Holding a 610,000 Won Train Ticket from Gangneung to Berlin... Restarting the Inter-Korean Railway Connection (Comprehensive)

Commemoration Ceremony for Donghae Bukbu Line (Gangneung~Goseong Jejin) Promotion
Expectations for Connecting Inter-Korean Railroad + Siberian Continental Railroad Network
Total Project Cost 2.85 Trillion KRW "Korean Peninsula New Deal Project"
Minister of Unification Kim Yeon-cheol "Must Fulfill Inter-Korean Leaders' Promise"

A view of Jejin Station in Goseong-gun, Gangwon, where the Donghae Bukbu Line promotion ceremony was held on the 27th.

On the 27th, marking the 2nd anniversary of the Panmunjom Declaration, the government is set to restore the Donghae Northern Line section from Gangneung to Goseong Jejin after 53 years, officially launching the inter-Korean railway connection project.

The Ministry of Unification and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport held a 'Donghae Northern Line (Gangneung?Goseong Jejin) Promotion Ceremony' at Jejin Station in Goseong County, Gangwon Province, on the morning of the same day. The Donghae Northern Line is a longitudinal railway connecting Gangneung to Jejin Station, which has been discontinued since the route was abolished in 1967. With this ceremony, it is expected to be restored after 53 years.

The Donghae Northern Line Gangneung?Jejin railway construction project was recognized as an inter-Korean cooperation project at the 313th Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation Promotion Council held on the 23rd, and according to the 'National Finance Act,' the preliminary feasibility study was exempted on the 24th.

This project covers a total distance of 110.9 km from Namgangneung Station through Gangneung Station to Jejin Station and will be constructed as a single-track electrified railway. The total project cost is approximately 2.852 trillion KRW.

Once the interrupted Donghae Line railway is fully connected through this project, it is expected to establish a foundation for inter-Korean economic cooperation and the East Sea Economic Belt, as well as strengthen the nation's logistics competitiveness.

Earlier in 2018, the Gangwon Research Institute estimated that this project would generate induced effects such as 4.7426 trillion KRW in production, 1.9188 trillion KRW in added value, and 38,910 jobs.

Additionally, it is expected to promote the influx of domestic and international tourists through East Sea region tourism and future inter-Korean tourism resumption such as Mount Kumgang tours, improve transportation convenience for local residents, and contribute to national balanced development through regional economic revitalization.

In the future, once the inter-Korean railway connection is realized and further linked with the Trans-Siberian Railway (TSR), human and material movement from Busan to London will become possible.

At the Donghae Bukbu Line Promotion Ceremony held on the 27th at Jejin Station in Goseong-gun, Gangwon, attendees including Kim Hyun-mi, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and Kim Yeon-chul, Minister of Unification, are taking a commemorative photo after unveiling the planting marker stone.

In fact, at Jejin Station on the same day, honorary tickets for travel from Gangneung Station to Berlin were distributed. Although currently invalid, these tickets symbolically represent a future that can soon be realized.

The ticket is named the 'Donghae Northern Line Promotion Commemorative Ticket,' with a face value of 615,427 KRW. The ticket shows the destination as 'Gangneung→Jejin→Wonsan→Berlin.'

Kim Eun-ji (18), a second-year student at Daejin High School in Goseong County who received a Berlin-bound ticket at the ceremony, said, "I think it would be better to travel without taking a plane," adding, "If the railway is connected, I think unification can happen, and inter-Korean relations might improve."

Han Myeong-cheol, chairman of the Hyunnae-myeon Prosperity Association in Goseong County, who attended as a resident representative, said, "Residents of Goseong have long awaited the railway connection from Gangneung to Jejin," and added, "If the railway connects to North Korea, it can be seen as almost unification of our country. I ask for early commencement and completion of the project."

Hwang Dong-yeop (42), a Korea Railroad Corporation employee and honorary stationmaster of Jejin Station for the second generation following his father, said, "I thought the region would develop a lot with the promotion of Mount Kumgang tourism, but many projects died due to the suspension of tourism," and added, "I hope the Donghae Northern Line opens soon."

At the Donghae Bukbu Line Promotion Ceremony held on the 27th at Jejin Station in Goseong-gun, Gangwon Province, Minister of Unification Kim Yeon-chul signed a sleeper.
The sentence "Connection of the Donghae Bukbu Line, the beginning of imagination crossing the Korean Peninsula and Eurasia" is written on it.

The ceremony was attended by about 150 people, including Kim Yeon-chul, Minister of Unification; Kim Hyun-mi, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport; Choi Moon-soon, Governor of Gangwon Province; and heads of government, local governments, and related organizations.

In his commemorative speech, Minister Kim said, "The construction of the Donghae Northern Line is a 'Korean Peninsula New Deal' project that will inject vitality into our economy," adding, "The East Sea Economic Belt, one of the central axes of the Korean Peninsula New Economic Vision, will be completed, opening an East Coast era connecting the continent and the ocean."

He particularly reminded that the day marked the 2nd anniversary of the 'Panmunjom Declaration' and clearly expressed his intention to accelerate various inter-Korean cooperation projects using the Donghae Northern Line project as a momentum.

He said, "The government is steadily pushing forward what can be done immediately to quickly fulfill the promises of the inter-Korean leaders and open an era of peace economy on the Korean Peninsula," adding, "We want to let the flower of peace economy bloom fully starting from the border areas where the two Koreas face each other. The first step is the construction of the Donghae Northern Line."

He continued, "When the Donghae Northern Line, the Donghae Central Line currently under construction, and the Donghae Southern Line already in operation are connected, the lifeline of the East Sea Economic Belt, one of the central axes of the Korean Peninsula New Economic Vision, will finally be completed," emphasizing, "(The East Sea economy) will open a new East Coast era."

Minister Kim Hyun-mi said in her congratulatory speech, "This project not only contributes to national balanced development but also prepares for inter-Korean railway cooperation. As it is a long-standing regional wish, we plan to complete the basic plan by the end of this year and aim to start construction by the end of next year, linking it with ongoing construction projects such as the single-track electrified railway from Pohang to Samcheok to create synergy and proceed with speed."

President Moon Jae-in and North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un are moving to the summit venue after the South Korean honor guard inspection in front of the Peace House at Panmunjom on April 27, 2018.

Meanwhile, President Moon Jae-in also announced a drive for inter-Korean cooperation in his opening remarks at the senior secretaries and aides meeting held at the Blue House on the same day, saying, "We will seek the most realistic and practical path for inter-Korean cooperation."

Regarding the inter-Korean railway connection, President Moon said, "We will start with what we can do," and added, "I hope we can realize together the dream of connecting the Donghae Line and Gyeongui Line agreed upon by the inter-Korean leaders."