R e s e a r c h A c c o m p l i s h m e n t s o v e r Past Three Decades
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Transportation policy had been developed since the restoration of independence from Japan. Roads were the motive power of national economic development after the openness of In Highway and Kyung-Bu Highway at the end of the 1960s. The road-centered transportation policy, such as the continuous construction of highways, including Youngdong and Donghae Highways, and the expansion and paving of state roads, changed the transportation system in Korea.
The road-centered transportation policy also contributed to the popularization of automobiles with the development of the automobile industry. As a result, roads shrank the entire nation into a one-day or a half-day life zone. The moving distance and time also shrank.
After the success of the first and second Economic Development Plan and the rapid increase of the GNP per capita, Korea experienced an economic revival in the 1970s. As a result, population movement was increased and the
population concentrated on several big cities, such as Seoul, Busan, Daegu and others.
At this time, railroads focused on the improvement of infrastructures and locomotives to effectively manage transportation demands. Other facility infrastructures such as airports and seaports also expanded.
In the 1980s, all transportation infrastructures were maintained to jump to the next economic development steps with the help of the rapid economic development. The national arterial Highway network was continuously constructed to connect growth poles.
The railroad infrastructure projects focused on the expansion of railroad capacities, such as double-tracked, electrification, continuously welded rail (CWR) while new railroad investments sharply decreased. Subways in Seoul and other big cities were constructed to solve transportation problems caused by the population concentration in big cities.
In the 1990s, active investments in the SOC (social overhead capital) infrastructure continued to solve transportation problems such as the traffic jams or the increased physical distribution cost caused by
the rapid increase of transportation demands. In 1994, the “Transportation Facilities Special Account” operated temporary for the stable supply of transportation facilities. With the use of the economic resources management, the Gyeongbu High-Speed Railway was extended and constructed.
Investment on other transportation facilities were also boosted for the establishment of subway
Public Policy Forum on the Concept and the Policy Direction of National Road Network System(1990. 12. 6)
Public Hearings on the Comprehensive Plan of the Distribution Complex Development(1997. 3. 21)
construction in metropolitan regions, and the construction of the new airport at Yeongjongdo, Incheon.
In 2000, the national arterial Highway network, and the radial and ring road network system in the metropolitan area were constructed and systematically focused on management and the control of the effective transportation system. And, the partly constructed Gyeongbu High-Speed Railway shrank the entire nation into a half-day life zone. Currently, Honam High-Speed Railway is under construction.
In the fields of airports, seaports, and physical distribution, there were rapid developments.
Continuous seaport facility expansion and the operation of Incheon International Airport providing the world class service and managing the cargo handling facilities are examples of rapid developments.
The development of transportation infrastructure has provided the national economic development and the convenience for people in everyday life during the passed half-century. However, there were various problems.
First, the national environmental destruction caused by the construction of tunnels and bridges
for the expansion of the arterial network, and air pollution were significant. There was the increase of interest in the sustainable transportation facility after “the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.”
Implementing the comprehensive transportation network plan at the national level, such as the Comprehensive National Territorial Plan, the Transportation Research Division opened at the end of 1970s.
Early on, the main research subjects focused on the arterial network plan based on the road, such as
“The National Arterial Highway Network Plan,”
“The Road Network Management Plan,” and “The Survey for Feasibility of Highways.” The research for urban and freight transportation were initially investigated. The examples of these types of research were “the plan for the second, third, and forth subway lines in Seoul,” and “the implementation of the national transportation network system” and so on.
Roads account for 95% passenger transportation (2007) and 96% freight transportation. The amount invested for road from 2001 to 2007 is 71.7% the total amount of transportation investment.
However, the tremendous growth of passenger cars
and the increase in freight traffic caused by the increase of international trade leads the traffic chaos and high cost of freight traffic. As a result, traffic congestion costs increased in urban areas.
The Transportation Research Division implemented the express arterial network with road and railroad facilities, in order to shrink the entire nation into a half-day life zone with research for the development of a major transportation policy. This implementation was necessary to support the development of the nation and the metropolitan areas.
The transportation axis development plan related to the spatial structure through the implementation of long-term and mid-term transportation investment plans.
