South Korea, influenced by U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower's “Atoms for Peace” agenda, began its nuclear program in the mid-1950s. While the United States provided a significant amount of assistance to the budding South Korean program, the most important advantages were the general advices given regarding the procedure of importing a nuclear reactor as well as $350,000 in matching funds for its purchase.
Choosing the type of reactor and its location in South Korea were the most critical decisions during this process. At the same time, however, these were the issues on which the two countries held conflicting opinions. In the hope of encouraging the rapid development of its nuclear program, the South Korean government tried to import an advanced high power nuclear reactor for its technical ability, and it desired to place it in a remote, nonurban area. The United States, on the other hand, regarded this idea as illogical, and suggested situating a smaller reactor close to several universities in Seoul so that scientists could collaborate on their work with the reactor.
As this paper argues, throughout the process of importing a nuclear research reactor in the 1950s, South Korean nuclear scientists played an important role in negotiating these two distinctly different positions. Furthermore, these scientists did so with an independent motive in mind, which was to lay a solid foundation for future scientific research in South Korea. The new nuclear program seems to have given them an ideal environment in which to accomplish this objective.
This case illustrates that after World War Ⅱ, despite a generally strong government and weak scientific community in the newly liberated countries, domestic scientists actively sought roles intended to develop the community's self-interest. The activities of these scientists involved a combination of efforts to justify the importance of science and acquire appropriate national support of science.