Basic science matters for the Nobel Prize

The Nobel Prize season is back. The Nobel Foundation based in Sweden annually celebrates scientists, writers, economists and human rights advocates who have contributed to advancing the value of humanity, upholding the wishes of Swedish chemist, engineer and industrialist Alfred Nobel, who invented dynamite.

First up on Oct. 2, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine went to Katalin Karikó and Dr. Drew Weissman, both professors at the University of Pennsylvania, for their contribution “to the unprecedented rate of vaccine development during one of the greatest threats to human health in modern times,” the panel that awarded the prize in Stockholm said. They developed mRNA vaccines to protect against severe Covid-19.

Nobel laureates in physics, chemistry, literature, peace and economics will follow through Oct. 9. The Nobel Prize remains the most valuable recognition, as other prestigious awards use such expressions as “a Noble Prize-like honor” in their respective fields. The list of the laureates stands as a celebration of humanity’s science and technology advances.

Korean society also joins the Nobel flurry every autumn. Many organizations hold related symposiums and events, and media platforms cover the awardees. They always highlight possible Nobel Prize candidates from Korea, but the country always comes up empty. Unlike Japan, Korea has never received a Nobel Prize in the sciences.

Korea is among the world’s top spenders in research and development against its gross domestic product, but it has never produced a Nobel laureate scientist. This year will likely end in empty-handed, too. There are no Korean scientists among the candidates Clarivate predicted ahead of the Nobel Prize ceremonies. Japan, meanwhile, has produced 25 winners and has a name every year on the candidate list.

The Noble Prize in the science field goes to basic science fields. The accreditation goes to someone who had taken up pioneering research that adds great value to humanity. Sudden discoveries do not win the award. According to the National Research Foundation of Korea, scientists winning the Nobel Prize on average earned a postgraduate doctorate before the age of 30 and started independent research in their 40s to gain attention for their work in their mid-50s and acceptance by the mainstream at their late 50s.

Korea’s history in basic science is relatively short. It established the Institute of Basic Science only in 2011. To become a first mover in science research, investment in basic science must continue. The government cut 16.6 percent in next year’s budget for R&D, citing a fiscal deficit. But the budget for next year increased 2.8 percent from this year. Without quality research, we can never become a first-mover or dream of winning a Nobel Prize in the future.