Korea's First Digital Age: The 1980s Tech Boom

While previous episodes covered the heavy industry and political turbulence of Park Chung-hee’s era, this episode explores how South Korea pivoted from steel to silicon. We trace the origins of the nation’s digital infrastructure in the 1980s, focusing on the Electronic Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) and the controversial yet visionary decision to mandate computer literacy in schools. Lucas and Luna examine the engineers who built the first domestic microprocessors and the government’s aggressive push to create a 'Information Superhighway' long before it was a global trend. Listeners will encounter key figures like Dr. Kim Woo-joong and the strategic role of the Ministry of Science and Technology in fostering the chaebol ecosystem that would later dominate global electronics. This story highlights the human cost and technical ingenuity behind the transition from an agrarian society to a digital powerhouse, revealing the specific policies and engineering breakthroughs that laid the groundwork for modern Korea.

#SouthKoreaHistory #DigitalMiracle #ETRI #KimDaeJung #Chaebol #TechHistory #EastAsia #Microprocessor #MinistryOfScience #HangukElectronics #KAIST #1980sKorea #ComputerLiteracy #SemiconductorIndustry #IndustrialPolicy #FexingoHistory #History #EngineeringHistory

Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo (buymeacoffee.com/fexingo)