The door to the sea

The cable station on the Busan shore

On Songjeong beach in Busan, there is a building where undersea cables come up onto land. Most of the cables that connect Korea to other countries come ashore in Busan, and there are a few more stations in Geoje and Taean. Here, the request enters an undersea cable. Near the shore, the cable is wrapped in thick steel wire and buried in the sea floor.

Why?In shallow water, ship anchors and fishing nets reach all the way to the bottom. The cable is wrapped thickly and buried so it does not get snagged and cut.

Learn moreThis building is called a "cable landing station." According to the International Telecommunication Union, more than 99% of the internet data traveling between countries goes through undersea cables, not satellites. Satellites are very high up, and they can carry far less data at once.

Time

6 ms → 7 ms

Simplified route · light in glass at about 200,000 km per second