South Korea Chose First Astronaut

South Korea had chosen its first astronaut to fly to space. Ko San, a specialist in artificial intelligence who graduated from South Korea's prestigious Seoul National University, was selected to be the country's first astronaut. The search for the candidate garnered lots of interest in the country, attracting more than 36,000 applicants.

Ko is scheduled to fly aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft in April 2008 and will spend about a week in the International Space Station conducting experiments.