Railroad – Badges and Fobs

For centuries, the Han River has served as an important transportation corridor connecting Seoul and the port of Inchon (Japanese: Chemulpo, Jemulpo). At the end of the 19^th century, Korea’s burgeoning industrial development required a new system of mass transportation from the city to the port. The Korean Empire realized the necessity of building a railway but did not have the financial resources nor the technical ability to undertake such a project. In February 1891, King Kojong negotiated a “Railway Construction Treaty” with the American entrepreneur James R. Morse. He had been trying to obtain the construction rights to the Seoul–Inchon railway project under the auspices of Horace Newton Allen, who at the time was secretary of the American legation to Korea. On March 29, 1896, the rights to build the railroad were formally sold to Morse. This was the first patent granted by the Korean government for the construction of a railway and the first time that American interests received a transfer of rights from Korea. This first railroad was to be called the Gyeongin Railroad 京仁鉄道会社 since it connected Gyeongseong (Seoul) and Inchon.² James R. Morris created the US Plenipotentiary Corporation and, under it, began construction. The plan was to use it as a privately held enterprise, but labor and payment disputes stalled construction. Japanese interests had spread false rumors (fake news) about the political stability of Korea, and Morse’s American investors withdrew their financial support for the project. Consequently, the company was sold on April 2, 1897, for 1.8 million yen to the Japanese-owned Gyeongin Railroad Joint Stock Company, led by Eiichi Shibusawa 渋沢 栄一. Once under Japanese control, the railbed was moved due to the backlash of Japanese landlords who owned sections of the originally proposed railbed. The 32.9 km (20.4 mi) line between Noryangjin and Inchon was officially opened on Sept. 18, 1899. However, it wasn’t fully completed until July 8, 1900, when the line was extended another 5.8 km (3.6 mi) from Noryangjin and crossed the Han River to Gyeongseong Station (Seoul Station). On Nov. 1, 1903, the railroad was absorbed by the Gyeongbu Railway but continued operating as the Gyeongin Line. When the line was opened, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (농림축산식품부) issued the “Gyeongin Railway Regulations 경인간 철도규칙,” which was the first Korean law regarding railway operations. Because the original rail line was built in a rush, the alignment was not good, so in 1907 and 1908, less than 10 years after its opening, a large-scale improvement project was carried out. For many years the Japanese debated double-tracking the line, but this did not happen until 1963, well after Korea’s liberation from Japanese control. Today, it is a quadruple track with two high speed, express lines and two local feeder lines. ³

Until 2017, “Railroad Day,” which originally started in 1937, was held annually on September 18th, commemorating the opening of the Gyeongin Line. Over the years, there has been considerable criticism that the date was inappropriate because the opening of the Gyeongin Line was carried out by the Japanese. On May 8, 2018, the Korean government held a Cabinet meeting and changed the date of Railroad Day to June 28^th. On that date in 1894, the Korean Railroad Bureau (鐵道局) was established.

The second rail line in Korea was the Gyeongbu Railway 京釜鉄道会社.⁴ It is sometimes called the Keijo-Pusan Railway. “Keijo” (京城) was the Japanese word and pronunciation for the city of Seoul, while “Gyeongseong” (京城) is the Korean pronunciation.⁵ James R. Morris had also acquired the right to lay the line between Seoul and Pusan, but due to financial difficulties, Japan acquired the right to lay the line, establishing the Gyeongbu Railroad Co., Ltd. (June 25, 1901) and began construction shortly thereafter. When the Russo-Japanese War (1904-05) broke out, construction was rushed to facilitate the transportation of Japanese military supplies, but the line was not completed until 1908. The Gyeongseong-Pusan Railway is primarily known today for issuing banknotes (scrip) in 50, 100, and 500 Mun denominations. According to Japanese information sources, these notes were the company’s daily payment certificates. There are sources indicating that a 300-mun was also issued, but there are no known specimens. The Gyeongbu Line became an important stepping stone for Japanese influence on the Korean peninsula. The rail line eventually became the center of South Korea’s modern transportation and logistics network and is known today as the Gyeongbu Main Line.

