The Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS), a government-funded research institute under the Ministry of Science and ICT, has published a glossary of inter-Korean academic terminology in the metallic materials field for the purpose of resolving the difference in scientific terminology between the South and the North. The publication of this book is meaningful in that it has contemplated and resolved the language heterogeneity between the South and the North whereas exchanges between the two Korea are limited.

Due to the long-lasting division of the South and the North, independent development is taking place in all fields of industry. So, heterogeneity is growing in all areas of society. In particular, in that language reflects social and cultural trends according to the changes of the times, the language gap between the South and the North is widening as time goes by. Among them, it is known that academic terminology in specialized fields such as science and technology shows a much more severe difference than general terminology in everyday life.

Responding to academic terminology in the field of metals and materials began with the Korean Institute of Metals and Materials, which was founded in 1946. In addition, professional societies or associations derived from the field of metals and materials have compiled more subdivided terminologies, such as a glossary of steel terms and a dictionary of welding and joining. It is known that the degree of heterogeneity between the languages of the South and the North is 38% for general everyday terms, but it is more than 60% for specialized academic terms such as science and technology. The publication of the book of Inter-Korean academic terminology in the metals and materials field is evaluated as a systematic survey of the inter-Korean academic terms in the metals and materials field, as well as the establishment of a data base for direct comparison of each term.

Jung-hwan Lee, the president KIMS said, “It is a pleasure that we KIMS, a global leading institution in the field of materials in Korea, systematically investigated inter-Korean academic terminology in the field of metals and materials and published a glossary.” He also stated “Now is the time to work to resolve the heterogeneity of science and technology terminology between South and North Korea by overcoming obstacles to inter-Korean exchanges, such as publishing a glossary, and by jointly building a database in connection with neighboring science and technology fields,”

Meanwhile, the publication of this glossary was carried out with the support of the Ministry of Science and ICT's Korean Peninsula Science and Technology Cooperation Project(comparative research on academic terminology in the field of metals and materials between South and North Korea). In addition, KIMS is going to upload the book of inter-Korean academic terminology in the field of metals and materials to the North Korean Science and Technology Network (www.nktech.net), a website specializing in North Korean science and technology, so that anyone can access the materials.