The South Korean Ministry of Science and Technology has taken a big step towards training its very first batch of blockchain “specialists.”

The ministry’s Information and Communications division revealed it hosted its very first blockchain-focused lecture yesterday on September 3, local outlet Kinews reports.

This marks the start of a $90 million USD (100 billion won) investment by the South Korean government to roll out its “blockchain technology development strategy” course.

Applicants for the training course were selected through a series of applications, and interviews, there were 42 successfully selected for the course.

The scheme will see students undertake eight hours of daily tuition and training on the tech for the next six months, with the aim of creating experts, who can be put straight to work after graduation.

It would seem that these “experts” will play a vital role in actioning South Korea’s blockchain vision.

Indeed, academic interest in the technology is not limited to government research and teaching. A recent survey undertaken by Coinbase showed that nearly half of the world’s top universities now teach at least one course on blockchain.

Considering how popular cryptocurrencies are in South Korea, it’s good to see the government is trying to ramp up education in the area. It will be interesting to see what talent the new training program breeds.

Perhaps the first graduates can one day hop over to neighbor North Korea and share their knowledge at the country’s first international blockchain conference.