[The Editors' Verdict] GTX Breaks Down the Boundary Between the Yolk and the White

"Thanks to GTX (Great Train Express, GTX-A), I can have one more drink."

He was getting ready to go home to his house in Unjeong New Town, Paju, Gyeonggi Province, before 9 p.m. But recently, he stayed longer than usual and even suggested going for a second round. He hurriedly said, "With the opening of GTX, I can get home in 25 minutes one way."

His commute was like a journey toward Seoul. Taking the metropolitan express bus (M7111) to Seoul Station took 1 hour and 30 minutes. That’s 3 hours round trip. If he commutes 20 days a month, that means he spends about a month each year trapped on the bus. Even if he takes the Gyeongui-Jungang Line from Unjeong Station, it takes an hour, and considering the distance between his home and the station, the total time is similar. He sighs with relief, saying, "I’m so lucky to have a smartphone."

So even though his colleagues call him "Cinderella," he leaves the company dinner by 9 p.m. It’s hard to resist his colleagues’ urging to "Come on, have one more drink." But if he drinks for another hour or two as they suggest, his day ends past midnight. The next day’s commute is always a heavy burden.

He’s not disappointed that his colleagues don’t understand. His family’s wish to live in a bigger and cleaner home led him to Paju, and since they are happily living like the wind, he believes it’s okay if only he suffers.

GTX has brought new changes to his life. His family no longer has to delay dinner to eat with him like people living in Seoul. He also doesn’t have to look for colleagues to have dinner with after work. The biggest change is that the thought of "I should move to Seoul" disappeared at some point. He says, "Thanks to GTX, Gyeonggi Province will soon be able to enter the prime area like Seoul." A few years ago, the drama "My Liberation Notes," which portrayed the story of three siblings living on the outskirts of the metropolitan area, sparked attention with the expression, "Gyeonggi Province is like the egg white surrounding Seoul."

His neighbors seem to feel similarly. The Unjeong?Seoul Station section was used by 3.6 million people within three months of opening. As of the end of March, the average daily ridership was about 45,600 (91.1% of the forecast). Compared to the Suseo?Dongtan line, which opened a year ago and had 4.09 million users (average daily 16,171, 75.1% of the forecast), it shows that the transportation thirst of northern Gyeonggi residents was more severe. When the Unjeong?Seoul Station and Suseo?Dongtan sections are connected, his life will change even more. If the train passes Samsung Station without stopping in 2027, it will take 43 minutes to reach Dongtan. When the line opens to Samsung Station in 2028, it will take about 30 minutes to get to Gangnam.

Residents of Gyeonggi Province and Incheon Metropolitan City are eagerly awaiting the opening of GTX. Former President Yoon Suk-yeol held a grand groundbreaking ceremony last year and announced that Line B (Incheon Songdo?Namyangju, Gyeonggi) and Line C (Yangju?Suwon, Gyeonggi) would be connected by 2030 and 2028, respectively. However, even after a year since the ceremony, construction has not started. Due to rising construction costs and funding issues, the progress of the private investment sections is uncertain. The government needs to prepare a plan to reflect realistic construction costs to get the project underway. It is a crucial time for the government’s insight to make the residents’ hopes a reality.