17 Antarctica pioneers open door for Korea's polar research

By Kang Hyun-kyung

Yoon Seok-soon, 78, has a vivid memory of history in the making on Nov. 16, 1985 when he set foot in the Earth’s southernmost continent, Antarctica. The former lawmaker led the 17-member expedition team consisting of scientists and climbers, becoming one of the first Koreans who explored the continent.

“I felt my heart pounding fiercely as the aircraft landed near Chile’s scientific research station on King George Island,” he said on Dec. 23. “All of us became emotional. Tears welled up in our eyes. We finally made it.”

Penguins and sea lions were spotted near the coastal area. The exotic scenery made him feel that he was in Antarctica indeed.

His excitement, however, didn’t last long. “After arriving there, I realized that several countries such as Chile, China and the former Soviet Union had already established scientific research stations there,” said Yoon, now chairman of the non-profit group Korea Supporters Association for Polar Research in Seoul. “I realized Korea was left behind in polar research.”

It was an exhausting trip. The team of 17 left Seoul together on Nov. 6 and arrived in Antarctica 10 days later via the United States, Colombia, Ecuador and Chile. Scientists and climbers were divided into two groups after they arrived in Chile’s Punta Arenas as they were scheduled to head to different destinations. The science team, which Yoon belonged to, went to King George Island for scientific research activities on a military aircraft, whereas the other group headed to mainland Antarctica to climb the summit of Vinson Massif lying within the Sentinel Range of the Ellsworth Mountains.

On the second day on King George Island, Yoon put up a sign behind the base camp confirming that the Korean team had explored Antarctica.

It reads, “From the Land of Morning Calm, the Youth of Korea stepped on Antarctica for human prosperity and world peace.”

During the 24-day stay there, Yoon and other Koreans met Chinese and Soviet Union scientists and asked for their governments’ support for Korea’s bid to join the Antarctic Treaty. According to him, the two Communist nations opposed Korea’s membership in the treaty.

Yoon quoted the Chinese and Soviet scientists as saying they would do their utmost to convince their governments to accept Korea as a member of the Antarctic Treaty.

The exploration team, meanwhile, arrived at the summit of the 4,897-meter Vison Massif, 13 days after landing in mainland Antarctica, despite bad weather conditions.

The 17 people had to overcome plenty of challenges pushing for the unprecedented expedition to Antarctica. Since 1982, climbers met politicians and government officials to make their dream of exploring the Earth’s southernmost continent come true. Yoon, who had passed a bill to create a youth group aiming to encourage young people to explore maritime activities, was one of the lawmakers they met.

After meetings with the climbers, Yoon came to believe that the expedition, if successful, would help the Korean government’s bid to join the Antarctic Treaty and invited two maritime scientists to join the trip.

Finding donors to finance the expedition was the first challenge he and the climbers had to overcome. The Korean government was skeptical about the expedition because of safety issues. A helping hand came from Hyundai Group who promised to sponsor their trip to the continent.

After the funding issue was resolved, they met another obstacle — a lack of information about Antarctica. The Korean government didn’t have sufficient information about the continent. Yoon and the climbers were able to collect information from the embassies of the United States, Japan, Britain, Argentina and Chile based in Korea.

The pioneers wrote history for Korea’s polar research. Their successful expedition helped Korea become the 33rd member of the Antarctic Treaty in 1986.

The government had first launched the diplomatic endeavor to join the treaty in 1978 when President Park Chung-hee was in power. Korean fishermen were not allowed to fish in the oceans off Antarctica because Korea was not a member of the treaty.

Korea was not accepted as a member right away. The treaty signatories demanded Korea meet two conditions — Korean nationals explore Antarctica first and produce scientific research regarding the continent.

Korea’s membership in the Antarctic Treaty has significant geopolitical implications.

No man’s land

Prior to the treaty, several countries, including Britain and Argentina, staked their territorial claims to the continent which remained no man’s land. The treaty, initially signed in 1959 between 12 countries, including the United States, China and Russia, prohibited territorial disputes until 2048.

Such a ban, however, didn’t stop territorial disputes. In 2012, Britain and Argentina were engaged in a dispute after the former named a 437,000-square-kilometer section of the mainland Queen Elizabeth Land. This drew the ire of Argentina which also staked its territorial claim there. Argentina summoned the British ambassador to protest over the naming of the disputed area.

Once the Antarctic Treaty expires in 2048, experts say, territorial disputes among countries will be intensified.

Antarctica remaining no man’s land and the huge oil and gas reserves there makes it the land of opportunity for many countries. Several countries have established scientific bases there to step up their research activities.

The Korean expedition team returned to Chile on Dec. 10 after ending their mission to Antarctica. Yoon got an urgent call from the Korean Embassy in Chile. “I was told that we, the expedition team, were to return to Seoul as soon as possible because President Chun Doo-hwan was anxious to meet us,” he said.

On Dec. 20, President Chun invited the 17 members to a luncheon in Cheong Wa Dae. He asked Yoon to debrief him on his team’s activities in Antarctica and if there were any policy recommendations he’d like to make.

Yoon made two-point recommendations to the president — first, join the Antarctic Treaty as soon as possible and then establish a scientific research station there.

President Chun accepted his ideas immediately. He called the foreign minister and the minister in charge of economic planning and strategy to follow up the measures.

During a telephone conversation, Yoon said, President Chun directed the economic minister to set aside 10 billion won to establish a scientific research station in Antarctica.

The minister, however, was lukewarm and told his boss that it was going to be difficult to set aside such an astronomical budget because the budget for the next year was already passed.

“President Chun was upset at him and directed him to get it done anyway,” said Yoon. “In retrospect, President Chun’s determination was critical to establish the King Sejong Research Station on King George Island in February 1988.”

The research station is located on the Barton Peninsula and consists of 11 facility buildings and two observatories.

Korea established another scientific research station in mainland Antarctica in February 2012. Jang Bogo Station located in Terra Nova Bay is a permanent research station and the second base of the Korean Antarctic research mission. It was named after a powerful 8th century maritime figure associated with Unified Silla.

The government also established a scientific research station in the Arctic in 2002, becoming the eighth country to have scientific bases both in the Arctic and Antarctica.

Since 1985, over 2,000 Koreans have visited Antarctica.