Unbelievably, in this day and age where Japan-Korea relations are said to be the worst in history, talk of connecting Japan and South Korea through an undersea tunnel has suddenly surfaced in South Korea, and it has become a point of contention between the ruling and opposition parties in the Busan mayoral election scheduled for April. It becomes.
Without any warning, the Japan-Korea submarine tunnel story suddenly surfaced when Kim Jong-in, leader of the opposition party People's Power, visited Busan on February 1st, and the ruling party announced the construction of a new airport on Gadeok Island as an election strategy. This appears to be due to the fact that the two countries pledged to build an undersea tunnel between Japan and South Korea to connect Katoku Island and Kyushu, Japan, as a countermeasure to the situation.
Regarding the undersea tunnel controversy, which came up without Japan's knowledge, the ruling party, the Democratic Party of Japan, has accused Kim of making a pro-Japanese pledge that was triggered by his pro-Japanese DNA. "If we label this as an act of self-interest, then it would mean that former President Roh Moo-hyun, who supported President Moon Jae-in as chief of staff, was pro-Japan because he also advocated for an undersea tunnel."
The Japan-Korea submarine tunnel proposal to connect South Korea's Busan and Kyushu is neither a conservative idea nor a ``proprietary patent.'' This is the long-term vision for South Korea that has been mentioned by past presidents, regardless of whether they are progressive or conservative.
The first person to mention the Japan-Korea submarine tunnel was President Roh Tae-woo, who mentioned it in a speech to the National Assembly during his visit to Japan in 1990, and proposed joint construction to then-Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu. President Kim Dae-jung also said in September 1999, ``If the Japan-South Korea tunnel is built, it will connect Hokkaido to Europe, so it is an issue that we should consider as a dream for the future.'' When he visited Japan in September 2000, he said: He proposed this to then-Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori.
In addition, his successor, President Roh Moo-hyun, proposed the construction of a tunnel to then Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi at the Japan-Korea Summit held in February 2003, and his successor, President Lee Myung-bak, also proposed the construction of a long-term undersea tunnel in December 2009. It announced a basic national development concept that included ``research on economic and technical validity'' as a major consideration.
The Japanese side also responded, with former Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita ordering a review. Former Prime Minister Kei Haneda also mentioned this concept as part of the "Japan Revitalization Program," and former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori also proposed building a tunnel connecting Japan and South Korea at the ASEM meeting in October 2000, naming it the "ASEM Railway." I suggested adding it. Furthermore, former Prime Minister Naoto Kan once mentioned ``let's run a maglev train in the Japan-Korea undersea tunnel'' when he was a member of the Diet.
Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso also agreed to establish the ``Japan-Korea New Era Joint Research Project'' at a summit meeting with President Lee Myung-bak in 2009 when he was still prime minister. In October 2010, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a proposal for a ``Japan-Korea new era'' (building a complex network for coexistence), and in it made the following recommendations regarding ``long-term promotion of the Japan-Korea submarine tunnel concept.'' Was
“The British-French submarine tunnel that connects the Straits of Dover not only expands the flow of people and goods between Britain and France, but also plays a role in connecting the island nation of the United Kingdom with the entire continent of Europe.It also connects the Kitakyushu region with the Busan and Masan regions. The construction of the Japan-Korea submarine tunnel will not only contribute to expanding the flow of people and logistics between Japan and South Korea, but will also become a project that connects the island nation of Japan with the entire Asian continent.A phenomenon of mass exchange between Japan and South Korea. Also, from the perspective of trilateral exchange between Japan, China, and South Korea, the effects of this plan on non-economic mutual exchange must be highly evaluated.
"Also, the Japan-Korea submarine tunnel is not just for Japan and South Korea. If it passes through North Korea and connects to Shenyang in Northeast China, the Northeast Asia railway network of the three countries will be connected and it will connect Siberia. It is possible to reach Europe via railway.''
The Japan-Korea submarine tunnel was originally a Japanese idea.
In 1935, before the war, JR's predecessor, the Japanese National Railways, proposed the ``Japan-Europe Railway Concept''. The grand idea was to connect Kyushu, the Korean Peninsula, Mukden, Beijing, the Palm Plateau, and the Eastern Boolean Orient Express to connect Europe. In fact, six years later, in 1941, he began exploring Iki and Tsushima in Nagasaki Prefecture, and went bowling in Yobuko Town in Saga Prefecture. However, they were set back by the outbreak of the Pacific War.
In the current situation where there is sharp conflict over Takeshima, no matter how much fuss may be made in South Korea, the idea of a ``Japan-South Korea undersea tunnel'' is just a ``picture-filled cake'' with no realizability.
Japan-Korea Undersea Tunnel Route (from the pamphlet of the Tottori Prefectural Citizens Conference for Promotion of Japan-Korea Tunnel)
Shinichi Bebe | Journalist Korea Report Editor-in-Chief 2/3 (Wed) 12:17
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