To respond to the 21st informatization era, KRIHS
researched the standardization and the architecture for the Intelligent Transport System (ITS). Following this, KRIHS implemented the distribution complex development plan to improve the national logistics competition and investigated with the participation of the various international programs, such as the research on the Asian Highway comprising the Korea Peninsula and its neighboring countries.
The Transportation Research Division runs the Road Policy Research Center and ITS Standardization Research Office for the research specialization on diverse topics. The function of the Road Policy Research Center is to present the vision of the national road policy and the cooperation and mediation for the road plan with local govern-ments. The ITS Standardization Research Office is
Public Hearings on Comprehensive Transport Planning on the Seoul Capital Metropolitan Area(2000. 12. 22)
ITS Seminar on IT International Standard Trends and Study of National Standard(2000. 3. 21)
in charge of the international and domestic ITS standardization.
The Transportation Research Division contributes to the sustainable national transportation policy with the objective of “The Creation of the Comprehensive
Transportation System” to support the balanced national territorial development and enhanced regional competition, the safe and comfortable right of way, and supporting the sustainable economic development.
Peter Gordon Professor, University of Southern California
The outstanding work done by KRIHS researchers is known around the world. My University has long benefited from visits by KRIHS scholars and we are proud to have participated in the training of many of them who have studied and earned degrees at USC. Increasing prosperity, as in Korea, creates a demand as well as a capacity for high-quality research. And high-quality research facilitates further prosperity and development. KRIHS is a perfect example of this virtuous cycle.
Ray Hudson Professor, Pro-Vice-Chancellor Durham University
Territorial and spatial planning are critical issues in the contemporary world as governments and societies seek to contain the effects of uneven development, promote sustainable economic development and ensure an equitable distribution of wealth and well-being. It gives me great pleasure to acknowledge the important work of the Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements(KRIHS) on the occasion of the thirtieth anniversary of its foundation. I trust that it will continue to develop its research agenda and the important work that it carries out into issues of territorial development and planning.
Paul Claval Chair Prefessor, The Paris-sorbonne University
The mechanisms which insured the conservation of nature and the building of humanized environments in traditional societies have been deeply upset by modernization: as a result, it is necessary to imagine new strategies in order to achieve those permanent objectives of human life on this Earth. Hence my interest in the research developed by KRIHS, in a country where the industrial revolution and globalization had been specially strong. I deeply appreciate the concern of KRIHS for developing international exchange on these difficult problems.
Congratulatory Remarks on the Krihs 30thAnniversary
Selected Titles of Research Reports
The Master Plan for the Development of Seoul Subway Lines: 2nd and 3rd Phase(1989, 1993) Traffic Impact Assessment for the New Towns within the Capital Region(1990)
Readjustment and Management of National Highway Networks(1990~1993)
Multi-Modal Transportation Planning of 5 Major Metropolitan Areas(1993)
A Masterplan of Intelligent Transportation System(1995)
A Study on Establishing Mid- and Long-term Master Plan for National Highway(1997)
Development of National Intelligent Transport System(ITS) Architecture(1998~1999)
National ITS Standardization Program of Korea(1998~1999)
Master Plan for physical Logistics Center in Gyeonggi-do(1998)
A Study on the Methodologies for Road Project Appraisal(1998~1999)
A Study for Classification Functional Role and Efficient Investment Method for the National Road(1999)
Masterplan for Physical Logistics Center (1999~2000)
A Study on Examination Multimodal
Transportation Management of Metropolitan Area: Subject Improvement of Regional Arterial Road(2000)
The Spatial Impact of the High Speed Rail and its Countermeasures(2003)
A Complemental Study for the Master Plan of Honam High-Speed Rail Construction(2005) Development of Emergency & Evaluation Management System for National road Networks(2005)
High Speed Rail and the Changes of Spatial Structure(I)(2005)
A Study on Evaluation Process of Investment for Transportation Facilities Taking Leisure Travel Demand into Account(2006)
Development and Application of Transportation Service Indicators(2006)
The Development of Nationwide Road Net-work(I)(2007)
Development of Integrated Road Traffic Infor-mation Infrastructure toward u-Korea(2007)