Incumbent Seoul City Mayor Park Won-soon has floated the idea that Seoul Station could send trains all the way to Berlin and Paris by passing through North Korea and China.

Park is running for his third term in local elections slated for June 13.

“If Seoul Station becomes an international stop, logistics and tourism will rev up. Imagine a world where our youths would go on field trips to Paris and Berlin,” said Park on Monday.
 

He brought up the examples of late Olympians Son Kee-chung and Nam Sung-yong, who rode a train departing from Seoul Station to take part in the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

“When the railroad reconnects, the day will come when one dozes off and wakes up in Beijing. Uzbekistan, Tajikistan will be within our living perimeters,” Park said.

In line with this vision, Park stressed the greater role of Seoul in the future if South-North relations are normalized.

He cited upgrading the water quality of Pyongyang’s Taedong River and helping to get Pyongyang’s cultural sites recognized as UNESCO World Heritage as possible collaborative projects.

Nine candidates are vying for the post of Seoul mayor, including Kim Moon-soo from the main opposition Liberty Korea Party and Ahn Cheol-soo, a former presidential candidate, from the Bareunmirae Party.

By Lim Jeong-yeo (kaylalim@heraldcorp.com)