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` In 1899, Korea`s first steam locomotive made its way from Seoul to Incheon on the Gyeongin Railway. And after more than a century has passed, Korea`s very first high speed railroad will be launched on April 1, 2004. With the launching of the high speed railroad, Korea will become only the fifth nation in the world with France, Japan, Germany, and Spain to build a new railway exclusively for high speed trains, clearly heralding the nation as one of the world`s leaders in railway service and technology. The high speed railroad will commence commercial service after 12 years of construction, which began in June 1992. Compared to the existing Saemaeul (New Village Movement) Express, the new high speed railroads of Gyeongbu (Seoul - Busan) and Honam (Jeolla Province) will dramatically reduce travel time from 4 hours 10 minutes to 2 hours 40 minutes between Seoul and Busan and from 4 hours 42 minutes to 2 hours 58 minutes between Seoul and Mokpo, enabling passengers to travel to the far corner of the nation and back in only half a day. The high speed railroad will have 70 to 80 departures per day, boosting train passenger seat supply by 2 fold when other railroads are included. The high speed railroad will double railway transportation capacity and is expected to not only ease traffic congestion but also reduce logistics costs. We are confident that the launching of the high speed railroad, a epochal milestone in the 21st century transportation revolution, will significantly contribute to positive changes in the balanced development of the nation as well as its politics, economy, society, and culture.`