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Whilst the complexities of a tunnel project, from conveyor belts to move vast amounts of earth to the bespoke tunnel boring machines that slowly create giant holes in mountains, should never be understated, neither should the vast accomplishments and benefits of such a project.
This is part of the justification for the vast numbers of tunnels connecting the Faroe Islands and the Fehmarnbelt Tunnel project, as well as part of the reason that the Channel Tunnel still fills people with such awe.
The Channel Tunnel connected an island nation to a continent, broke even after 14 years and fundamentally changed the UK’s relationship to Continental Europe by providing a freight and public transport link to the mainland.
The tunnel was hugely influential, but one of the most interesting projects it inspired was a tunnel connecting the island nation of Japan with South Korea, potentially creating a ground transport link from Japan all the way to the UK through various railway tunnels.
As of 2026, these plans have been abandoned, but the reasons why are far from straightforward, ranging from overambition to advocacy campaigns by religious and political groups.
The Japan-Korea Tunnel (or Korea-Japan Tunnel in the Republic of Korea) is a proposed undersea tunnel that would connect the westernmost Japanese Island of Kyushu and the South Korean region of Busan together via the islands of Tsushima and Iki in the Korea Strait.
Much like the Channel Tunnel, the proposal has been suggested for over a century, as the 80km distance between the two countries at their shortest point is at least plausibly close to the Seikan Tunnel, currently the longest undersea tunnel in the world.
Unlike the Channel Tunnel, which was intended to be a symbol of unity between Great Britain, France and the rest of Europe, the Japan-Korea Tunnel was initially proposed in 1917 as a way to connect Japan and Korea, which were at the time unified and part of the Japanese Empire.
These plans intensified in the early stages of the Second World War, but were discontinued in 1943 due to the events of the Pacific Theatre.
The proposal resurfaced in 1981, with serious planning beginning in the early 2000s. This was inspired in no small part by the Seikan Tunnel and especially the Channel Tunnel being constructed.
The stated goal was to create trade, financial, diplomatic and cultural connections, creating a symbol of unity between two nations that have a complex and fraught history.
This motivation would ironically be one of the reasons why the tunnel plans have since been abandoned and may never be returned to, but was the tunnel even possible in the first place?
Whilst there is a precedent for creating undersea tunnels between countries, what makes the Japan-Korea Tunnel complex is the length of the proposed routes.
The Channel Tunnel is 31 miles long, but the proposed route from Karatsu to Busan would involve a tunnel distance of over 130 miles, nearly five times the length. Even combination bridge-tunnel projects would involve two tunnels over 35 miles long, with a depth comparable to the Ryfast tunnel in Norway.
This would make it a prohibitively expensive tunnel, with construction costs estimated at around 116 trillion won (roughly £58bn), nearly five times the cost of the Channel Tunnel adjusted for inflation.
Whilst much of this would be offset in economic benefits that come from faster freight, more jobs, increased tourism and a connection to the BESETO Highway Plan to connect Tokyo, Seoul, Beijing, Osaka, Tianjin and Shanghai, it was difficult to justify the costs.
Many of these issues were voiced in the construction of the Channel Tunnel, which ultimately broke even after 14 years and dramatically changed the relationship between Britain and Europe, so the same could have been true with the Japan-Korea Tunnel.
However, its links to a major controversy mean it may not get that chance.
According to a report by the Straits Times, the idea of a Japan-Korea link was a core aim of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, more commonly known as the Unification Church.
The Unification Church’s founder, Sun Myung Moon, saw the “International Peace Expressway” as a fundamental part of their belief system, which led to extensive and controversial fundraising efforts to bore exploratory tunnels and lobby political figures in both Korea and Japan to build the tunnel despite both nations concluding it was financially unjustifiable.
Revelations of the Church’s potentially illegal involvement in both Korean and Japanese politics have meant that the tunnel has been associated with scandal, which, more than anything else, will mean it will likely never be constructed.
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