A 3 a.m. bus ride to Seoul, crowds pack even the hallway... 90,000 citizens call for "More rail investment"

First Public Forum on National Railway Plan Draws Huge Crowds
"Urgent Need to Expand Investment and Put Transportation Before Development"
5th Plan to Be Finalized and Announced by End of December

"I took a bus at 3 a.m. in Goheung, South Jeolla Province, and traveled for six hours to get here. For older people, even a single trip to the hospital means riding in a car for an hour and a half to a KTX station in Suncheon or Gwangju. In rural areas, railways are a matter of survival."

"Even though I live in the Seoul metropolitan area, I feel trapped on an island. New-town apartment complexes keep going up, but I spend two or three hours on the road every day. It feels much more reassuring to see citizens come here in person and share how desperate the situation is."

Citizens and local government officials who were unable to enter a public hearing on the "5th National Rail Network Construction Plan," held at the Korea Specialty Contractors Association building in Dongjak-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the 13th, gather in the corridor outside the entrance. Reporter Choi Seoyun

Before the government begins drawing up the 5th National Railway Network Plan (2026-2035), a blueprint for railway construction nationwide over the next 10 years, the public consultation venue was packed with people from across the country even before the event began. This was the first time the government had held an in-person public event for ordinary citizens while preparing a national railway network plan. The event, hosted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Korea Transport Institute on the morning of November 13 at the Professional Construction Center in Dongjak-gu, Seoul, drew a full house early on. The main conference hall, which had 600 seats in total, included 400 general-admission seats allocated by the organizers across six regions.

Some 200 to 300 citizens and local government officials who could not get inside were left waiting in the lobby outside the conference room, watching the event via a live YouTube broadcast on their smartphones. Police security personnel even began controlling access to the doors over concerns about safety incidents. After presentations from each region, applause, cheers, and chants calling for railway lines to be built in their areas rang out inside and outside the venue.

Kim, 50, from Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi Province, said, "As soon as the survey announcement came out, citizens started making plans to attend on their own several days in advance. It's meaningful to have a forum where officials listen directly to citizens instead of relying on desk-based policymaking." Seok, in his 30s, from Hongseong County, South Chungcheong Province, who said he had set out for Seoul at 6 a.m., added, "It's a shame that the venue was too small for me to get in, but this was an opportunity to show how urgently residents want an east-west railway line."

Citizens and local government officials from across the country fill the seats and aisles at a public opinion-gathering event for the "Fifth National Rail Network Construction Plan," held on the 13th at the Korea Specialty Contractors Association building in Dongjak-gu, Seoul. Photo by Choi Seoyun

According to preliminary results from a public survey released by Lee Ho, head of the Rail Transport Research Division at the Korea Transport Institute, who delivered the keynote presentation, 66% of the approximately 90,000 respondents said railway services in their current area of residence were "insufficient." An overwhelming 97% said investment in the national railway network should be increased, including 71% who called for a substantial increase. Meanwhile, 67% expected railways to play a greater role than roads 30 years from now. The figures are based on responses received by noon on November 12.

In particular, most respondents agreed that railway networks should be developed from the planning stage of new development projects, rather than allowing the familiar pattern of years of traffic gridlock after people move into new towns or industrial complexes. This approach is often described as "transport first, development later." As their top regional priority, 75% of respondents in the Seoul metropolitan area chose "improving the convenience of commuting," while 25% of respondents outside the metropolitan area chose "balanced national development through five mega-regions and three special self-governing provinces."

Preferences for investment allocation also reflected the pressing transportation issues residents face in their respective areas. About 70% of metropolitan-area residents favored allocating 60% to the Seoul metropolitan area and 40% to areas outside it, while 43% of residents outside the metropolitan area preferred a 70%-to-30% split in favor of their regions. In a separate survey of 15 metropolitan local governments, those in the Seoul metropolitan area proposed KRW 100 trillion as an appropriate total project cost, while those outside the metropolitan area suggested around KRW 200 trillion.

Lee Ho, director of the Railroad Transport Research Division at the Korea Transport Institute, presents the results of a public survey at a public consultation event on the 5th National Railway Network Construction Plan held at the Korea Specialty Contractors Association building in Dongjak-gu, Seoul, on the 13th. Photo by Choi Seoyoon

Presentations by 14 local governments and open comments from the public that followed brought a flood of specific requests closely tied to residents' daily lives. In the Seoul metropolitan area, speakers focused on the reality that 7 million people commute each day and on transportation gaps, including those in third-generation new towns. Gyeonggi Province Governor Choo Miae, who attended in person, called for 40 proposed projects to be included in the plan. "Homes and factories keep multiplying, but railways can't keep pace. Many places have been left without adequate transportation for years after residents moved in," she said, emphasizing that "railways are an urgent issue affecting people's livelihoods."

