In South Korea, research institutes are the starting point of science and technology (S&T) policy—the main means through which the government had promoted and invested in S&T, as well as where the outcomes of policy measures for scientific and technological development were best manifested. In particular, government-funded research institutes (GRIs) were the points of origin as well as the most instrumental tool in the construction of S&T infrastructure and recruitment of talented human resources for rapid S&T advancement. This paper traces the birth of South Korea’s current S&T research system by investigating the rise and growth of Korea’s repre-sentative research institutions. Different periods in modern Korean history had its own representative institute that led the development of S&T. Such regular changes in representative institutes could be a sign of an unstable research system, but it could also serve as opportunities for advancing to the next level or to other fields. The process of compressed growth in S&T in Korea involved intensive investment in given institutes or system, and fostering competitive reproduction of the successful system over a short period to cultivate quantitative growth. As such, new research institutes constantly replaced old ones, thereby producing rapid growth.