At the Saturn V rocket exhibit at the Kennedy Space Center in the United States, visitors can stop by the Lunar Theater. There, the theater screens how the U.S., shocked by the Soviet Union's launch of the Sputnik satellite, gritted its teeth and succeeded in lunar exploration. The recorded voices of Neil Armstrong, the first human to set foot on the moon aboard Apollo 11; Alan Shepard, the world's first astronaut; and Eugene Cernan, who boarded the last manned lunar mission (Apollo 17), fill the room.
The message the footage conveys is striking. Armstrong says, "The future of space travel is being written in the imaginations of a new generation. That is Apollo's greatest legacy: instilling courage, imagination, and the will to explore in our children and grandchildren." Cernan also offers encouragement: "Every time I talk to children, I tell them to erase the word 'impossible' from their dictionaries. In your era, nothing is impossible." The message is to keep venturing into space with the belief that anything can be accomplished.
The reaction after the 12-minute film ends is the highlight. Children leap up and shout, "I will become an astronaut too," and their parents encourage them with smiles. The children who appear in the video interviews also share their dreams, saying, "My mom worries because I have a fear of heights, but I want to become an astronaut. I will build a huge farm in space." After leaving the theater, the meaning of the Saturn V, encountered once again, takes on new significance.
In 2026, 54 years after the Apollo Project ended in 1972, monumental events have followed one after another in the United States. These are the launch of Artemis 2 and the initial public offering of SpaceX. Thanks to Armstrong and Cernan, who encouraged them by saying, "Nothing is impossible in your generation," their successors are preparing for the age of space travel without losing their way. Since the Apollo Project began in 1961, the goal of leading the space industry has continued.
In the 1960s, when the Apollo Project was in full swing, Korea's semiconductor industry was emerging. The establishment of Komi Electronics, a joint venture with America's Komi Corporation, in 1965 marked the beginning of Korea's semiconductor industry. In the early days, it was limited to simple transistor assembly, but now, more than 60 years later, "Samsungnix" (Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) and SK hynix (000660.KS)) dominates the global artificial intelligence (AI) memory market.
The semiconductor boom created such a large ripple effect that competition rates for semiconductor contract-based departments soared in university admissions, where the rush toward medical schools had been severe. After bonuses in the memory business division became a hot topic, more elementary school students, led by their parents, are reportedly preparing for admission tracks at gifted schools that make it easier to land jobs at Samsungnix, rather than the medical school track.
But looking at the other side of the semiconductor boom is worrying. This is because the desire to join Samsungnix appears to stem from the bonuses rather than from wanting to become engineers who will lead semiconductor innovation. When a host on a YouTube broadcast asked university students where they wanted to work, they all cited Samsungnix, citing the bonuses. These days, there is even a joke circulating on campuses that if you get a job in Samsungnix's memory business division, you can receive a 600 million won bonus just for emptying the trash.
The difference between American children who dream of becoming astronauts and Korean youth who want to join semiconductor companies lies in the size of the dream and a clear sense of purpose. The U.S. wants to become astronauts, develop the moon and Mars, and build AI data centers beyond Earth. Korea, on the other hand, wants to receive hundred-million-won bonuses at semiconductor companies, without being able to answer what they will do with semiconductors or what kind of semiconductors they will make.
Even Seoul National University College of Engineering students are giving up on master's and doctoral programs and clinging to a second or third attempt at admission to get into Samsungnix. As the government moves to build a semiconductor cluster in the southwestern region and establish semiconductor contract-based departments at regional national universities, the pace of concentration will only accelerate. Securing talent is important, but establishing a vision for what to do with semiconductors and which application industries to nurture must come first. Otherwise, once the memory boom fades, talent will once again flow out toward medical schools.
