a P2P technology-based video streaming service. It is now owned and operated by AfreecaTV Co., Ltd. in South Korea after Nowcom's AfreecaTV Co., Ltd and ZettaMedia split in ...

in 2009. *

Citizen journalism Citizen journalism, also known as collaborative media, participatory journalism, democratic journalism, guerrilla journalism or street journalism, is based upon public citizens "playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, a ...

: Launched in 2000,

OhmyNews OhmyNews (Hangul: 오마이뉴스) is a South Korean online news website with the motto "Every Citizen is a Reporter". It was founded by Oh Yeon Ho on February 22, 2000. It is the first news website in Korea to accept, edit and publish artic ...

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 Presidential elections were held in South Korea on 19 December 2002. The result was a victory for Roh Moo-Hyun of the ruling Millennium Democratic Party, who defeated Lee Hoi-chang of the Grand National Party by just over half a million votes. ...

, and is considered one of the country's most influential media outlets. *

Stickers A sticker is a type of label: a piece of printed paper, plastic, vinyl, or other material with temporary or permanent pressure sensitive adhesive on one side. It can be used for decoration or for functional purposes, depending on the situation. ...

: Developed by

for its

LINE Line most often refers to: * Line (geometry), object with zero thickness and curvature that stretches to infinity * Telephone line, a single-user circuit on a telephone communication system Line, lines, The Line, or LINE may also refer to: Art ...

instant messaging app in Japan, stickers are large detailed

emoticon An emoticon (, , rarely , ), short for "emotion icon", also known simply as an emote, is a pictorial representation of a facial expression using characters—usually punctuation marks, numbers, and letters—to express a person's feelings, ...

s 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. * 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. * 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 Platform :The earliest live streaming platform known outside of Korea was Livestream, launched in 2007. However,

was launched in 2005 making it the first live streaming platform in the world.

Traditional games

Yut Yut Nori, also known as Yunnori, Nyout, and Yoot, is a traditional board game played in Korea, especially during Korean New Year. The game is also called ''cheok-sa'' or ''sa-hee''. The combining-form ''-nori'' means 'game'. Although the origins ...

: ''Yut'' is an ancient Korean board game that is still played to this day, especially on ''

Seollal Seollal () is a festival and national holiday commemorating the first day of the Chinese lunisolar calendar. It is one of the most important traditional holidays in both North and South Korea. The celebration usually lasts three days: the day ...

''. *

Polyhedral dice Dice (singular die or dice) are small, throwable objects with marked sides that can rest in multiple positions. They are used for generating random values, commonly as part of tabletop games, including dice games, board games, role-playing ga ...

: ''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 ''Madiao'' (), also ''ma diao'', ''ma tiu'' or ''ma tiao'', is a late imperial Chinese trick-taking gambling card game, also known as the game of ''paper tiger''. The deck used was recorded by Lu Rong in the 15th century and the rules later by Pa ...

, 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 Taekkyon, Taekgyeon, Taekkyeon, or Taekyun (Korean: 태껸/ 택견/ 托肩, ) is a traditional Korean martial art. It is characterized by fluid, dynamic foot movement called "''pum balki''" or Stepping-on-Triangles. Taekkyon includes hands an ...

: 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

Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity UNESCO established its Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage with the aim of ensuring better protection of important intangible cultural heritages worldwide and the awareness of their significance.Compare: This list is published by the Intergover ...

in 2011. *

Ssireum ''Ssireum'' (Hangul: ) or Korean wrestling is a folk wrestling style and traditional national sport of Korea that began in the fourth century. In the modern form each contestant wears only a belt (satba) that wraps around the waist and the th ...

: 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 Jokgu (namely Korean-style footvolley) is a sport which combines aspects of association football and volleyball. History Jokgu was invented by members of the Republic of Korea Air Force in 1960 as a way to promote exercise on military bases. Jok ...

: Inspired by the Southeast Asian sport

sepak takraw Sepak takraw, or Sepaktakraw, also called kick volleyball, is a team sport played with a ball made of rattan or synthetic plastic between two teams of two to four players on a court resembling a badminton court. It is similar to volleyball and ...

