South Korean Space Program
South Korea's first encounter with modern rocketry occurred as the U.S. moved missiles into S.K. to counter the North Koreans after the Korean war. The Korean Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) was founded in 1989 in Daejeon, Korea primarily for the purpose of aerospace research. Its mission was to "Perform basic and applied studies in aerospace technology", "Perform government-delegated tasks and support policy development", "Support industries and transfer technology."