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Science in South Korea

South Korea ranks #11 of 192 countries on research quality in 2022–2025 (#15 all time), with 358k research works and 18.2% of them in the world's top 10%.

World rank, 2022–2025
#11
of 192 · #15 all time
Works, 2022–2025
358k
▲ 3% vs 2013–17
Top-10% rate
18.2%
record average 16.5%
In the world top 100
0
20 in the top 1,000
Open access
43%
world 63%

What is South Korea strongest at in science?

On research quality in 2022–2025, South Korea ranks highest in Engineering (#6 of 134), Nursing (#3 of 65) and Materials Chemistry (#4 of 74). Relative to its size it is most specialised in Leadership and Management, Polymers and Plastics and Electrical and Electronic Engineering.

FieldWorld rankWhere that sitsTop-10% rateWorks
EngineeringField #6 of 134 17.4%77,657 Institutions
NursingField #3 of 65 19.4%2,748 Institutions
Materials ChemistrySubfield #4 of 74 16.8%11,986 Institutions
Materials ScienceField #5 of 90 17.3%21,964 Institutions
Electrical and Electronic EngineeringSubfield #5 of 89 16.3%26,932 Institutions
Biomedical EngineeringSubfield #5 of 81 17.7%12,659 Institutions
Computer ScienceField #9 of 131 20.4%29,645 Institutions
Aerospace EngineeringSubfield #5 of 67 32.0%5,760 Institutions
Polymers and PlasticsSubfield #4 of 48 19.1%3,156 Institutions
MedicineField #13 of 155 15.2%86,581 Institutions
Electronic, Optical and Magnetic MaterialsSubfield #4 of 47 17.2%3,359 Institutions
BiomaterialsSubfield #5 of 51 20.8%2,250 Institutions

Where its research is concentrated

Location quotient: how much more — or less — of each node it does than its size predicts. Drawn around 1×, where “twice the world share” and “half of it” are the same distance apart in opposite directions. A volume reading, which on a country axis is largely population and industrial structure.

  1. Leadership and ManagementSubfield · 594.1 works11×
  2. Polymers and PlasticsSubfield · 3,156.1 works2.2×
  3. Electrical and Electronic EngineeringSubfield · 26,931.8 works2.1×
  4. BioengineeringSubfield · 490.5 works2.1×
  5. Electronic, Optical and Magnetic MaterialsSubfield · 3,359.2 works2.1×
  6. TransplantationSubfield · 320.5 works2.0×
  7. Sensory SystemsSubfield · 537.5 works2.0×
  8. HepatologySubfield · 1,307.3 works1.9×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

The whole field profile

All 26 fields at once. A specialist and a generalist produce the same ranked list and a completely different shape.

Agricultural and Biological Sciences: 0.77× its world share, 13k worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 1.30× its world share, 25k worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 1.11× its world share, 4,001 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 1.31× its world share, 7,634 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 1.33× its world share, 1,681 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 1.65× its world share, 2,067 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.94× its world share, 5,271 worksChemistryComputer Science: 1.06× its world share, 30k worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 0.75× its world share, 4,206 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 1.45× its world share, 4,767 worksEnergyEngineering: 1.45× its world share, 78k worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.82× its world share, 15k worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 1.76× its world share, 22k worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.76× its world share, 3,199 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 0.95× its world share, 7,572 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 1.31× its world share, 2,276 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 0.66× its world share, 6,247 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 1.26× its world share, 87k worksMedicineNursing: 1.57× its world share, 2,748 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.99× its world share, 483 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 0.25× its world share, 2,576 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.47× its world share, 5,458 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 0.72× its world share, 2,491 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.55× its world share, 4,234 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.72× its world share, 7,828 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.32× its world share, 15k worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Materials Science, 1.8×. Every wedge is a field page.

Which keywords describe research in South Korea?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Deep Learning, Epidemiology, Inflammation, Nanomaterials, Energy Storage, Biomedical Applications, Neural Networks and Machine Learning.

▲ more of its work than of the world’s◆ about the world’s share▼ less than the world’s

Size is fractional works in 2022–2025 in the topics tagged with each word; colour is the word's share of this country's work against its share of the world's. The 40 words are chosen for being large and distinctive. Each links to the topic it comes from most.

