'Dramatic people' who study while experiencing extremes in the most extreme places on the planet. A collaboration project between people from the Polar Research Institute and Soup, who often travel back and forth between Antarctica and the North Pole, which are difficult for ordinary people to visit once in a lifetime, and conduct research activities! Hear their stories on the front lines of climate change! (Written by Choi Young-joon, Director of Policy Development, Strategic Planning Department, Polar Research Institute)
In 2021, Korea enacted the 'Polar Activities Promotion Act', which includes research and development, international cooperation, human resource training, and economic activity promotion, in order to lay the foundation for systematic promotion at the national level, covering Antarctica and the Arctic. In accordance with the law, in 2022, for the first time in Korea, we established the '1st Basic Plan for the Promotion of Polar Activities', which contains policy directions in Antarctica and the Arctic.
When we think of Antarctica and the North Pole, we usually think of researchers drilling glaciers on the white snow fields around Korea's South and Arctic scientific bases and the icebreaking research vessel Araon, or conducting research next to penguins and seals. When we talk about the establishment of our country's polar policy, we shake our heads at what kind of polar policy there are and what role it plays.
As a result of conducting an "awareness survey" among the general public and future generations of youth while establishing the Polar Master Plan, 64% of the general public and 74% of future generations said that they did not know about the polar policy. Therefore, as a person who has participated in all the processes of polar policy formulation announced by the government from 2020 to now, and participated in the establishment of two statutory basic plans for the government's statutory basic plan in 2022, the '4th Basic Plan for the Promotion of Antarctic Research Activities (Antarctic Basic Plan)' and the '1st Basic Plan for the Promotion of Polar Activities (Basic Plan for Polar Regions)', and two mid- to long-term polar strategies in 2~2020, I would like to introduce my country's polar policy, its role and importance.
Global polar policy trends and our country's polar policy
The polar regions, as you know, consist of the South Pole and the North Pole. First of all, the Antarctic and the Arctic differ in the governance structure related to their characteristics. Antarctica is a continent covered by thick ice with an average length of 3,000 meters. Under the Antarctic Treaty, territorial claims are frozen, military activities are prohibited, and only scientific research and peaceful use are possible. On the other hand, the North Pole refers to the land, ice shelves and water bodies north of 66.30 north latitude and the sky above them, and in the center of the Arctic Ocean, there is no continent like Antarctica, but an area composed of ice on the sea. The Arctic Council, which consists mainly of eight countries on the Arctic Ocean coast, including the United States, Russia, Canada, Norway, Denmark, Iceland and Finland, and the 13 Arctic Council observer countries that are not Arctic coastal states like Korea but are active in the Arctic, are actively cooperating with each other.
Accordingly, in general, with regard to Antarctica, most countries have legislated and implemented the "Antarctic Environmental Protection Act" in a regulation-oriented manner in order to fulfill the environmental protection obligations of the Antarctic Treaty. Korea also enacted the Antarctic Activities and Environmental Protection Act in 2004 to manage environmental protection and entry and exit permits in Antarctica. In the Arctic, the Arctic Circle countries mainly enforce laws on activities in their territorial waters and environmental protection.
In addition to these laws, countries continue to formulate mid- to long-term policies and strategies with their own policy directions for conducting scientific research and international cooperation in Antarctica and the Arctic. In particular, countries are actively formulating policies related to the Arctic in order to respond to the increasing expectations for resource development, security insecurity in the Arctic region due to the Russia-Ukraine crisis, and rapid changes in cooperative relations due to the Russia-Ukraine crisis.
Since the enactment of the "Act on Antarctic Activities and Environmental Protection" in 2004, Korea has established the "Basic Plan for the Promotion of Antarctic Research Activities" as a statutory basic plan of the government every five years for the promotion of Antarctic scientific research in accordance with this law. It mainly covers scientific activities in Antarctica, infrastructure operation to support them, development of applied technologies, and international cooperation for scientific research. Since 2022, the '4th Basic Plan for the Promotion of Antarctic Research Activities' has been established and is being implemented.
