Dig it!
From the And-Monkeys-Might-Fly-Out-My-Butt Department comes this report on the proposed construction of an undersea tunnel that would link Japan and Korea.
Currently three tunnels are under review. The first at 209 km would link Karatsu in Saga Prefecture, Japan to the southern island known as Shimonoshima of Japan’s Tsushima to Geoje in Korea’s South Gyeongsang Province. The second tunnel (217 km) would link Karatsu to the nothern island (or Kaminoshima) of Tsushima, to Geoje. The third tunnel (231 km) would link Karatsu to Tsushima to Busan.
Any one of the proposed routes would make such an undersea tunnel the world’s longest, and more than four times longer than the Channel Tunnel that links Britain and France.

The benefits of linking Japan with Korea by tunnel are mostly economic, because it would cut the cost of transporting goods between the two countries by about 30 percent. However, some Koreans oppose project, claiming it would provide a means for Japan to “advance into the continent.”
Japan is suffering under tremendous budget deficit.
So, this project is awful, as it will only make the finance worse. And I don’t think it’s economically feasible.
Some people (including myself) are really worried that Japan might be bankrupt after 20 years.
May 12th, 2007 at 9:49 amYes, the troops are gathered in northern Kyushu and are champing at the bit. The only thing that’s stopping them is the lack of a tunnel.
May 12th, 2007 at 10:41 amLet’s invade Korea! – by the most difficult, expensive, inconvenient and implausible means possible!
And one that takes 20 to 30 years to implement.
May 12th, 2007 at 11:35 amIt’s an exercise in patience.
May 12th, 2007 at 11:56 amThat tunnel will kill people someday if it’s ever built.
May 13th, 2007 at 7:39 amI would love to see this tunnel. But, it wouldn’t be very practical until North Korea normalizes, and trade is able to move freely from China through Korea. Until then, they would still need ships for most cargo.
May 13th, 2007 at 8:08 am[...] H/T to Japundit [...]
May 14th, 2007 at 4:18 amWhen the Channel Tunnel was being built they also promised blue skies and honey to everyone. Guess what? It’s a colossal economical failure.
May 15th, 2007 at 7:16 am[...] between the old foes, but would also diversify South Korea’s economy, <a href=”http://blog.japundit.com/archives/2007/05/12/5977/”>ease trade costs</a>, tourist industry and improve its image around the [...]
February 27th, 2009 at 1:50 pm