No one writes about technology to colonize Antarctica. Its warmer, has more ready water, less radiation and a breathable atmosphere. Plus its much easier to transport supplies.
Yes and 19th century gentleman scientists were a lot more interested in studying savage tribes than their valets. Imagination is a great motivator and it is more stimulated by what is far away than what is near.
Going to Mars gives us biodome diversity. What's the gain in making Antarctica habitable? It's not like we're running out of land, and there are many underutilized parcels of land elsewhere on the planet that would be easier to terraform than Antarctica.