Tunnelage
A tunnel linking to Japan? Do it!
You have to admit, Korea is a geo-political-induced island. All around us lies water, and to the north our loco brethren. The recent announcement to proceed with the inter-Korea railroad project is a step in the right position; we won’t be seeing any direct Trans-Siberian Railway action any time soon.
There are 3 tunnel options under review; the one making the most economic sense crosses into critical seismic zone. Drats.
According to Park Jin-hee, a professor at Korea Maritime University, it currently costs $665 to ship a container (20 cubic feet) from Osaka to Busan. With an undersea tunnel, that price would drop to $472, almost a 30 percent savings.
The ones to benefit significantly from the Tunnel would be the English teachers on visa runs, the undeniable organized crime turf wars between Yakuza and Korean counterparts, the continued good faith export of Korean prostitutes, and fresh shipments of okonomiyaki. Mmm. Also, the spawned lifestyles and activities like real road trips.
All this goodness comes the cost:
It’s estimated that it would cost around W60 trillion to W100 trillion (US $1=W925) and 15 to 20 years to build a tunnel. That’s more than five times the cost and three times the construction time of the Channel Tunnel (W14 trillion, six years).
The real fun would come in the form of naming disputes. The Japanese will favor Sea of Japan Tunnel, whilst the Koreans will push for the East Sea Tunnel. The NorK’s will surely create a temper-tantrum in disagreement; they’ll kindly suggest the use of East Sea of Korea Tunnel.
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