◆29 years since the groundbreaking ceremony for the Japan-Korea Tunnel - Current conditions at the Karatsu Nagoya Incline Shaft Site
The New Year at the Karatsu Nagoya Incline Shaft Site was marked by strong winds due to a cold wave moving south from the continent, and the first sunrise was shrouded in clouds.
This year marks the 29th anniversary of the groundbreaking ceremony in October 1986. Many of the original members, including our founding chairman, Yasuo Sasa, have passed away, and many of those who were young at the time are now middle-aged. Nevertheless, the Japan-Korea Tunnel Project has been steadily carried on to this day as a concrete measure to realize world peace. While we are still in the early stages of planning the 230km-long tunnel, we were able to install a tunnel entrance on Tsushima last year, and have now reached the stage of surveying in Iki in preparation for the start of construction.
With the Japanese Prime Minister and South Korean President shaking hands at the border line in the West Tsushima Strait, and with the hope that the Japan-Korea Tunnel will be elevated to a "national project," we report on the current situation on the ground. Since the groundbreaking ceremony 29 years ago, excavation work on the exploration incline has been carried out in three phases, and the 6m diameter incline has now been dug to a depth of 540m. The tunnel, which moves at a "quarter gradient" dropping 1m for every 4m it travels, reaches sea level 300m from the entrance, extending into the underground world below sea level. As the focus of construction has shifted to Tsushima, there are no plans for construction in Karatsu, but you can still see and get a real sense of the Japan-Korea Tunnel concept in its entirety.
[Photo] Around the entrance of the Karatsu Nagoya Incline Shaft
Above the inclined shaft there is an observation deck facing west. With a 360-degree view, directly in front of you can see the ruins of Nagoya Castle, which Toyotomi Hideyoshi used 400 years ago as a base for his "Korean Invasion," and beyond that are the four Yobuko Islands. In the foreground is Kabeshima, and beyond that are the three islands lined up: Ogawashima, Katoshima, and Matsushima. On the right, the main shaft, coming from Karatsu City in the east and Hakata, passes through these islands and heads west towards the southeastern part of Iki, 28 km away. Iki Island appears large across the Genkai Sea, and you can really get a sense of how close it is.
The "Korean Invasion" is a sad event in the history of Japan and Korea, but since the time of Prince Shotoku 1,400 years ago, and even further back in the Yayoi period, Japan has had friendly and deep ties with Korea, the peninsula, and the continent. The Nihon Shoki records that the younger brother of the Baekje king traveled to Japan as an envoy, and that the woman accompanying him went into labor just before landing in Karatsu, and quickly docked her ship on the island, where she gave birth to a boy. This boy grew up to become King Muryeong, the 25th king of Baekje, and was so beloved by the people that he was nicknamed "King Shima."
The mausoleum of the king remains in a magnificent state in Gongju, South Korea.
Historically, Japan and Korea have had a relationship of "close, close nations." Last year, nearly 400 visitors from South Korea visited the tunnel, some of whom planted commemorative trees. In addition to pine and cherry trees, magnolia, ginkgo, and rose of Sharon are now lined up around the tunnel site. The number of visitors to the inclined shaft has been increasing year by year, with the number of visitors exceeding 1,500 in 2014, approaching the time of the groundbreaking ceremony. When I hear visitors happily comment that Yobuko's "live squid sashimi" is delicious, I feel proud that I am making some contribution to the local community.
How will you contribute to the realization of world peace? You may be able to sense something by asking yourself questions on the borders of the "extraordinary" that lie beyond the "ordinary."
[Photo] Iki, 28km away, seen from the observation deck. Matsushima is to the right of the center.
