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| A man-powered railroad in Korea in the Pyongyang region. |
By Robert Neff
On September 18, 1899, the Seoul-Chemulpo Railway began operating between the capital city and the port of Jemulpo. It was a tremendous event that excited the imagination of Koreans and foreigners alike and ushered in an era of greater prosperity.
What kind of impact on the populace did it have? In his book "The Dawn of Modern Korea", Prof. Andre Lankov included the "flowery prose" of The Independent's reporter who wrote:
"The sound of the train shakes the earth like thunder and the smoke from the chimney shoots high into the sky. As I look out the window from my seat, it seems as if the world is moving and even the flying birds cannot keep pace."
But it was not the first rail transport in Korea. Just a year earlier, the Seoul Electric Railway began operating streetcars in the capital and was so successful that the network rapidly expanded.
However, there was an even earlier railway system that connected Chinampo (now known as Nampo) with Pyongyang. Built and completed by the Japanese military in February 1895, this 88-kilometer railway used 21-inch track and man-powered cars to transport military goods. Shortly after it was built, it was dismantled and is now nothing more than a footnote from the past.
