From Learning to Creating: Biotechnology and the Postindustrial Developmental State in Korea

South Korea is currently undergoing a process of industrial restructuring. As competitors in the Asian region have begun to catch up—in terms of technological know-how, investment mobilization, price competition, and human capital development—advanced Asian economies such as South Korea's have had to shift their industrial focus away from conventional manufacturing sectors toward postindustrial sectors including biotechnology, nanotechnology, and advanced information and communications technologies. As such, the ongoing processes of postindustrial restructuring in South Korea have involved a transition from the industrial learning paradigm to a new knowledge creation paradigm where technology innovation, rather than technology borrowing, is key. This article examines this transformative process in the area of biotechnology and bioindustry development. It specifically looks at how the South Korean developmental state has begun to reinvent itself in order to meet the challenges of innovation-driven industrialization.