[Korea Encounters] Korea enters highway age 50 years ago
Posted : 2021-02-23 17:19
Updated : 2021-02-23 19:31 Cars drive on the Gyeongin Expressway connecting Seoul and Incheon, published in The Korea Times April 9, 1970. / Korea Times Archive
By Matt VanVolkenburg
In 1968, Korea entered a new era by building something that both reflected and would contribute to its growing economy: expressways.
Construction on a freeway connecting Incheon to Seoul began in March 1967, but the great goal of President Park Chung-hee was to build an expressway connecting Seoul and Busan. Once completed, it would shorten what was then a 12-hour drive to a mere four and a half hours.