South Korea switches on Hangang, a national supercomputer with 8,496 GPUs, and plans a quantum link in 2027
The sixth national system, run by KISTI, has 24 times the theoretical performance of its predecessor Nurion, and the government expects it to rank in the world's top 10.
Why it matters
Hangang replaces Nurion, introduced in 2018, and its 8,496 GPUs include Nvidia's GH200, alongside 9,936 CPUs, with storage up 10-fold. The Ministry of Science and ICT and KISTI describe it as infrastructure for AI-based science research, which places it in Korea's wider push on sovereign AI and semiconductors. The government plans to connect it to a quantum computer in the first half of 2027 to build a hybrid system. Watch the next TOP500 list for its actual ranking and who gets allocation.
Key facts
- 8,496 GPUs including Nvidia GH200, and 9,936 CPUs
- 24 times the theoretical performance of Nurion
- Launch ceremony on Nov. 2 at KISTI in Daejeon
- Quantum link planned for first half of 2027