Rep. Lee Yong-sup, second left, of the Democratic Party exchanges views with panelists during a conference at the National Assembly last week on the prospects of creating a Honam-Jeju undersea railway. / Korea Times File |
By Do Je-hae
Staff Reporter
Korea has recently launched a debate on a project to connect the southwestern Honam region and Jeju Island with an undersea tunnel for high-speed train services, signaling that the Korean version of Eurostar is a possibility.
The project entails building three separate lines ― 66-kilometers, from Mokpo to Haenam; 28-kilometers Haenam-Bogil Island; and 73-kilometers, Bogil Island-Chuja Island-Jeju. The last line would be linked by a high-speed train through an undersea tunnel. When connected with other major railway lines across the Honam region and the rest of the country, major inland cities and Jeju will be connected by train for the first time.
The project is expected to serve as a new tool for growth for two of the most underdeveloped parts of the nation located in the southwestern part of the Korean Peninsula. The ``underwater train'' is to be operated in conjunction with the Seoul-Mokpo express train project currently underway.
The National Assembly held a special forum last week to discuss and publicize the Honam-Jeju Undersea Rail project. Participants were mostly in agreement of its necessity, especially in light of the nation's urgent task to achieve a balanced development nationwide.
Buidling New Axis of Growth
The Korea Transport Institute (KTI) first conceived of the project last year, and since then it has been discussed among only a select group of politicians and experts.
Jeju is currently only accessible by plane or boat. Both present inconveniences, as they are highly vulnerable to weather conditions, costly and limited in passenger capacity compared to railway transportation. Additionally, the Jeju International Airport is insufficient in size and facilities to deal with the increasing influx of domestic and international visitors.
The KTI projected that 78 percent of air travelers to Jeju will switch to the underwater train. ``Upon completion of the tunnel in 2026, we will see around 15 million additional travelers on high-speed trains,'' said Lee Jae-hoon, a researcher with KTI, as he presented an outline for the project.
`` Traveling on underwater high-speed rail is a cost-effective alternative. It will take approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes to reach Seoul from Jeju. The Mokpo-Jeju section will take around 40 minutes," said Lee. The construction will take around 11 years and require a budget of 15 trillion won.
Experts maintain that expanding railways is a fundamental precondition for fueling regional growth. ``Our railways are woefully underdeveloped in comparison to the road infrastructure,'' said Lee Gun-chul, a senior researcher at the Jeonam Research Institute.
``This project will ultimately have tremendous economic impact on Korea's future by reinventing the southwestern coastline as a new growth bloc. The blueprint benefit Jeju, Honam and the country at large," said Rep. Lee Yong-sup of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP).
The former transportation minister organized the meeting to discuss the initiative with policymakers, politicians, experts and citizens. Partnered by Rep. Bae Young-sik of the governing Grand National Party (GNP), Lee is co-founder of a bi-partisan group for the research and promotion of balanced regional development.
Additionally, Korea will be able to develop its undersea construction expertise, resulting in an economic inducement worth 44 trillion won and see 340,000 new jobs created in the construction industry, the KTI said. The project is also expected to create a new demand for travel and business to Jeju and Honam, creating a new axis of national growth.
Creating undersea transport passages for freight and human traffic has already been underway in countries such as Japan, Britain and France, among others.
In particular, Japan is the only country in the world with self-sufficient technical underwater tunneling expertise. It took part in constructing the Channel Tunnel, a 50.5-kilometer undersea rail tunnel linking Kent, Britain, with Calais, France, beneath the English Channel at the Straits of Dover. The tunnel is well known to Koreans for its high-speed Eurostar passenger trains.
Japan is also home to the Seikan Tunnel, the world's longest rail tunnel, at 53.9 kilometers, 23.3 km of which is undersea. It lies beneath the Tsugaru Strait, connecting Aomori Prefecture on Honshu Island with Hokkaido Island.
Meanwhile, Norway, Sweden and Denmark have begun constructing undersea tunnels. In Asia, discussions are underway to establish tunnels in the seabed to link Taiwan and China, as well as Japan and Russia.
Convincing Policymakers
To realize the project, a first test is to be included in the government's upcoming announcement in May of a comprehensive agenda of advancing development in the country's five main economic blocs; Seoul and its vicinity, Chungcheong, Honan, Gangwon, and the Daegu-North Gyeongsang region.
Authorities are cautious because of the associated cost and duration. ``We take note of the significant future implications it may have on the country's economy and industry,'' said Chung Jong-hwan, minister of land, transport and maritime affairs.
However, the ministry pointed out that the KTI outline might contain an inaccurate estimate of the costs involved. ``The construction of the Honam Train Express took more than 11 trillion won. The Honam-Jeju train is likely to require much more than the projected 15 trillion won,'' said a senior official at the ministry.
Rep. Lee urged government officials to be more forthcoming about adopting the historic initiative as a national agenda ``The National Assembly will do its utmost in extending the legislative and budgetary backing for the project upon its inclusion as an official policy of the current administration,'' he added.
jhdo@koreatimes.co.kr
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