Incheon Mayor Park Chandae also highlighted five projects, including GTX-D and GTX-E, an extension of the Daejang-Hongdae Line to Cheongna, and a connection between the Incheon-bound KTX and the airport. "A shorter commute means a longer life. Investing in railways is a way to give time back to citizens," he said. Yongin Mayor Lee Sangil and Uiwang Mayor Kim Seongje also took the microphone during the open comments to call for railways connecting to semiconductor clusters and for gaps in railway coverage to be addressed.

Attendees from outside the Seoul metropolitan area made heartfelt appeals for east-west connections and a super-regional railway network to help overcome the risk of regional decline and ensure basic rights, including access to medical care and industry. Gangwon Province described how Chuncheon residents have to travel back toward Seoul to reach hospitals in Wonju, and said railway accessibility there is only about half the national average. South Chungcheong, North Chungcheong, North Jeolla, North Gyeongsang, and Ulsan, among others, made connecting east-west cross-country railway lines and filling missing links in the existing network, which is focused mainly on north-south routes, their top priorities.

Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Hong Ji-seon delivers opening remarks at a public consultation event for the 5th National Railway Network Development Plan, held at the Korea Specialty Contractors Association building in Dongjak-gu, Seoul, on the 13th. Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport

Residents who had traveled from Namhae, Sancheong, Goheung, Changwon, and other areas after losing sleep in the early hours agreed that railway lines must be built to support future industries such as aerospace and port logistics, and to ensure access to transportation as a public service. Kwon, who came from Sancheong, South Gyeongsang Province, said, "It was an opportunity for people across the country to understand one another's needs as we heard about the urgent needs and distinctive stories of 14 regions that I hadn't known about before."

Experts also called for institutional improvements to make the plan more responsive to people's needs. Jeong Jinhyeok, chairman of the Korea National Railway, said, "The changes to the country's spatial structure envisioned by the 5th plan and their wider effects are not adequately reflected in the current preliminary feasibility study framework," underscoring the need to revise the evaluation system. Lee Baekjin, a senior research fellow at the Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements, and Yu Soyoung, a senior researcher at the Korea Railroad Research Institute, among others, called for qualitative investment, including completing "60-minute living zones" within the five mega-regions and three special self-governing provinces and ensuring seamless transfers and connections between existing lines.

Comments on the live YouTube broadcast also included calls to "increase funding for new projects compared with the 4th plan; the commute is hell," as well as repeated requests to "make the criteria for selecting routes and the basis for evaluations transparent."

Experts discuss railway investment and ways to connect different rail lines at a public opinion-gathering event on the 5th National Rail Network Development Plan, held on the 13th at the Korea Specialty Contractors Association building in Dongjak-gu, Seoul. From left: Professor Oh Jaehak of Korea Aerospace University; Kim Taebyeong, director general of the Rail Bureau at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport; Jeong Jinhyeok, chairman of the Korea National Railway; Sung Sikyeong, president of the Korean Association for Public Administration; Senior Researcher Yoo Soyoung of the Korea Railroad Research Institute; and Senior Research Fellow Lee Baekjin of the Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements. Photo by Choi Seoyun

In his welcoming remarks on November 13, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Hong Jiseon also said, "Housing and transportation must go hand in hand." He added, "We will work to ensure that residents of the Seoul metropolitan area do not have to endure transportation inconveniences for too long, and that transportation networks connecting regional hubs with surrounding cities are in place on time." However, Hong said, "Government funding is limited, and we also need to complete existing projects, so it will be difficult to include every proposed project. We will make careful decisions after comprehensively considering economic feasibility, balanced development, and the effects of connections between railway lines."

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport continued listening to public feedback for more than 30 minutes past the scheduled end time, as the event drew intense interest. Kim Taebyeong, director general of the Ministry's Railway Bureau, said, "Railways handle more than 70% of medium- and long-distance travel in Korea, but the country's railway network is only between one-fifth and one-quarter as long as those of France and Germany." He added, "We will thoroughly reflect the aspirations expressed today by the public and local governments, and finalize and officially announce the 5th plan by the end of December, incorporating as much funding as possible after expert evaluations, public hearings, and consultations with relevant ministries."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.