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Development and invasion as two sides of the same coin

  The restoration project of Seoul’s Gyeongbokgung Palace, Korea’s ‘landmark’, is in full swing. This project, which started in 1990, is a historic journey spanning 55 years. A few days ago, I saw an article saying that a tram track used during the Japanese colonial period was discovered at an excavation site in and around Gwnaghwamun Woldae. An unfamiliar word caught my eye. Gwanghwamun Woldae? What is ‘Woldae’? At first, I thought it was a typo for Gwanghwamun ‘Ildae(area)’, but it wasn’t. ‘Wolgyeondae’, which is derived from the word “a platform to look at the moon”, was a space for communication between the people and the king, made like a stage by building stairs and railings higher than the ground. I heard the good news that ‘Woldae’, the status of Gwanghwamun, known as the king’s road, will be restored. There was a program that allowed me to experience the historical site, but my reality of living in a dormitory and the limitations of spatial distance suppressed my curiosity.

  Japan used the Gyeongbokgung Palace, the heart of Joseon, for its political, administrative, and military purposes. As if clawing at our hearts, they laid railroad tracks in the square in front of Gwanghwamun and committed all kinds of atrocities. I also read an article saying that Japan, which won the Russo-Japanese War(1904~1905), acquired the Changchun-Dalian section of the South Manchuria Railway built by Russia as a trophy. Spiders spin webs to catch prey. One photo showing the Manchurian Railway and the Northern Korean Peninsula Railway looked like a spider’s web spreading a net over the Korean Peninsula for imperialist ambitions.

  By chance, I came across a book report contest hosted by the Northeast Asian History Foundation. The cover of the book 『Laying the Blood Vessel of Colonial Rule』 was similar to a photo of a spiderweb-like railroad track that I had seen on the Internet. Just as the GPS we use today was originally for military use, the beginning of the railroad was also for invasion. The fact that the romantic trains I had ridden at moderate speeds with rattling sounds, and cool breezes in the train village of Gokseong, Jeollanam-do, and the rail bike in Samcheok, Gangwon-do were products of imperialism made me feel bitter. The history of invasion produced a huge artery called the railroad, backed by the capitalist system of the 19th century.

Absorbed into the network of imperialism

  The author says that one of the defeats of the Joseon Dynasty was the wasted time after the Gapsin Coup, which failed to quickly adopt modern transportation. Our country values pure bloodlines and is proud of its homogeneous ethnicity. However, its closed nature carries the risk of becoming a frog in a well. It is only regrettable that a country that was open until the Goryeo Dynasty became a Confucian country and blocked opportunities to interact with the outside world. Handing over the right to build a railroad to another country had a similar impact as giving up sovereignty. Modern transportation, which spread across the Korean Peninsula centered on railroads, went in the same direction as Japanese imperialism. An X-shaped railroad map that makes other people’s land their own made me feel like they were slaughtering the Korean Peninsula. Japan began to work on not only railways but also roads and ports. I was able to read about the absurd and contradictory claims that our country developed because of Japan and its ambition to invade China using its victory in the Russo-Japanese War as a stepping stone from the railroad.

  There are differences between the railways in Japan and Korea. The railway installed in Korea largely reflected military purposes. The railroad was a means of plundering our food and resources. It was a convenient device for moving troops and stealing labor. It was merely a tool of invasion connecting Manchuria and Japan. While reading this book, I learned why our country was so harassed by the powerful countries around us. Geographically, the Korean Peninsula was an important strategic point for the great powers, as the continent could easily spread out to the sea and the sea to the continent.

The fate of the Korean Peninsula changed by the railroad

  Modern transportation did not only bring us pain. Railroads did not exist only as a means of transportation. It influenced the rise and fall of a marketplace or changed the fate of a city. New jobs were created and some jobs disappeared. Trains changed the daily life of commuting to school, and economic, social, and administrative functions were reorganized around railroad stations. Meanwhile, for activists for independence, it also played a role in spreading the movement across the country beyond the limitation of physical distance. The author says that without the railroad, the Independence Movement could not have spread nationwide. The railroad, a tool for invading the Korean Empire, became the catalyst for liberation. When we consider this, we can see that the transportation network changes many things.

  History seen from the perspective of the railroad was both exciting and heartbreaking. The emergence of railroads was a major contributor to colonial development. Conscripts, Japanese military ‘comfort women’, and people who were conscripted were also taken along this railroad. The train carried sadness, pain, and fear. The railroads of the Korean Peninsula in the 20th century were ‘bloody railroads’ due to Japanese oppression and exploitation. Living in the 21st century, I hope that the railways of Northeast Asia will not follow the painful footsteps of the past but will bring hope and peace.