The Korea Science and Engineering Foundation (KOSEF) was established in 1977 to promote universities and encourage basic research. This article focuses on the projects of KOSEF and the discourse surrounding the concept of “basic research.” Observing the changing concept of “basic research” and the role of universities in the 1970s and 1980s will allow one to understand the perspective of the Korean government, especially the Ministry of Science and Technology(MOST). This paper will show that the Korean government’s plan to integrate higher education institutions in the process of national development was inextricably linked to its notion of “basic research.” Through this process, South Korean universities were able to play significant roles as research institutes after the 1990s. During the 1980s, the concept of “basic research” was expanded to include areas of applied science and engineering, and the Korean government wanted the universities to take part in national development by conducting research in these areas. The “mission-oriented basic research project” became the largest project within KOSEF after the mid-1980s in order to actively engage universities in those areas of research.