Materials research activities in Korea

Research and development on materials has emerged globally from the urgency for advanced materials to meet the challenges of the 21st century. Research activities have been continuously intensified in both academic and research institutes around the world and Korea has been no exception. MRS-Korea has been recently formed with the support of MRS-Japan and -USA. The global efforts in MR activities have been intensive, and paved the way for the MRS-international campaign. Current materials research in Korea encompasses mainly advanced materials (bulk, single crystals and thin film oxides, metals, and composites) as opposed to traditional materials (clay, metals, less refined materials). This article outlines the MR activities in Korea, for the benefit of MRS-international, and gives a brief history with emphasis on scientific programs. In the research community, the recent trend of MR activities has been moving towards cooperative research such as through industry-university, industry-institute, university-institute, and triads, industry-institute-university. Such types of activities are often referred to as consortium approaches, and are currently very popular throughout the world. Examples of such activities are given and the pros and cons of each system are discussed.