In 1973, on a site covering 27.8km2, the Korean government
began the construction of Daedeok Science Town. The
cost of the development was one trillion Korean won, which
was provided by the national government and the private
sector. Daedeok Innopolis is located in the center of the
nation’s territory, approximately 167 km from Seoul, the
capital of Republic of the Korea. At a distance of about one
hour from major cities including Seoul, Daegu, and
Gwangju, exchanges with regional government officials,
industry leaders and researchers are convenient. In total,
there are 30 government-funded institutions, 5 universities,
over 400 corporate R&D centers, and more than 1,200 hightech
companies (SMEs) situated on this site, which is regardedas one of the most highly favored areas in which to live and
work in Korea. For operational purposes, the grounds have
been organized into five distinctive zones (See Table 1). Also
resident in Daedeok Innopolis are about 11% of all PhD-level
researchers in Korea who specialize in engineering and the
natural sciences. Established as the shining emblem of
Korea’s science and technology, Daedeok Innopolis is now
moving beyond science and R&D to take flight as a global
innovation center.