| Hanmi hyo˘pcho ([special characters omitted], or Korean-American Cooperation), the official slogan adopted by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to represent the South Korea-U.S. relationship of technical and material transfer, offers a necessarily abbreviated account of the process of scientific exchange. This dissertation aims to complicate this account by offering six in-depth case studies of mutual aid programs between the two countries, tracing the construction of a South Korean scientific community from the close of World War II to the mid-1970's (1945--1975), at which point the ROK economy was regarded as roughly comparable to or surpassing that of North Korea. With its accumulation of scientific expertise, the South Korean state was able to construct a celebratory narrative of its accomplishments, one that frequently stood in lieu of democratic freedoms.; The first two chapters examine the role of American models of biomedicine in the process of constructing a distinct South Korean national identity, a story that would embrace the traditional---albeit in a heavily modified form, re-labeling Chinese practice as "Traditional Korean Medicine" (TKM)---while prioritizing the adoption of Western biomedicine in the form of new hospital facilities and public health programs. Under the auspices of the "Minnesota Project" (1954--1962), physicians from the University of Minnesota would radically transform the hospital at Seoul National University (SNU), introducing new surgeries along with large-scale systemic practices. Graduates of SNU's School of Public Health would subsequently carry out one of the world's most effective population control programs, reducing the birth rate substantially by the end of decade, while also transforming Korean beliefs and practices about the body.; Chapters Three to Six continue the story of an emerging scientific community by focusing on the physical sciences and the recognition of a need for an independent infrastructure, beginning with the nation's first significant institute, the Atomic Energy Research Institute, (AERI, or Woncharyo˘k Yo˘nguso/[special characters omitted]), founded in 1959. Broadly speaking, the rapid transition from Japanese models to American models allowed South Korean scientists and engineers to begin eliding the role of colonialism in their previous education and training, culminating in the formation of new national GRI's (Government Research Institutes), in the mid-1960's, most prominent among these, the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) in 1966, and Korea Advanced Institute of Science (KAIS) in 1971. With the establishment of these two institutes, South Korea began to emerge as a celebrated case study---having executed the transition from "pupil to model," to borrow historian Gregg Brazinsky's apt characterization---of the successful developmental state, with American social scientists playing a prominent role in ROK economic planning.; The individual case studies, looking at the one to one relationships established between American universities and their South Korean counterparts, undercut this story of successful transfer, however, emphasizing the continuing influence of Japanese education and forms of training well into the late 1960's, as well as the conspicuous material differences between sites. Moreover, the presence of American aid dollars---distributed under the auspices of federal programs, individual land grant universities, and private foundations---emphasizes the growing significance of the ROK to American interests, particularly as the preoccupation with China shifted to a regional emphasis on Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea during the early stages of the Cold War. Against this backdrop of American aid, South Korea was able to embrace a "Korean"---even while continuing to recruit ethnic Koreans living abroad, as well as Korean-Americans---scientific community as validation of Park Chung Hee's st... |
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