Since its founding in 2011, the Institute for Basic Science (IBS) in South Korea has largely lived up to its ambitious goals. It has attracted top scientists, produced world-class science, and made inroads in internationalizing the country’s research community. For continued success, however, the IBS must win over both the country’s other scientists and its current politicians and convince them that the big federal investment in a relatively small number of investigators is worthwhile.
When the IBS was created, South Korea had an impressive track record in applied science and manufacturing; the auto and electronics industries are examples. In launching the new initiative, the country’s then president Myung-bak Lee noted that countries at the forefront of science “have generated colossal national wealth on the strength of the achievements of basic research.” He said that for South Korea to “emerge as an advanced, leading nation … we need to become a...
