Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute

The Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, known as KASI, is South Korea's national astronomy and space science research institute. It began as the Korean National Astronomy Observatory, established in 1974, was restructured as the Institute of Space Science and Astronomy in 1986, renamed the Korea Astronomy Observatory in 1991, and took its present name in 2005, having become an independent public corporation in 1999. It operates observing facilities including the Bohyunsan Optical Astronomy Observatory, whose 1.8-meter reflecting telescope recorded first light in 1994, the Sobaeksan Optical Astronomy Observatory and the Taeduk Radio Astronomy Observatory, and it runs the Korea Microlensing Telescope Network, commissioned in 2015, and the Korean VLBI Network.