Due to the importance of railways, many of them were nationalized. They first came under the jurisdiction of the Railroad Management Bureau, General Administration 統監府鉄道管理局 (1905); then the Resident-General’s Railway Administration 統監府鉄道庁 (Imperial Ordinance No. 176, June 1906); then the Japanese Government’s Hanguk Railway Management Bureau 韓国鉄道管理局 (Imperial Ordinance No. 160, June 18, 1909); and finally, after the Japan-Korea Annexation, the Government-General of Korea’s Railway Bureau 朝鮮総督府鉄道局 (1910-1917). The Gyeongbu Line and the Gyeongui Line 京義線 were a vital link that served as the backbone of Japan’s continental policy.⁶ They underwent a complete overhaul in the 1910s and were one of the first to be double-tracked. In 1911, construction of a bridge over the Yalu River was completed. The Korean railway system was now connected with the South Manchuria Railway (Mantetsu) 南満洲鉄道 (満鉄), and international trains began operations on the peninsula.⁷ From July 31, 1917, until April 1, 1925, railway operations throughout Korea were entrusted to the South Manchuria Railway (Mantetsu Gyeongseong Bureau 満鐵 京城 管理局).

After WWII (1945), US military rule (USAMGIK 1945-48), Korean independence (1948), and the Korean War (1950-53), South Korea’s railways, like its territory, were limited to the South. In 1946, all domestic railways, including private railways operated under the Japanese occupation, were nationalized, and the Korea Railroad Administration 韓國鐵道公社 (한국철도공사) was established. The Korea Railroad Corporation (韓國鐵道公社 한국철도공사) is the national railway operator in South Korea. It is branded as KORAIL (코레일) and changed its official Korean name (한국철도; 韓國鐵道) in November 2019. Currently, KORAIL is a government-owned corporation managed by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transportation. Over the years, the tracks between North and South Korea have been reconnected and disconnected several times. I cannot say with any certainty where the connection stands today. There have been discussions of connecting the rail system to Russia and to Japan via a tunnel under the Sea of Japan.

Interesting little side note. During the occupation of Korea by the Japanese, cars and trains were driven on the left side of the road. After WWII, the United States Army Military Government in Korea (USAMGIK 1945-48) changed the road traffic to driving on the right. However, doing the same for the railroads was not economically feasible. Most Koreans can’t answer why one is right and the other left.

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Korean Railroad Logos 1906-1945

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1. Dangi is a calendar system formerly used in Korea. To arrive at the Western date, subtract 2333 from the Dangi year. To learn more about the Dangi system, see my Korean Calendar Systems webpage.
2. This is often mistakenly called the Gyeongseong Inchon Railway 京城釜山鉄道会社 (경성인천철도회사). In the company’s official title, the cities of Gyeongseong (Seoul) 京城 and Inchon 仁川 are abbreviated as 京 and 仁, respectively, making it the GyeongIn railway. In Japanese this is pronounced as the Keijin Railway.
3. If you are interested in more information on the Gyeongin Railroad, see “Seoul Chemulpo Railroad – The First Railroad of Korea” by Patrick R. O’Donnell, Prentiss Publication, Honolulu, Hawaii, 2021.
4. This is often mistaken for the Gyeongseong-Pusan Railway 京城釜山鉄道会社 (경성부산철도회사). In the company’s official title, Gyeongseong (Seoul) 京城 and Pusan 釜山 are abbreviated as 京 and 釜, respectively, making it the GyeongBu railway.
5. Seoul has been known in the past by several names, including Wiryeseong 위례성 (慰禮城), Hanseongbu 한성부 (漢城府), Bukhansangun 북한산군 (北漢山郡), Namgyeong 남경 (南京), Hanyangbu 한양부 (漢陽府), Hanseong 한성 (漢城), and Hanyang 한양 (漢陽). During the Chosŏn Dynasty era, the city started to be called “Seoul” by the public. The traditional names of Hanyang and Hanseong used during the Chosŏn Dynasty were almost replaced by Seoul and were only used as formal names for the city. In 1948, the city officially took its more familiar name, Seoul 서울. “Seoul” is a purely indigenous Korean word and can only be written in Hangul. There are no corresponding Chinese characters, so when translated into Chinese, it is automatically translated as 漢城 Hànchéng, the Chinese characters and pronunciation for Hanseong 한성.
6. Construction of the Gyeongui Line 京義線 began in 1902 and connected Seoul and Sinuiju 新義州 in present-day North Korea.
7. After Russia’s defeat in the Russo-Japanese War (1904-05) and the signing of the Portsmouth Treaty (Sept. 5. 1905), the Russian-controlled areas in Manchuria were taken over by Japan. The South Manchuria Railway Company, Ltd. (南満州鉄道株式会社) Mantetsu (満鉄) was established in 1906.