UNKRA Builds Merchant Marine Academy for South Korea

Largely dependent on the sea for both food and commerce, South Korea's merchant marine fleet is of vital importance to the economy of the country. Japanese occupation and the war left South Korea with few ships and a shortage of trained mariners. The old Merchant Marine Academy is almost completely deteriorated and can no longer provide adequate training or cope with the functions assigned to it. The United Nations Korean Reconstruction Agency (UNKRA) allocated $350,000 to build and equip a new Academy capable of accommodating 400 students who are currently being taught their trade in temporary quarters. The new Academy, which overlooks a rocky bay at Yang-do (Pusan), is nearing completion. It consists of 18 buildings and includes lecture rooms, dormitories, mess hall, bath-house, laboratory storehouses and staff accommodation. A marine science officer, Captain Alexander Roth, has been appointed by UNKRA to supervise construction of the Academy and to assist in planning the curricula. This photograph gives a semi-panoramic view of the new Merchant Marine Academy buildings which contrast sharply with the thatched cottages (foreground) of the area. [No exact date]