"한국엔 기술 못 준다" 문 닫아걸던 일본·프랑스… 33년 뒤 사막 1,020km 판 뒤집은 한국 KTX

There was a time when people used to stand in line all night at Seoul Station Plaza on the eve of a holiday. If you couldn't get a ticket, you'd buy a standing ticket, spread out a single sheet of newspaper, and endure the four-and-a-half-hour journey to Busan. Now, it takes only two and a half hours. However, the first KTX, which we took such pride in, was actually not built using our own technology. It was a train purchased entirely from France, and our engineers who went to learn the technology were met with massive barriers. All they received in return was, "That is beyond the scope of our previous capabilities." And about 30 years later, a high-speed train that we designed and built ourselves began traversing the 1,020-kilometer deserts of Central Asia at 250 km/h. Inside that single train, parts from over 600 domestic partner companies—many of which no names remain—are packed. We have compiled the record of those 30 years, from a country that used to buy to a country that manufactures and sells. ───────────────── 📌 Timeline 00:00 From a country that bought and used to a country that makes and sells 02:10 90 km/h, the days when not a single blueprint could be printed 08:16 The reason Japan was the first to pack its bags 11:44 87 to 86, 30 years divided by a single point 15:32 Partitions, and the 12 years the nation collapsed 22:42 April 1, 2004, that dawn 26:34 600 factories with no names anywhere 30:23 Masan Port, the day the ship's direction changed 38:03 A seat filled 1.23 billion times ───────────────── 📚 Key Sources · Hyundai Rotem Press Release "Commercial Operation of High-Speed ​​Trains in Uzbekistan Begins" (May 6, 2026) — Tashkent–Khiva approx. 1,020 km, maximum speed 250 km/h, participation of over 600 domestic parts suppliers · Hyundai Rotem Press Release "Departure Ceremony for the First Trainset of Uzbekistan High-Speed ​​Trains" (Dec. 10, 2025) — Departed from Masan Port, early delivery, total 42 cars (7 cars per trainset) · Hyundai Rotem Press Release "Winner of Order for Uzbekistan High-Speed ​​Train Supply and Maintenance Project" (June 14, 2024) — Approx. 270 billion KRW in value, export restrictions to third countries due to the 1994 Alstom technology transfer contract · Korea Railroad Corporation (KORAIL) "22nd Anniversary of KTX Opening" 자료 (March 31, 2026) — Cumulative passengers 1.23 billion, daily average 254,000 · Announcement regarding support from the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Export-Import Bank of Korea's Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) · Data released by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Korea Railroad Industry Information Center (KRIC) ※ Some recollections and testimonies are based on media interview reports and may include content based on personal memories. ───────────────── 🔔 Subscribe and turn on notifications so you don't miss the hidden trends of the Korean economy. Parts of this video were produced using AI technology. #KTX #HighSpeedRailway #HyundaiRotem #KTXIeum #Uzbekistan #HighSpeedTrainExport #GyeongbuHighSpeedRailway #KoreanRailways #KORAIL #DistributedPower #Alstom #Shinkansen #TechnologyTransfer #Localization #PartsSuppliers #SMEs #Manufacturing #KoreanEconomy #IndustryAnalysis #RailwayIndustry #KTXCheongryong #Haemu #MasanPort #EconomyFighting