By Kim Se-jeong
An airport will be built on Ulleung Island in the East Sea by 2020, the government of North Gyeongsang Province said Tuesday.
According to the Korea Transport Institute, a state-funded research organization, the airport will boost the number of island tourists to 800,000. Currently, 420,000 people visit the island each year.
The construction of the airport will start in May.
The airport will be small, with a 1,100-meter-long runway, enough for a plane with a maximum of 50 seats.
The government said the airport project would cost 493 billion won and is expected to be completed by 2020. When ready, it will take an hour to get to the island from Gimpo International Airport near Seoul. A one-way ticket will cost approximately 90,000 won ($83), said the provincial government.
“We will gather our efforts and resources to build a safe and environmentally sustainable airport so that the island can be more accessible. An imminent assignment is to secure a budget for the project,” said Lee Jae-chunn from the provincial government.
Last week, the local government briefed residents on the plan and its impact on the island.
Those who participated in the briefing were enthusiastic about the project. “Now, we will have an additional way to reach the island. I hope everything will go well in the construction process,” one islander said.
The Ulleung airport project has been decades in the making.
The idea was first proposed in the 1980s, but due to financial issues it was only approved by the ministry in July 2013.