Sohn Hae-yong
The author is the business news editor of the JoongAng Ilbo.
On Oct. 13, the Istanbul Bridge container ship, operated by China's Haijie Shipping, arrived at the Port of Felixstowe in Britain - 20 days after departing from Ningbo-Zhoushan in Zhejiang Province. Although the journey took two days longer than planned, it was still less than half the time of the traditional Suez Canal route, which takes about 40 days, or the Cape of Good Hope route, which takes 50. Haijie plans to operate this new Arctic shipping line between China and Europe on a regular basis, marking what many call a milestone: the transformation of the Arctic from an "exploration frontier" into part of the global commercial network.

When JoongAng Ilbo reporters visited Tromso, Norway, and Nuuk, Greenland, last month, optimism was already high that these ports would become strategic hubs for Arctic shipping. Mads Qvist Frederiksen, executive director of the Arctic Economic Council, said activity centered on energy resources was growing rapidly. "The Arctic has abundant fisheries and energy resources," he said, noting that the region is emerging as an economically important area for global trade.
Korea, too, has been preparing for the Arctic era. Former President Lee Myung-bak laid the groundwork for Arctic navigation with his 2012 visit to Greenland, followed by five pilot voyages during the Park Geun-hye administration. Believing that year-round navigation could be possible by around 2030 due to global warming, the Lee Jae Myung administration has made developing the Arctic route a national priority, one of the president's campaign pledges. Like Singapore, which grew into a global logistics hub through the Suez Canal, Korea hopes to become a key transit point for the Arctic route.

The potential benefits are considerable. Beyond reducing travel distance and time, the Arctic region holds vast deposits of oil, natural gas and rare earth minerals. For Korea - heavily dependent on energy imports and one of the world's top trading nations - the route represents a strategic opportunity for energy and logistics security.
Still, experts warn that the path ahead will not be easy. Many in the shipping industry say the route remains far from economically viable. There are few intermediate ports for loading and unloading containers, while the costs of building icebreakers, high insurance premiums, limited port infrastructure and unpredictable ice conditions make regular operations difficult. In other words, it may be a "short but costly" route. A Korean shipping executive noted that China, with its large domestic market, can consolidate cargo before heading north, but for Korea - whose ships must call at ports in China, Taiwan or Singapore before turning toward the Arctic - the route is less efficient.
Geopolitical tensions also pose challenges. Russia controls 53 percent of the Arctic coastline, and its strained relations with the West have created obstacles. In 2015, CJ Logistics became the first Korean company to complete a commercial Arctic voyage, but British engineers aboard were forced to abandon the journey mid-route after Russia denied them visas for the Yamal Peninsula. Cooperation with the seven Arctic nations - the United States, Denmark via Greenland, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Canada - will be essential for stable operations.
Environmental and technical requirements add further complications. Jung Ji-hoon, secretary-general of the Korea Arctic Research Consortium, noted that vessels operating in the region must comply with the Polar Code, which mandates the use of environmentally friendly fuels such as liquefied natural gas or hydrogen. Park Jin-gu, a senior researcher at the Korea Polar Research Institute, added that unpredictable weather and the risk of isolation require robust satellite systems for real-time monitoring.
Despite the challenges, Korea is pressing ahead. The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said that while technol...

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