Kim Ji-hoon, a postdoctoral researcher at the Korea Polar Research Institute (KOPRI) and graduate of the University of Science and Technology (UST), has been selected for the "Hanumul Pagi (Deep-Dive) Basic Research" program administered by the Ministry of Science and ICT and the National Research Foundation of Korea.
The Hanumul Pagi Basic Research program is a groundbreaking initiative designed to help promising young researchers pursue challenging basic research in a single field over an extended period to achieve world-class results. Only about 30 researchers are selected annually across all fields of science and technology, with each receiving research funding of approximately 2 billion won ($1.4 million) for up to 10 years.
This marks the first time a researcher from a government-funded research institute under the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries has been selected for the program. Kim earned his doctoral degree from the KOPRI School at UST, making this achievement significant as it demonstrates that KOPRI, as a national research institute graduate school, is contributing to cultivating basic science talent by connecting polar fieldwork with cutting-edge research and education.
Kim is Korea's only specialist in tardigrades, commonly known as "water bears." He has built an unparalleled track record, including discovering a new tardigrade species in Greenland moss and identifying sensory organs in water bears never previously reported in academic literature. His distinctive research strength lies in his methodology of comparing anatomical information from living organisms with fossils dating back hundreds of millions of years to trace evolutionary processes.
Through this research project, Kim will conduct "establishment of meiofauna research infrastructure and early evolution studies through comparison with fossil animals." Meiofauna, including tardigrades, are extremely small at less than 1mm in size, which has limited the ability to examine their detailed internal structures using conventional methods.
Kim plans to establish precision dissection techniques for meiofauna, systematically build databases, and then compare the data with Cambrian fossil records from 500 million years ago. The core objective is to clearly elucidate the origins of early animals and the evolutionary connections that have remained shrouded in mystery.
"Hidden within organisms smaller than 1mm is the vast evolutionary history of 500 million years," Kim said. "With stable funding support, I will push beyond the limitations of conventional paleontology and unlock the secrets of early animal evolution that will capture the world's attention."
Shin Hyoung-chul, Director of KOPRI, said, "This selection for the Hanumul Pagi program is a meaningful achievement that demonstrates our institute's basic science capabilities are opening new academic horizons. We will continue to support our young researchers so they can fully immerse themselves in creative and challenging research that breaks existing paradigms."
