More than two hundred people have applied to become the nation's first astronaut.

The Science and Technology Ministry and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute on Friday said the number was reached just two hours after registration began, and added the number of page views on its Web site also topped two thousand.

Receipt of applications began Friday on the occasion of Science Day and will continue through July 14th.

Candidates must be at least 19 years old or above.

With the final selection due in December, the astronaut will receive training from January next year through March 2008 before boarding the Russian manned spacecraft Soyuz a month later.