The construction of Korea’s second polar research base in Antarctica, the Jang Bogo Station, was completed last Wednesday, on February 12. The science station is only the second polar research station for Korea, following the King Sejong Station built on King George Island 26 years ago. What does the new science station offer to the Korean economy? Today Vice President Choe Moon-young최문영 of the Korea Polar Research Institute is here to answer that question. First he explains what the new science base means for Korea.

Korea first started researching the Antarctic region with the establishment of the King Sejong Station in 1988. Until very recently, Korea has only played a peripheral role in Antarctic development, but with the completion of the Jang Bogo Station, Korea has now stepped up to a more prominent position. There are currently about 30 nations that have research stations in the South Pole. But only ten have two or more stations, Korea being the most recent addition. It is very costly to operate a station in Antarctica, so a nation must have certain financial standing to run it. The fact that Korea has two stations in operation in Antarctica demonstrates that the nation has enough funding and facilities to make contributions to global Antarctic research efforts.

It certainly isn’t easy to build a station in Antarctica. The place must withstand wintertime temperatures that plummet to as low as 70 degrees Celsius below zero with winds at the speed of nearly 90 meters per second. The construction of an Antarctic station requires special technology and ample funding. Still, 30 nations have jumped at the chance to explore one of the harshest terrains on earth, because Antarctica is the planet’s last expansive reserve of natural resources.

There are two types of resources in the South Pole - underground or mineral resources buried under the continent and marine resources found in the Antarctic Ocean surrounding the polar region. Korea has secured many marine resources through remote sea fishing but this hasn’t been the case for the minerals. Korea joined the Protocol to the Antarctic Treaty on Environmental Protection in 1998 and thus is banned from mining in the region until 2048. Having joined Antarctic exploration and development later than other nations, Korea nonetheless has to keep gathering information and experience through exploration so that the nation can obtain what it needs once Korea is allowed to mine for minerals in Antarctica.

There are enough oil, iron, copper, and other raw resources buried in Antarctica to last mankind for the next 100 years. This is why powerful nations have fought for dominium over the Antarctic region since the early 20th century, with England claiming it first in 1908. After much wrangling, the Antarctic Treaty was concluded in 1959, which limited the member nations to conducting scientific research and allowed them to only use Antarctica for peaceful purposes. However, the signatories can request a review of the protocol after 2048. This is why Korea has chosen Terra Nova Bay for the site of the Jang Bogo Station. This location, 4,500 kilometers southeast of the King Sejong Station, was selected as the optimal place for land research. Korea’s second science station in Antarctica was completed one year and nine months after its construction began and the Korean government has been providing support over the years.

The King Sejong Station was opened on the Barton Peninsula in 1988 and has been in operation for the past 26 years. In the Arctic region Korea established the Dasan Station in 2002 and Korea’s first ice breaker, the Araon, completed in 2009 has been carrying out numerous missions in the Arctic Ocean. The Jang Bogo Station completed on February 12, 2014 is the latest in Korea’s polar exploration projects. The King Sejong Station has been conducting mostly marine research, as it is located near the sea, but the new Jang Bogo Station is built on the Antarctic continent to conduct programs that can only be done in the South Pole, such as glacier studies, outer space monitoring, and meteor observations.

Antarctica is an excellent testing ground for pure and applied natural sciences. Therefore, the Jang Bogo Station is expected to serve as an advanced base for the studies on glaciers, meteorites, and the ozone layer. Moreover, Korea’s Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries plans to allow the developers of plants, equipment, robots, and new materials to utilize the Jang Bogo Station as their experimentation site. If so, the Jang Bogo Station will be instrumental in upgrading Korea’s technological and industrial levels. With the completion of the new Antarctic research station, Korea is poised to obtain both technology and resources. Comprised of 16 buildings and 24 pieces of monitoring equipment, the Jang Bogo Station is expected to speed up Korea’s scientific growth.

The environment in the South Pole is unforgiving, with freezing temperatures, relentless wind, snow, ice, and eternal nights. But that’s what makes Antarctica so special. Korea needs to use that harsh environment to conduct various experiments and scientific studies. For instance, there are organisms that can generate an anti-freeze in their bodies so as to live in Antarctica without freezing to death. Korean scientists have been studying such a substance with the hope of discovering the effective means for longer blood storage or cryogenics.

Although it took Korea longer than other advanced nations to accumulate enough money and scientific know-how to start polar researches, it became only the eighth nation in the world to operate science stations in both the North and South Poles. In fact, Korea was made a permanent observer of the Arctic Council last year, which boosted the nation’s standing in the circle of extreme region researchers. Now that Korea stands shoulder to shoulder with the frontrunners of polar research, what should Korea do in the Arctic and Antarctic regions?

It’s important for Korea to think that its territory is being expanded beyond the Korean Peninsula and to the extreme regions. Antarctic or Arctic research is important not only for Korea’s national interests, but also for Korea’s contribution to mankind and international standing. The government should provide steady assistance to the polar projects and open up the stations in the polar regions to multinational cooperation.

The Jang Bogo Station is not just a science base, but Korea’s legacy to mankind. The nation should seek ways to make significant contributions to the international community through the polar research stations.