FTA and Undersea Tunnel
Kenshin February 14, 2017, 2:01am #1
South Korea's biggest issue now is no more World Cup 2006 Germany, but FTA with the United States. NOT even the missiles test-fired from North Korea to (near) Japan concerns South Koreans that much.
Japan has considered building undersea tunnels between Korea and one of the four largest islands of Japan named Gyushu (or Kyushu) at least since the 1930s. Perhaps the Japanese empire that also ruled all of Koreas and Manchu and some other East Asian and northwestern Pacific places would have started constructing the undersea tunnel to build roads and railways from Tokyo to London if there were no Pacific War between the United States and Japan. Practically all of the recent South Korean presidents and most involved mayors have proposed the idea to domestic South Koreans but serious efforts were done only on the other side of the Korean Strait (or Sea of Japan.)
Now, some South Koreans are saying the proposed Japan-Korea undersea tunnel will make all South Korean seaports bankrupt and only Japan will gain. They are also saying FTA between the USA and Maxico created "30% of total population" that are "absolutely poor" and the one between the USA and Canada ruined Canada's welfare policies and Canadian homeless people are increasing "at a tremendous rate."
I do not consider myself as a racist or pessimist, but I too often think to myself that humans without reasons and actions upon reasons are reactionary to progress and those in the 21st century are too dangerous to human survival. So my wish concerning alien species riding UFO's or whatever with superhuman intelligence (tw another thread) is always genuine. Because they will be more human and more reasonable.
Some old articles are easily searched.
http://www2.gol.com/users/coynerhm/why_interKorea_rail.htm
On the grandest scale, South Korea is positioning itself as the vital link in a chain that will connect Europe to Asia and Asia, via the Pacific, to North and South America. The plan includes the new international airport in Inchon, better harbor facilities and high speed rail lines that connect Pusan in the Southeast with Shinuiju in the Northwest, as well as Mokpo in the Southwest with Ranjin in the Northeast. These would connect in the North with Russian and Chinese rail lines, and in the south with Southeast Asian shipping routes and a potential undersea rail line from Japan to Pusan.
The reconnection of the lines will be able to slash transportation cost in the South-North economic exchanges to one fifth of the current level and the cost of transporting commodities bound for European destinations can be cut by about 30 percent by shortening the transportation period from the current span of more than 30 days to 10 days.
Considering the possibility that the railway lines can be connected to Japan through an undersea tunnel, the Korean peninsula may see its transformation into a center for commodity transportation in Northeast Asia.
Related map images:
I'm personally interested only in how much the overall cost can be reduced and how fast the construction can be completed. Most people are saying 100 billion USDs minimum. The shortest proposed distance is at least 209 kilometers between Garatsu of Japan and Geoje Island of South Korea. It will be 231 kilometers between Garatsu and Busan. That makes the one between France and England look cheap and short.
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