Powering the electronic devices that make everyday life possible, semiconductors have become a central factor in global politics, security, and trade. Focusing on South Korea, this talk traces the rise of modern semiconductor supply chains back to the U.S. military's occupation and continued presence in the Cold War Pacific. It shows how the U.S. military's unequal investment in education and management of labor created two distinct pools of labor that fueled the rise of South Korea's semiconductor industry. On one hand, U.S. military investment in basic science engineering education in South Korea and overseas graduate education created a pool of highly educated, elite male researchers. On the other hand, the U.S. military's input into South Korean labor laws and oversight of labor unions and contractors contributed to the influx of young women from rural South Korea into the factories in industrial centers. By telling these twin histories, this talk highlights the multifaceted ways that the South Korean semiconductor industry, and the global high technology industry more broadly, were tied to the formation of a global U.S. military empire during the Cold War.