The mayor of South Korea’s second-largest city visited Nome Tuesday to discuss opportunities for international cooperation on Arctic infrastructure and trade.
Mayor Park Heong-joon was accompanied by over a dozen people, including an interpreter, delegates from the Korean Consulate in Anchorage and two South Korean media outlets.
The day before the Nome visit, Heong-joon met with Anchorage Mayor Suzanne LaFrance to sign a “Friendship City" agreement with Alaska’s most populous city. He also met with Governor Mike Dunleavy, an interaction Heong-joon described as “very excellent”.
“This visit will be a good opportunity for promoting our cooperation and the working new projects,” Heong-joon said of his interaction with Gov. Dunleavy.
One of those projects is the Port of Nome’s long-awaited modification project, which will deepen and expand the port. Once complete, the half-a-billion dollar endeavor will enable massive container ships to dock and receive fuel.
The ports in Nome and Busan operate at very different levels. According to the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Nome handled 36,000 20-foot-equivalent containers in 2022. That same year, Busan handled over 22 million.
According to Trading Economics, 31% of South Korea’s exports come from its robust electronics industry, including giants like Samsung and LG.
To get these valuable goods to large markets like Europe, Busan can either send them through Egypt’s Suez Canal or the Panama Canal. Both journeys take about a month to complete.
But as sea ice recedes in the Arctic, two new routes are becoming more viable. The Northern Sea Route hugs the coastline north of Russia, while the Northwest Passage spans from Alaska to Greenland. Both routes shave off over a week of travel time, and hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of fuel.
The Northern Sea Route over Russia is faster by a few days, but Heong-Joon views the Northwest Passage as politically preferable.
“We are deeply interested in Northwest Passage because this route doesn't have geopolitical tension compared to North Sea route,” Heong-joon said.
After a roundtable at Old St. Joe’s Church, two white vans drove the delegation to the end of the port’s causeway. Nome’s Port Director, Joy Baker, directed Heong-joon’s attention toward various features of the port as photographers hastily set up tripods through their thick winter gloves.
Baker pointed out areas of the port that will be dredged to depths of 40 feet, deep enough to accommodate container ships like one South Korea plans to send through the Arctic later this year as part of a pilot program.
Charlie Lean, a member of Nome’s Port Commission, calmly walked as the delegation waddled back toward the idling vans. Lean said the visit was flattering, but he has his concerns.
“I'm a little worried about them trying to displace local businesses, and I don't think that's how they think, but that they're looking for a business opportunity, a foothold on the beach if you will,” Lean said. “I think we can have some mutually beneficial things go on, but got to be wary.”
The group made additional stops at Norton Sound Seafood Product’s (NSSP) processing plant near Nome Small Boat Harbor, where a tour from Norton Sound Economic Development Corporation’s Tyler Rhodes awaited. Rhodes explained the scale of NSSP’s operations and future plans.
Nome’s Museum Director, Cheryl Thompson, gave the group a tour of the Carrie M. McClain Memorial Museum before the group departed on the evening Alaska Airlines flight.
Heong-joon plans to visit the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. There, cutting edge electronics from Korean companies will be on display, many of which leave the country through Busan. In the future, they just might make a pitstop in Nome.