All 40 words, with their numbers
  1. Deep Learning16k▲ 1.35×85 topics
  2. Epidemiology15k◆ 1.09×140 topics
  3. Inflammation11k▲ 1.49×83 topics
  4. Machine Learning11k◆ 0.93×97 topics
  5. Neural Networks8,009▲ 1.45×42 topics
  6. Oxidative Stress7,842▲ 1.34×63 topics
  7. Nanomaterials7,538▲ 1.99×21 topics
  8. Biomedical Applications7,531▲ 1.77×36 topics
  9. Cancer6,541▲ 1.36×59 topics
  10. Nanoparticles6,167▲ 1.37×44 topics
  11. Quality of Life6,121▲ 1.19×60 topics
  12. Energy Storage6,049▲ 2.6×13 topics
  13. Cardiovascular Disease5,443▲ 1.37×39 topics
  14. Nanocomposites5,431▲ 1.88×22 topics
  15. Environmental Impact5,043▼ 0.83×74 topics
  16. Graphene5,037▲ 2.0×12 topics
  17. Treatment4,890◆ 1.13×52 topics
  18. Cathode Materials4,778▲ 3.4×3 topics
  19. Tissue Engineering4,420▲ 2.0×13 topics
  20. Mechanical Properties4,021▲ 1.16×39 topics
  21. Energy Efficiency4,009▲ 1.19×46 topics
  22. Convolutional Neural Networks3,944▲ 1.50×14 topics
  23. Lithium-ion Batteries3,888▲ 2.6×4 topics
  24. Chemotherapy3,788▲ 1.51×25 topics
  25. Metabolic Syndrome3,759▲ 1.29×24 topics
  26. Metal-Organic Frameworks3,571▲ 2.4×6 topics
  27. Rechargeable Batteries3,234▲ 3.3×2 topics
  28. Biosensors3,176▲ 1.72×12 topics
  29. Nanostructures2,961▲ 2.1×17 topics
  30. Water Splitting2,935▲ 2.2×4 topics
  31. Semiconductors2,884▲ 2.6×6 topics
  32. Flexible Electronics2,641▲ 4.3×3 topics
  33. Nanocrystals2,599▲ 2.7×5 topics
  34. Self-Efficacy2,595▲ 2.7×11 topics
  35. Solar Cells2,213▲ 3.0×7 topics
  36. Energy Harvesting2,176▲ 3.4×3 topics
  37. Battery Materials2,059▲ 3.4×1 topic
  38. Nanostructured Anodes2,059▲ 3.4×1 topic
  39. Neuromorphic Computing1,941▲ 4.7×2 topics
  40. Lifestyle1,396▲ 12×3 topics

How many world-class institutions does South Korea hold?

Average quality and elite capacity disagree by construction, and both are worth knowing: the first is decided by a country’s whole institution population, the second counts the institutions it holds at the top. One square per institution.

101st to 500th11501st to 1,000th9

Bands are exclusive, so the squares add up to 20 — the institutions it holds in the world top 1,000 — and not to four times it.

Which universities in South Korea lead research?

Seoul National University, Yonsei University and Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology rank highest in South Korea on research quality in 2022–2025.

0%20%40%mean 22.9667%fractional works (log) →share in the world top 10% →Seoul National University: 16k, 20.0%Yonsei University: 15k, 20.9%Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology: 9,577, 23.6%Sungkyunkwan University: 11k, 21.4%Korea University: 11k, 23.7%Kyung Hee University: 7,377, 23.5%Hanyang University: 8,505, 21.3%Yeungnam University: 4,397, 26.8%Gachon University: 4,503, 28.0%Institute for Basic Science: 1,619, 28.4%Pohang University of Science and Technology: 4,281, 21.1%Kyungpook National University: 7,089, 18.4%Sejong University: 3,792, 29.8%Pusan National University: 6,307, 17.4%Ewha Womans University: 4,076, 20.2%Korea Advanced Insti…Sungkyunkwan Univers…Yonsei UniversitySeoul National Unive…
above the meannear itbelow it

One dot per institution in the list below. The upper left is the interesting corner.