, ''jokgu'' is a modern sport invented in 1960 by members of the

Republic of Korea Air Force The Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF; ko, 대한민국 공군; RR: ''Daehanminguk Gong-gun''), also known as the ROK Air Force or South Korean Air Force, is the aerial warfare service branch of South Korea, operating under the Ministry of N ...

's 11th Fighter Wing that combines aspects of

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

and

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

. *Jangchigi : ''Jangchigi'', originally called ''dobogyeokdo'', is a traditional

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

-like sport that dates back to the

Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and was followed by the West ...

period. It is related to ''masanggyeokgu'', a traditional

polo Polo is a ball game played on horseback, a traditional field sport and one of the world's oldest known team sports. The game is played by two opposing teams with the objective of scoring using a long-handled wooden mallet to hit a small ha ...

-like sport that also dates back to the Three Kingdoms period. *

Taekwondo ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean martial arts, Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast k ...

: Created in 1955, taekwondo has become the

national sport A national sport is considered to be an intrinsic part of the culture of a nation. Some sports are ''de facto'' (not established by law) national sports, as sumo is in Japan and Gaelic games are in Ireland and field hockey in Pakistan, while othe ...

of South Korea and an official Olympic sport since the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

. Taekwondo is based on ''

taekkyeon Taekkyon, Taekgyeon, Taekkyeon, or Taekyun (Korean: 태껸/ 택견/ 托肩, ) is a traditional Korean martial art. It is characterized by fluid, dynamic foot movement called "''pum balki''" or Stepping-on-Triangles. Taekkyon includes hands an ...

'' and

Shotokan is a style of karate, developed from various martial arts by Gichin Funakoshi (1868–1957) and his son Gigo (Yoshitaka) Funakoshi (1906–1945). Gichin Funakoshi was born in Okinawa and is widely credited with popularizing "karate do" throug ...

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 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 ...

by Kim Pil-gon in 1962. Since then, the Italy towel has become a household item in Korean homes and a staple item in Korean saunas. The Korean exfoliating mitt was named the Italy towel because the

viscose Rayon is a semi-synthetic fiber, made from natural sources of regenerated cellulose, such as wood and related agricultural products. It has the same molecular structure as cellulose. It is also called viscose. Many types and grades of viscose ...

fabric used to make it was imported from

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

at the time. * 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 {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top:{ ...

. 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. * 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 The Korean won ( ko, 원 (圓), ) or Korean Empire won ( Korean: 대한제국 원), was the official currency of the Korean Empire between 1902 and 1910. It was subdivided into 100 ''jeon'' (; ko, 전 (錢), ). Etymology Won is a ...

, 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 A circle contact lens, also known as a big eye contact lens and circle lens, is a cosmetic (non-corrective and decorative) contact lens that makes the eye's iris appear larger. It has become a trend throughout East, South and Southeast Asia and i ...

: 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, sometimes known as bambams, are long, narrow plastic balloons that are used as promotional noise makers. The noise is created when two thundersticks are struck together. They are most often used at sporting events. Origin and p ...

: 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 LG Corporation (or LG Group) (), formerly Lucky-Goldstar from 1983 to 1995 (Korean: ''Leokki Geumseong''; ), is a South Korean multinational conglomerate founded by Koo In-hwoi and managed by successive generations of his family. It is t ...

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

. * 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. * Ice-breaking

LNG carrier An LNG carrier is a tank ship designed for transporting liquefied natural gas (LNG). History The first LNG carrier '' Methane Pioneer'' () carrying , classed by Bureau Veritas, left the Calcasieu River on the Louisiana Gulf coast on 25 January ...

: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. * Drive-through COVID-19 testing :South Korea pioneered the coronavirus drive-through testing system in the city of

Goyang Goyang (''Goyang-si''; ) is a city in Gyeonggi Province in the north of South Korea. It is part of the Seoul Capital Area, making Goyang one of Seoul's satellite cities. It is one of the largest cities in the Seoul Capital Area, with a popula ...

in 2020, during the middle of the

COVID-19 Pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

References

External links

Guide to Korean Culture 2016
{{Inventions Inventions and innovations

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 ** ...

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