Seoul’s bold bet on Arctic shipping | East Asia Forum
South Korea is pursuing the Northern Sea Route out of strategic necessity. Despite dangerous ice, high insurance costs and necessary cooperation with Russia, Seoul sees the Arctic as another venue for competition with China. South Korea aims to position Busan as the Asian gateway to the Northern Sea Route. While the route is costly and of dubious commercial viability, Seoul hopes that the establishment of the route may still offer increased business for its shipbuilding industry — a much-needed opportunity in a volatile maritime environment. For all that has been said about the Northern Sea Route (NSR), it remains a dangerous and unreliable way of getting cargo from Asia to Europe. Though global warming means that sea ice coverage has rapidly decreased, ice drifts can still severely damage steel-hulled ships. There is a long way to go before East Asia’s shipping industry can realise its Arctic ambitions. The weather in the extreme north is volatile and heavy sea ice formation from late