  1. 1Seoul National UniversityUniversity · Seoul · #147 worldwide20.0% top 10% · 16k works
  2. 2Yonsei UniversityUniversity · Seoul · #155 worldwide20.9% top 10% · 15k works
  3. 3Korea Advanced Institute of Science and TechnologyUniversity · Daejeon · #165 worldwide23.6% top 10% · 9.6k works
  4. 4Sungkyunkwan UniversityUniversity · Seoul · #190 worldwide21.4% top 10% · 11k works
  5. 5Korea UniversityUniversity · Seoul · #227 worldwide23.7% top 10% · 11k works
  6. 6Kyung Hee UniversityUniversity · Seoul · #318 worldwide23.5% top 10% · 7.4k works
  7. 7Hanyang UniversityUniversity · Seoul · #339 worldwide21.3% top 10% · 8.5k works
  8. 8Yeungnam UniversityUniversity · Daegu · #423 worldwide26.8% top 10% · 4.4k works
  9. 9Gachon UniversityUniversity · Seongnam-si · #449 worldwide28.0% top 10% · 4.5k works
  10. 10Institute for Basic ScienceResearch facility · Daejeon · #477 worldwide28.4% top 10% · 1.6k works
  11. 11Pohang University of Science and TechnologyUniversity · Pohang · #499 worldwide21.1% top 10% · 4.3k works
  12. 12Kyungpook National UniversityUniversity · Daegu · #526 worldwide18.4% top 10% · 7.1k works
  13. 13Sejong UniversityUniversity · Seoul · #566 worldwide29.8% top 10% · 3.8k works
  14. 14Pusan National UniversityUniversity · Busan · #637 worldwide17.4% top 10% · 6.3k works
  15. 15Ewha Womans UniversityUniversity · Seoul · #678 worldwide20.2% top 10% · 4.1k works

The track on each row is its top-10% rate; the tick is the world’s rate in this record, 16.5% — teal above it, red below.

All ranked institutions in South Korea

Who are the top researchers in South Korea?

Kyong Soo Park, Young‐Eun Kim and Dong‐Wan Kim rank highest among researchers based in South Korea.

  1. 1 Kyong Soo Park · #1,630 worldwide 1.9k citations · 136 works
  2. 2 Young‐Eun Kim · #1,721 worldwide 2.8k citations · 79 works
  3. 3 Dong‐Wan Kim · #2,639 worldwide 1.4k citations · 82 works
  4. 4 Myung‐Ju Ahn · #3,433 worldwide 1.6k citations · 163 works
  5. 5 In‐Hwan Oh · #3,469 worldwide 4.8k citations · 63 works
  6. 6 Myoung‐don Oh · #3,752 worldwide 1.3k citations · 67 works
  7. 7 Ji‐Youn Han · #4,012 worldwide 1.1k citations · 68 works
  8. 8 Seok‐Jun Yoon · #4,239 worldwide 4.2k citations · 60 works
  9. 9 Jin Mo Goo · #4,359 worldwide 678 citations · 87 works
  10. 10 Quoc‐Viet Pham · #5,410 worldwide 885 citations · 73 works
Top researchers in South Korea

Which cities in South Korea are research hubs?

  1. 1 Seoul South Korea 806k works
  2. 2 Daejeon South Korea 215k works
  3. 3 Busan South Korea 97k works
  4. 4 Daegu South Korea 84k works
  5. 5 Gwangju South Korea 61k works
  6. 6 Incheon South Korea 45k works
  7. 7 Ulsan South Korea 44k works
  8. 8 Seongnam-si South Korea 40k works
  9. 9 Jeonju South Korea 39k works
  10. 10 Suwon South Korea 38k works
  11. 11 Pohang South Korea 34k works
  12. 12 Chuncheon South Korea 29k works

How much of it is in the largest

The same cities as shares of everything these twelve account for.

Seoul: 52.6%Daejeon: 14.1%Busan: 6.3%Daegu: 5.5%8 others listed: 21.5%53%largest
Seoul806k · 52.6%Daejeon215k · 14.1%Busan97k · 6.3%Daegu84k · 5.5%8 others listed330k · 21.5%

Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.

How open and international is South Korea's research?

43% of its research is openly available (world: 40%), and 17% is written with international co-authors (world: 18%).

openly available43.5%not open56.5%

World: 63% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors16.7%domestic only83.3%

World: 22% is written across borders.

How has South Korea's research grown?

Output in 2018–2022 was 3% higher than in 2013–2017.

1990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Research fields in South Korea