ISLAND TRANSPORTATION PLAN

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Alhough Ulleung-do Island in Gyeongsangbukdo Province is known for it's well preserved, beautiful landscape, many people are hesitant when it comes to visiting because of the inconvenient transportation. A new plan has been unveiled to build an airport on the island by 2025. The travel time between Seoul and Ulleung-do will be reduced to an hour, making it more convenient for tourists and local residents. Let's take a look

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Ulleung-do Island is known for its well preserved, beautiful natural landscape. However, a journey to the island requires one to travel down to Pohang or Uljin in Gyeongsangbuk-do Province, then take a boat ride lasting more than three hours.

[Soundbite] (VISITOR) : "I suffered from terrible seasickness due to strong winds. It was tough."

Every year, for about 4 months, ships are unable to operate due to high waves.

[Soundbite] PARK SANG-IK(ULLEUNG-DO RESIDENT) : "We are practically locked in for four months during winter. That's why we earn money during summer and spend the winter in the mainland."

An air route will be open to the island notorious for the difficult access. An airport will be built by 2025 near Sadong port in the southern part of Ulleung-do. The construction will begin next April. A new seawall will be built behind the existing one and then the area will be reclaimed to house runways and landing zones, which measure 1.2 kilometers in length and 30 meters in width. The airport will be able to accommodate up to six planes, each with a capacity of up to 50 people. One plane can take off every 15 minutes. In order to ensure safe landing and takeoff at Ulleung Airport which has shorter runways and unfavorable weather conditions, an ultra-precision global positioning system will be introduced, which is ten times better than current ones.

[Soundbite] NAM KI-WOOK(KOREA AEROSPACE RESEARCH INSTITUTE) : "The system is expected to considerably increase the number of flights and boost aviation safety."

The travel time between Seoul and the island will be reduced from seven hours to one. The airport is expected to help increase the annual number of tourists from some 400,000 to over one million.