The government from April 21st will begin receiving applications from candidates for the nation's first astronaut on the occasion of Science Day.

The Science and Technology Ministry and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute on Tuesday said candidates must be age 19 or older, physically fit to run 3.5 kilometers in 20 minutes and have no disease needing medication.

Other requirements include basic English and Russian skills before going to space.

The final selection will come in December.

The astronaut will receive training from January next year through March 2008 before boarding the Russian manned spacecraft Soyuz a month later. At the International Space Station, he or she will work on seven tasks arranged by scientists.