BBestAI CAMMANUFACTURING INTELLIGENCE Client login ↗

KOREA VIDEO REVIEW · ROOT INDUSTRY

The Industry Called the "Root": A Guide to Korea's Ppuri Industry Automation Policy Videos

BestAI CAM Manufacturing Intelligence · Published 2026-07-13 · ~8 min read · For: foundational-craft shops (casting/molds/heat treatment/surface treatment), policy watchers

The industry called the 'root': a guide to Korea's ppuri industry automation policy videos — article cover image
TL;DR Korea gave its six foundational crafts a vivid name: ppuri industry—the "root" industry. Casting, molds/dies, welding, surface treatment, heat treatment and plastic forming—these processes hide beneath every finished product, invisible like tree roots yet holding everything up; and like roots, they are also low-margin, labor-heavy, and shunned by the young—once they wither, the whole tree falls. Korea's response is institutional: pass a dedicated law, set up the Korea National Ppuri Industry Center (KPIC), and run an "automation and advancement support program"—subsidizing root-industry factories to improve their work environment and adopt automation. KPIC's official videos document what this policy looks like, with real cases. The naming itself is policy wisdom: redefine a "sunset industry" as the "root," and budget and dignity follow. Taiwan's casting, heat-treatment and surface-treatment shops face the exact same structural bind, and Korea's answer—that the digitalization of root industries should start by reducing dependence on scarce skilled labor—applies to Taiwan just as well.

01What these policy videos are about

국가뿌리산업진흥센터 (the Korea National Ppuri Industry Center, KPIC) is Korea's policy agency dedicated to the foundational-craft industries, and its official channel documents the promotion and cases of the "뿌리기업 자동화-첨단화 지원사업 (root-enterprise automation and advancement support program)"—providing automation-deployment support for the productivity gains and work-environment improvement of root-industry factories[1].

KPIC official video: policy promotion for the root-industry automation and advancement support program (open on YouTube)

A case video on the same channel shows the process automation and smart-factory deployment achieved by supported factories[2]. These videos have low production values and small view counts, but the institution they represent is worth every manufacturer's attention.

02The wisdom of naming: from sunset industry to "root"

The ppuri industry refers to six foundational crafts: casting, molds/dies, welding, surface treatment, heat treatment and plastic forming—the fundamental chapters in every manufacturing-engineering textbook, and every metal product passes through several of them[3]. Their shared situation is consistent worldwide: hidden deep in the supply chain and unseen, thin-margined, with tough environments (heat, dust, odor) that the young avoid—the skills gap is a classic case in global manufacturing-labor research[4][5].

Korea's cleverness is flipping the narrative starting from the naming: not "traditional industry" or "3D industry," but "root"—if the roots rot, the semiconductors, cars and shipbuilding above them cannot stand. A dedicated law (the Ppuri Industry Act), a dedicated center, and a dedicated budget: the word "root" gives the policy legitimacy and gives practitioners back a little dignity. This is the narrative science of industrial policy, worth learning for anyone pushing a transformation.

03What the Center does: automation and advancement support

The core logic of KPIC's support program: if the root industry can't retain people, then reduce the dependence on people and improve the environment that keeps them—subsidizing automation equipment (loading/unloading, material handling, inspection), process improvement and work-environment upgrades[1]. The factories in the case video go from manual handling to mechanical assistance, from visual management to data dashboards[2]—not flashy lighthouse factories, but pragmatic upgrades at the "let this trade survive" level.

Set against the other policy pieces in this series, Korea's manufacturing policy forms a spectrum: KAMP provides the platform (see the KAMP piece), the win-win model provides mentoring (see the win-win piece), and the ppuri program provides the most basic automation subsidy—the closer to the "root," the more the policy is help delivered in a time of need.

04Taiwan's roots: the same bind and an answer worth copying

Taiwan's casting, heat-treatment, surface-treatment and mold/die sectors are in exactly the same situation as Korea's ppuri industry—they too are the "roots" of Taiwan's precision manufacturing and semiconductor supply chain (for the Taiwan version of this industrial depth, see Taiwan Precision Machining's Next Decade). Three points from the Korean experience worth copying:

  1. Say the word "root" out loud: to customers, to the government, to job seekers, position yourself as the root of the supply chain rather than a sunset industry—narrative shapes resources, as Korea has demonstrated.
  2. Start automation with "the hardest steps": Korea's subsidy priority order (handling, loading/unloading, environment) is retention logic—mechanize first the steps that most deter the young.
  3. Digitalize knowledge work in parallel: the root industry also has a prep chain of drawing reading, programming and quoting (molds and fixtures especially demanding)—AI reads 2D drawings, builds models, generates code within the shop's machine limits, and simulates and verifies dimensions (see the Complete Guide to CNC Automatic Programming), so scarce veteran machinists spend their time on the judgments only people can make—this is the knowledge-end version of "reducing dependence on scarce labor."

There is no shortcut to transforming the root industry, but Korea has proven one thing: as long as the institutions and tools lower the barrier enough, the "root" can be saved.

05FAQ

Which industries does the ppuri (root) industry refer to?

The six foundational crafts defined by dedicated Korean law: casting, molds/dies, welding, surface treatment, heat treatment and plastic forming. They sit deep in the process of every metal product, invisible like tree roots yet indispensable—thin margins, tough environments and a talent gap are shared traits too, which is why Korea set up a dedicated agency to drive automation and environmental improvement.

What is the reference value of Korea's root-industry policy for Taiwan?

Three layers: naming and narrative (positioning foundational crafts as the roots of the supply chain, flipping the sunset image to win resources), a subsidy priority order (starting automation with the hardest, least-retainable steps), and institutionalized dedicated support. Taiwan's casting, heat-treatment and surface-treatment sectors are in the same situation, and the narrative and automation order can be borrowed directly.

Where should a foundational-craft shop start with digitalization?

Advance on both ends: on the physical end, mechanize the hardest steps first (handling, loading/unloading, environmental improvement)—this is the key to retaining people; on the knowledge end, hand the repetitive work of drawing reading, machining prep and quoting to AI tools, so scarce veteran machinists can focus on judgment and passing on their craft. Both ends share the goal of reducing dependence on scarce labor.

Subscribe to the Blog newsletter

Get notified when new articles and video briefings go live—no inbox spam, unsubscribe in one click. (newsletter in Chinese)

STRENGTHEN THE ROOTS

Digitalize the knowledge end of the root industry, starting from a single drawing

AI reads drawings, builds models, generates code, simulates and verifies—bring down the labor dependence of prep work and leave the veteran machinist's time for the real craft.

Talk to an implementation advisor Training courses

📋 Free download: the CNC Outsourcing Checklist (printable) (中文)

← Back to the BestAI CAM product overview

06References

  1. 국가뿌리산업진흥센터 KPIC（YouTube）. 2017 뿌리기업 자동화-첨단화 홍보영상 (published 2018-01-10). youtube.com/watch?v=22w6QisbUtM
  2. 국가뿌리산업진흥센터 KPIC（YouTube）. 공정자동화 및 스마트공장 구축 사례! youtube.com/watch?v=j6ReODdyyU4
  3. Kalpakjian, S., & Schmid, S. R. (2020). Manufacturing Engineering and Technology (8th ed.). Pearson.
  4. World Economic Forum (2023). The Future of Jobs Report 2023.
  5. Deloitte & The Manufacturing Institute (2018). The jobs are here, but where are the people?