Is trans-Korean railway solely a symbol of peace in the Korean Peninsula?

Abstract

The islandic geopolitical situation of South Korea led the road-centered development and the road freight share reached 97% in 2015. Trans-Korean Railway, thus, is the key to low carbon development of South Korea. With the Trans-Korean Railway, the export freights for Eurasia can be loaded at a local station for a direct rail transport instead of current d-touring road-ship intermodal transport. This will trigger domestic rail facilitation and reduce road externalities. The corresponding reduction of the shuttle shipment among South Korea–China–Russia may further contribute towards the environmental sustainability of the Yellow and East Seas. Yet, Trans-Korean Railway is considered as a symbol of “peace in Korean Peninsula” that there has not been a sufficient research on the environmental, social, and economic impacts of the Trans-Korean Railway connection. This paper, accounting on various phenomenal evidence including air pollution (environmental), public health risks and high fatality (social) and logistics inefficiency (economic), argues for the needs to change the discussion perspective on the Trans-Korean Railway from traditional politics to its environmental, social, and economic values.