NVIDIA announced its plan to supply 260,000 GPUs to the South Korean government and four domestic companies, praising Korea’s industrial development known as the ‘Miracle on the Han River’ and highlighting the potential of Korea to lead the ‘next-generation industrial revolution’. On the same day, October 31st (local time), NVIDIA released a video titled ‘Korea’s Next-Generation Industrial Revolution’ on its official YouTube account. The 3-minute and 16-second video, narrated in Korean with English subtitles, begins by describing Korea as “the nation that achieved the Miracle on the Han River. With your determination and sacrifice, you achieved more than simple reconstruction, becoming the fastest industrialized nation in history.” It continues to introduce Korea, stating, “From small workshops to large factories, Korea today was built. Through steel, semiconductors, electronics, ships, automobiles, and technology, Korea’s name was made known in households worldwide.”
The video features a variety of photos and video materials depicting Korea’s industrial history, such as the completion of the Goeasandam Dam in 1957, the CJ sugar factory, the establishment of Goldstar by LG’s founder, Hyundai’s first-year factory, and the development of Samsung’s first semiconductors. NVIDIA also mentioned the e-sports phenomenon ‘StarCraft’, which became a massive trend in Korea, describing the birth of internet cafes (PC bangs) as new arenas of play where NVIDIA GeForce became the equipment of choice for new players. It highlighted how e-sports became a stage for all, and champions won victories carrying the nation’s aspirations. Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, expressed gratitude towards Korea, stating, “The GPU, G-SYNC, low-latency Reflex, and other innovations NVIDIA invented were all thanks to e-sports and Korea.”
The video also featured the global Korean Wave (Hallyu), noting that “The world has fallen for K-pop, K-dramas, K-beauty, K-style, and the rising generation is reaching new heights toward Korea’s golden era.” Amid the advent of the AI revolution, it pointed out that Korea is building AI infrastructure following semiconductors, saying, “From Samsung, Hyundai, SK to Naver and LG, digital twins, smart robots, and smart factories. From the industrial revolution to the AI revolution, Korea is creating a new future.” NVIDIA concluded the video by stating, “We are honored to work together here in Korea, where miracles continue.”
Earlier, NVIDIA had raised its AI partnership with Korea to the level of an ‘alliance’ by agreeing to supply up to 260,000 GPUs worth up to 14 trillion won. In a global landscape that desires GPU supply, Korea was selected by NVIDIA thanks to its solid value chain in semiconductors, manufacturing, communication, gaming, and AI startups, as well as its potential to transition AI infrastructure into real industries.