This study reconstructs the origins of South Korea’s semiconductor industry through a technology-centered approach, challenging conventional narratives that emphasize government policies or corporate strategies in the 1980s. By tracing the development and transnational transfer of metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) technology, this research uncovers a deeply entangled history that extends the origins of the Korean industry back to the 1950s. The study reveals that Korean scientists and engineers were integral to the development ofMOS technology in the United States, beginning with figures like Kahng Dawon and Kang Ki Dong who participated in crucial research at Bell Telephone Laboratories and the Ohio State University. Following the subsequent journey of this MOS technology from its American origins to Silicon Valley and eventually to East Asia, the research traces how these early contributions shaped the global semiconductor landscape. Through connecting previously disparate historiographical frameworks―the American military-industrial-academic complex, Silicon Valley’s ecosystem, and East Asian industrial policy―this study reframes the rise of the semiconductor industry in South Korea not as rapid imitation but as the outcome of sustained technological participation in invention and problem-solving, followed by transnational knowledge transfer spanning the mid-20th century. This approach demonstrates how semiconductor technology can serve as a lens for understanding global technological development, offering a pathway toward a more integrated history of science and technology that transcends national and regional boundaries.