Regarding the Arctic, it was Korea's first Arctic policy to establish the "Arctic Policy Master Plan" after Korea obtained observer status from the Arctic Council in May 2013. Since then, Arctic policy has been linked to the "First Basic Plan for the Promotion of Polar Activities," which brings together the contents of Antarctica and the Arctic and encompasses not only scientific research but also scientific, diplomatic, economic, and industrial cooperation with Arctic Circle countries. Although the "Basic Plan for Arctic Policy" was deliberated by the Council of State, it was not a law-based policy, so there are two statutory plans based on the law that represent our country: the "Basic Plan for the Promotion of Antarctic Research Activities," which specializes in Antarctic scientific research, and the "Basic Plan for the Promotion of Polar Activities," which encompasses Antarctica and the Arctic together, as well as science, international cooperation, human resource training, economy, industry, and diplomacy.
There is also a mid- to long-term strategy for the polar region that does not specify the time period and contains the future until 2050, and the "Polar Science Future Development Strategy," which was established in 2020 with the future direction of polar scientific research, and the "2050 Arctic Activity Strategy," which contains a strategy for expanding Korea's entry into the Arctic and its contribution to the Arctic by 2050, are representative mid- to long-term government strategies that have been established recently. It looks complicated, but it looks like the following diagram.
The Role and Importance of Polar Policy
So, as other countries and our country are announcing medium- and long-term strategies and policies for these various polar regions, what role do these policies play and what does it mean?
First of all, a large amount of budget is invested in the establishment and operation of infrastructure such as scientific bases and icebreaking research vessels that enter the polar regions and conduct scientific research and cooperation, as well as the implementation of research projects. On the other hand, due to its characteristics, long-term observations, field activities, and mid- to long-term research are essential, so it is difficult to present results that are close to the public's skin right away. That is why the government's willingness to look to the future is important. Since the polar policy contains the future direction and will of the government, it is meaningful as the foundation that should be the most basic for polar activities.
Secondly, polar activities in particular are diverse in their fields. In scientific research alone, we need to study glaciers, oceans, and the cold atmosphere and climate of the polar regions, we need to look at the ecosystems of animals and plants that live in the polar regions, we need to observe the cryosphere in the wide polar regions, we need to observe through satellites, and we need to study how high the sea level will rise in the future as the glaciers melt. It also serves as a testing ground for exploration technology that enables research in cold environments and space technology in an environment similar to space. Polar policy binds, organizes, and prioritizes these diverse polar activities. It is difficult to derive from each task alone, but by grouping and classifying studies conducted in similar directions and purposes, it is possible to show the direction that each research pursues and what contribution it can make to our people. If it is listed in this way, it will be possible to construct a direction and system that would not be grasped, and to grasp the contribution and priorities at a glance through policy formulation.
Third, why are these medium- and long-term strategies and policies necessary and how are they connected? Korea started polar research more than 30 years later than developed countries. In particular, it has been possible to advance into the interior of Antarctica since the establishment of the Jangbogo Scientific Station in Antarctica in 2014.
Since 2015, Korea's second icebreaking research vessel, the "Construction of a Next-Generation Icebreaking Research Vessel" project, has been planned, and there is an urgent need for a mid- to long-term direction in the future and a strategy to move forward as a true polar leader. Accordingly, the government will establish the "Polar Science Future Development Strategy" in 2020. The issues of scientific research that need to be emphasized more in the future were dealt with here. For example, research on the construction of a next-generation icebreaking research vessel to expand observation of the Arctic Ocean, remote sensing research using satellites, deep glacier drilling by expanding Antarctica's inland reach, and prediction of mid-latitude disaster weather caused by sea level rise and polar regions due to rapid climate change.
Among them, issues related to the Arctic, such as 'remote sensing research using satellites', 'disaster weather prediction research from the Arctic to mid-latitudes', and 'construction of next-generation icebreaking research vessels', were embodied in the establishment of the 'Arctic Comprehensive Observation Network' in the '2050 Arctic Activity Strategy' established in 2021. With regard to Antarctica, the establishment of the 'Fourth Antarctic Basic Plan' took over the consideration of the previous development strategy, and in order to become a truly leading country in Antarctica, Korea developed its own Antarctic inland access route (K-Route) and 'established three inland research bases of the Korean type'. It is presented as a key initiative of the Antarctic Master Plan, and it is clear where the government's policy priorities lie.
(The rest of the story is from the soup)