South Korea aims to build world’s 6th inland base in the Antarctic 

The South Korean government announced on Monday that it will build the world’s sixth inland base in the Antarctic by 2030. 

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said that the First Basic Plan for the Promotion of Polar Activities was confirmed at a Cabinet meeting. The plan encompasses both the North and South Poles, in the areas of scientific research, economic activities and international cooperation. 

Seoul plans to select the best location for its inland research by 2027 and build a base there by 2030, which will be the world’s sixth inland base to date. 

Other inland bases have been established by the United States, Russia, Japan, a collaborative effort between France and Italy, and China. 

Korea has two bases in the Antarctic so far, namely King Sejong Station on the Barton Peninsula and Jang Bogo Station located in mainland Antarctica. 

While the Antarctic’s inland is a great resource for learning about the Earth’s environment a million years ago, exploration there requires the most advanced exploration technologies. 

To aid the exploration efforts, Seoul will invest 277.4 billion won ($204.4 million) in building a 15,000-ton next-generation icebreaking research vessel. 

The new vessel will be able to break sheets of ice that are up to 1.5 m in thickness while traveling at a speed of 5.6 km per hour. The current icer ARAON can only break sheets of ice that are up to 1 m in thickness. 

The ministry plans to emerge as Asia’s leader in international studies on the Arctic Ocean from 2027. 

Minister of Oceans and Fisheries Cho Seung-hwan said, “The government plans to execute the Basic Plan without issues to combat climate change and find the keys to the cutting-edge technology.”

Write to Eu-Jin Jeong at justjin@hankyung.com
Jee Abbey Lee edited this article.