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Korea, US discuss infrastructure safety
Officials from the land ministry and their U.S. counterparts participate in an online seminar, Nov. 5. Courtesy of Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport
By Lee Kyung-min
By Lee Kyung-min
Road experts and relevant government officials from Korea and the U.S. held an online seminar, Nov. 5, on improving road infrastructure safety in the face of climate change-induced hazards including landslides, the land ministry said Tuesday.
They shared knowledge about Korea's efforts toward digitization of social overhead capital (SOC), a key part of the Korean New Deal. Under the deal, the government plans to spend 160 trillion won ($143 billion) on digital and green initiatives over the next five years, creating 1.9 million jobs in the process and identifying new sources of sustainable growth.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said the seminar was attended by officials from the ministry, the U.S. Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Colorado Department of Transportation.
Among topics discussed were ways to better respond to hazards resulting from climate change especially landslides, a growing risk to road safety which the ministry says can be monitored with 3D maps of the entire country drawn up by 2022.
The maps will be created via a digital twin, a technology that improves the accuracy of simulation models enabled by fuller integration of Internet of Things (IoT). A digital twin refers to a digital replica of a living or non-living physical entity, which can represent actual living or inanimate physical objects including people, places, systems and devices.
The officials also discussed digitization of related information needed for the development and implementation of landslide warning systems for roads.
This is an issue both countries are increasingly paying attention to because of the continued frequent reports of landslides despite regular check-ups and maintenance of roads on uneven terrain.
Such reports are on the rise due to the recent unusual weather events such as an extremely long monsoon season, typhoons and atypical precipitation patterns here, which the ministry views as key reasons prompting greater government prevention measures.
Other participants included Korean experts from the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology and the Korea Expressway Corporation Research Institute.
Also discussed were research findings on geohazards and climate resilience that can be addressed by an IoT-powered, real-time landslide monitoring system.
The U.S. gave presentations on the links between climate change and geohazards, and a performance analysis on geohazard management, the ministry said.
“The impact of climate change is not limited to Korea but is a global issue,” said Oh Soo-young, the ministry's director for road management division.
“We therefore plan to work with the U.S. and other countries around the world in research and discussion to build proactive response systems for climate resilience in the field of road management.”