"When blocked, illness arises; when flowing, there is no pain (通卽不痛 不通卽痛)."
This is a core principle of health passed down through the Donguibogam, the classic Korean medical text. It means that no matter how precious the tonics or how rich the nutrition consumed, one cannot be healthy unless energy circulates smoothly throughout the body.
The same applies to electricity. It must flow along the power grid and be supplied precisely where it is needed. If the flow is blocked, electricity becomes surplus on one side while the other side faces shortages — a phenomenon that could be called "power arteriosclerosis." This goes beyond everyday inconvenience and is a critical problem that could shake the competitiveness of future advanced industries, for which a stable 24-hour power supply is the lifeline.
The most ideal solution is "local production, local consumption" (jisan-jiso) — consuming electricity right where it is generated. If we produce electricity from eco-friendly resources such as sunlight and wind, and build factories and cities nearby, there is no need to bring power from afar. Accordingly, the government is strongly pursuing an "energy transition" centered on expanding distributed power sources and renewable energy.
However, building new factories and cities near generation complexes requires social consensus and considerable time. While renewable energy generation complexes are rapidly being established along the West Coast, where wind and sunlight are abundant, the demand centers that require large amounts of electricity are still far away. Due to insufficient transmission networks, the electricity painstakingly produced is going unused even at this very moment. This is why, alongside local production and consumption, new power infrastructure capable of carrying large volumes of electricity to demand centers is urgently needed.
At the heart of that solution lies high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission technology. If the existing method of sending electricity (alternating current transmission) is like a slow train that stops at multiple stations and must accept power losses, HVDC is the "KTX of electricity" — converting power into direct current and delivering it straight to its destination in one go. There are no concerns about electromagnetic waves, and there are no distance constraints. In particular, when installed under the sea, it minimizes inconvenience to local residents while shortening construction periods, drawing attention as the next-generation power grid.
Once the West Coast HVDC is built, clean electricity produced along the West Coast can be reliably transmitted to urban areas and large-scale industrial complexes. This means that domestic companies under strong global market pressure to use 100% renewable energy (RE100) will not have to leave the country in search of eco-friendly electricity.
What is even more exciting is that the West Coast HVDC is being pursued alongside the "localization of core technologies." If we achieve self-reliance in everything from technology development to equipment manufacturing, this will go beyond securing the power grid to creating future growth engines for Korea. Furthermore, in the global HVDC market, which is expected to grow explosively to 25 trillion won by 2030, Korea will be able to secure powerful export competitiveness.
To this end, the government and KEPCO are making all-out efforts — establishing reasonable support systems and closely cooperating with the private sector — to complete the first phase of the West Coast HVDC project ahead of schedule by 2030. This is to avoid missing the golden time for the energy transition. One more thing is needed: the understanding and support of the entire nation. Local governments, businesses, and academia must share an awareness of the importance and urgency of the West Coast HVDC and unite their strengths.
If the high-speed internet network of the 2000s accelerated Korea's leap into an information technology powerhouse, going forward, the West Coast HVDC will complete the national-level transformation known as the "energy transition." Electricity flowing without obstruction will become a new driving force that propels Korea to the next level.
