[Future Wave] On the Path to Korea's Nobel Prize... The Time of Accumulation and Discovery

Every October, when the announcement of Nobel Prize winners begins, Korean society is swept by a peculiar mix of frustration and inferiority. The question, "Why have we failed to win a Nobel Prize in science again?" is inevitably repeated. Countless analyses and editorials follow, but the core issue remains simple: while we have achieved world-class capabilities in 'development,' we have yet to fully internalize the rhythm of 'discovery' that opens new frontiers of knowledge.

The Nobel Prize is far removed from immediacy. Typically, the honor is awarded 20 to 30 years after the original research discovery. This means that a long period of accumulation and validation is required. Japan's experience illustrates this well. Hideki Yukawa won Japan's first Nobel Prize in science in 1949, 80 years after the Meiji Restoration (1868), and the number of laureates surged in the 21st century. Of the 27 Japanese Nobel laureates in science, 22 have emerged since the 2000s. Once Japan's accumulated scientific and technological prowess surpassed a critical threshold after more than a century, a cascade of 'discovery narratives' began to unfold.

Korea, too, has walked nearly 80 years of 'accumulation' since liberation. Our world-leading competitiveness in advanced engineering fields such as semiconductors, batteries, and displays is the direct result of this accumulation. Now, what is needed is to design and implement a system that connects this accumulated strength to the kind of 'discovery' that the Nobel Prize recognizes.

To leap from a 'nation of development' to a 'nation of discovery,' three gears must mesh simultaneously. First, we must properly balance our research portfolio. We need to boldly increase the proportion of long-term, high-risk, exploratory basic research and strengthen the links that transform industrial challenges into basic scientific questions.

Next, the philosophy of evaluation and incentives must shift from a focus on speed and quantity to one centered on quality and impact, while ensuring researchers have sufficient autonomy. Only when failure is tolerated and opportunities for retrying are institutionalized can bold challenges truly take place.

Finally, we must guarantee the continuity of research funding. Large-scale equipment and long-term research projects are difficult to restore once interrupted. When at least three to five years of visibility and stable support for decade-long programs are secured, researchers can take risks without fear and immerse themselves in profound research.

Above all, to win a Nobel Prize, we must summon the spirit of originality. Scientific progress begins not with shallow imitation of trends, but by establishing new concepts and frameworks that go beyond conventional wisdom and methods. It is not 'safe imitation,' but 'risk-taking emergence' that should define our academic attitude.

We have already knocked on the door of the Nobel Prize in peace and literature. Winning in science requires even more time and a more sophisticated ecosystem. Fortunately, Korea lacks neither the total resources nor the will. When the realignment of research portfolios, the transformation of evaluation philosophy, and the assurance of sustained funding come together, the seeds sown in the 1990s and 2000s will yield a 'harvest of discovery' in the early to mid-2030s. The Nobel Prize is not a goal, but a result. To change the result, we must change the process. From a nation of engineering to a nation of discovery.

Suh Yongseok, Professor at KAIST MoonSoul Graduate School of Future Strategy