Korea aims for global leadership in hyperloop technology despite late start

A scaled-down version of driving stabilization equipment for the Hypertube at the Korea Railroad Research Institute in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province, in this 2024 photo / Courtesy of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport

By Ko Dong-hwan

• Published May 5, 2025 9:00 AM KST
• Updated May 5, 2025 10:12 AM KST

Experts highlight domestic capabilities

Korean hyperloop technologies, which currently lag behind early adopters such as the Netherlands, Germany, Japan and China, can advance significantly and position themselves to compete for global leadership in the emerging ultra-high-speed transport industry, according to Korean experts.

Hypertube, Korea’s version of the next-generation magnetic levitation (maglev) transportation system, is considered essential for balanced economic growth nationwide by enabling ultra-fast mobility for both passengers and freight at speeds of 1,200 kilometers per hour or more.

However, while Korea has just started with its project, China launched the world's first maglev train in Shanghai in 2004. It can now reach speeds of up to 600 km/h. In 2015, Japan saw its own maglev train reach speeds of 603 km/h and is currently building a rail connecting Tokyo and Nagoya with plans to open commercial service sometime after 2030. The Netherlands launched a hyperloop test course for Hardt Hyperloop in 2024, and Germany's TUV last year developed an initial hyperloop model.

The Korean government launched a task force on April 9 to develop the country’s own hyperloop technologies, investing 12.7 billion won ($8.8 million) for initial research.

Experts in the country said the Hypertube is within grasp if given consistent research, and considering Korea’s advanced railway technologies like the country-wide KTX, which has a top speed 300 km/h, and the capital-region's GTX at 180 km/h, claiming global leadership in the industry is not far-fetched.

Korea rolled out its KTX high-speed train in 2004, while the GTX began service last year. According to Lee Won-sang, vice president of Hyundai Rotem who works for the company’s Rail Solution R&D Center, GTX was an “accomplishment that infused all the latest railway technologies Korea could offer.”

"But to move at a speed faster than 370 km/h, a train must stay afloat instead of on wheels because air resistance more than doubles and it requires greater energy to maintain a high speed," Lee said.

Despite its late start, according to the experts, Korea can catch up with other countries because the country already possesses foundational hyperloop technologies — high-speed propulsion control, stabilization control, low-pressure tube construction and high-temperature superconductors — to develop and realize a maglev train potentially running at 1,200 km/h.

Lee Chang-young, principal researcher at a new transportation innovative research center under the Korea Railroad Research Institute (KRRI), said the goal can be reached within 10 to 15 years. KRRI currently heads the government’s Hypertube research task force.

Achieving the Hypertube is possible because Korean technologies in areas like electric motors, low-pressure tubes (which are one-hundredth to one-thousandth of normal atmospheric levels) and superconductive electromagnets are already outstanding, according to Cho Seong-kyun, director of the railway safety policy division under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. Those technologies, he added, will allow Korea to introduce the Hypertube in the "not too distant future.”

“The Hypertube will use a synchronized-type electric motor, similar to the one implemented for KTX-Hemu (which began operating in 2012) and which we have exported. We have the world’s most advanced low-pressure tube technologies, having built the world’s first near-vacuum tube prototype using ultra high density concrete. The material is 30 percent cheaper than steel and minimizes unnecessary induced electrical current when controlling high-speed electromagnetic forces, maximizing the Hypertube’s safety,” Cho said.

“Korean telecommunication technologies, proven by the country's smartphone pioneers, also allow us to control the Doppler effect when travelling at 1,200 km/h. With the Korea Electric Power Corp. (the state-run utility company) currently geared to expanding the direct current power supply infrastructure nationwide, supplying power to the Hypertube will also be more feasible than ever.”

The most critical and promising technology Korea now has for the Hypertube, according to Cho, is a superconductive electromagnet. He called it “the heart of the Hypertube, which maximizes the transport system’s efficiency.”

“Superconductive electromagnets are a core of the fusion power technology for which Korea is currently the most advanced worldwide. That core technology allowed us to achieve preservation of deuterium under 100 million degrees Celsius for 30 seconds in 2021 and reach the world record of 48 seconds in 2024. Commercialization of the Hypertube will go in sync with how fast we can achieve extending that time period to 300 seconds,” he said.

Purpose of Hypertube

Korea is in the race to launch the world’s first hyperloop technology not just because it will allow the country to lead the industry on a global stage. It will further develop the country's diverse cutting-edge technologies in the transportation system and expand their markets. Experts say the hyperloop industry has stronger potential in East Asia than any other region in the world because of its collective technological advancement in the field and massive population of over 1.6 billion.

Lee Yong-sang, vice president of Industry Academy Cooperation Foundation at Woosong University in Daejeon, who also teaches for the school’s department of railroad management, said the Hypertube will boost the Korean economy domestically and internationally.

“It’ll first allow Korea to secure technological competitiveness in East Asia,” Lee said. “Then, it will boost the country's railway industry to the point of drawing regional development and mitigating economic concentration in the capital region around Seoul. Then, it will ultimately generate leverage for the country’s export markets.”

Hyundai Rotem last year exported a localized version of KTX-Eum, (with a top speed of 260 km/h), a multiple-powered high-speed train, to Uzbekistan. Cho said it was part of Korea's steadfast commitment to countries with advanced railway technologies in Asia and Europe.

“Hypertube is a combination of various cutting-edge technologies. Developing them not only opens the door to Hypertube’s commercialization but also expands the markets of those technologies. The scale of success for the Hypertube could be truly huge,” Cho said.

Lee from KRRI said the Hypertube’s initial development stage until 2028 will help verify key technologies. The next stage, scheduled to last until 2037, will use a test locomotive for dry-runs before commercialization. Starting in 2038, the Hypertube will begin service at full scale along a designated course for final tests before nationwide commercialization.