Jaunted

Train Travel

Japan and Korea, Connected by Rail?

February 21, 2008 at 11:05 AM | 0 Comments

Forget the cooked history books and wartime injustices, the Japanese government prefers to bury hatchets through feats of modern engineering. Last week members of the nation's parliament proposed building an undersea railway from Japan's southernmost island to Korea's port city of Busan as a symbol of peaceful ties. It would stretch 80 miles, making it more than twice the length of the Chunnel.

If it actually gets built, the tunnel would allow passengers to travel from Tokyo to London completely by rail. Whether it would heal the bitterness between the two countries is another matter entirely.

Korea was colonized by Japan from 1910 until the end of World War II. Much of the suffering Koreans endured during that time--including the abduction and enslavement of "comfort women"--remains officially unacknowledged by Japan today. Nothing a shiny new train can't fix, right?

Related Stories:
· Japan Lawmakers Want Peace Tunnel [Reuters]
· Train Travel coverage [Jaunted]
· South Korea Travel coverage [Jaunted]
· Japan Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: xoxoryan]