Sep 5 2007
From The Space Library
South Korean Vice Minister of Science and Technology Chung Yoon announced the selection of Ko San, a 30-year-old expert on artificial intelligence, to visit the ISS as South Korea’s first astronaut. Ko San had been one of two finalists. The other finalist, Yi So-yeon, was a 29-year- old female doctoral student in biotechnology. More than 36,000 South Koreans had applied to become the first person in South Korea to travel in space. Ko and Yi had been training in Russia when South Korean authorities selected Ko as the winner. They appointed Yi as his backup, in the event Ko was unable to participate in the mission. They selected Ko over Yi because he had performed better in certain experiments and had demonstrated a stronger capability of communicating with Russian cosmonauts. As backup, Yi would continue to train with Ko and would serve as a consultant in planning Ko’s mission.
Kurt Achin, “S. Korea Names Astronaut for the Country’s First Voyage into Space,” Voice of America, 6 September 2007; “Space Mission To Help Boost Aerospace Research,” Korea Times, 6 September 2007.
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