At Sokcho Port on the eastern coast of Korea, trucks, heavy machinery and used cars were loaded onto the 3,000-ton Korean ferry, the New Dong Chun, on their way to Moscow and Uzbekistan.

The voyage from Korea to Zarubino in Russia takes about 15 hours across nearly 600 km. Once docking at the port of destination, the shipments will be unloaded for land transport across various regions in Central Asia.

A Korean maritime transport company, Dong Chun Ferry, has collaborated with Russia's Trans Group to pioneer this new route that literally makes a beeline from Korea to Central Asia. Using this sea and trans-Siberian route, freight transport from Sokcho to Moscow now only takes 31 days, 20 days less than what it would have taken via the existing Busan-Moscow route.

Given this streamlined timetable, this new route is reportedly emerging as a promising channel for cost-conscious exporters. Experts agree that stable transportation and lower costs can make or break the success of transportation businesses and can also lead to boosting the country's export bottom line.