(531) Tap Water

By Andrei Lankov

One of the most surprising changes that occurred in Korea during the colonial decades was a dramatic increase in life expectancy. Indeed, the life expectancy at birth increased from merely 24 years in 1911 to 45 years in 1945.

What made such a jump possible? Recently some old assumptions about Japanese rule were critically re-examined, but nobody would doubt that the 1910-1945 period was not marked by a dramatic increase in, say, the quality of medical care.

The nutritional situation did not improve much, either (and actually deteriorated in the last decade of colonial rule). So what was the reason for such impressive change?

One of the major forces which drove up life expectancy was the dramatic improvement in public hygiene. Historians know that the introduction of a water supply nearly eliminates many diseases that were so dangerous in the supposed ``golden days'' of pre-industrial societies.

Indeed, in the first decades of the 20th century the access to tap water became a part of urban life in Seoul and other major cities.

The first water supply system in Korea began to operate in the city of Busan in 1895. It was built by Japanese engineers and initially served the Japanese quarter of the city, but eventually services were extended to Koreans as well.

However, it was Seoul where such facilities were needed most. From the late 19th century Koreans cities began to suffer from a new water-borne disease, cholera. It was lethal and inflicted a heavy toll in human lives on the Korean population.

By that time the biology of cholera was understood well enough, and the Korean administration knew a good supply of clean water would eliminate the disease. However, Seoul lacked both funds and technology, so the construction had to be done by foreign investors.

In 1905, the Japanese built small waterworks which provided reasonably clean water to the Japanese quarter near Namsan (according to some reports, a royal palace also had access to the system). However, it was not enough for the largest Korean city which was soon to enter an era of high-speed growth.

In 1903, two American entrepreneurs, Collbran and Bostwick, secured the right to build a water supply system for Seoul. They were the same people who introduced electric street lights and streetcar services.

However, this time they re-sold the rights to the British-owned Korean Water Works Company which actually built the water processing plant and pump stations.

On Sept. 1, 1908, water began to flow through the pipes of the system. Eventually, in 1911, the company was taken over by the Japanese municipal authorities.

The 1908 water processing part plant was located in Ttukseom. Somewhat surprisingly, it is still partially in operation (with modern equipment, of course).

Among other things, it pumps clean water to the famous/notorious Cheongye Stream in downtown Seoul (yes, the stream is fed with tap water!).

When we talk about ``tap water'' nowadays, we tend to assume that the tap in question is somewhere at home ― in the kitchen, perhaps. But this was not the case in colonial era Seoul. The tap at home remained a rare luxury throughout the entire colonial period ― and well after that.

Only in 1976 did the number of Seoul households who had tap water supply exceed 50 percent for the first time in the city's history.

It is not accidental that Pak Wan-so, a prominent Korean writer, describing her childhood memories of visit to a rich house, singled out the magnificent contraption she could see there ― a shiny water tap: ``Of all things, I felt most envious of the water tap.''

Indeed, on March 13, 1932, the Chosun Ilbo published a table which showed the then distribution of water supply facilities in the city. According to the data, a mere 23,400 families had individual water taps installed in their homes.

One should also notice that a vast majority of those lucky owners (21,200 households) were Japanese. An additional 7,900 families had shared facilities, that is, one water tap was jointly used by few families living nearby. Finally, 14,000 households had to rely on public water pumps which were placed at crossroads.

In general, only 16,000 of 51,000 Korean households in the capital city had access to the water supply while others drank water from wells and used the Han River water (of dubious cleanliness) for household needs.

To save time and effort, some households preferred to buy water from professional water sellers, who would deliver the buckets of water straight home, for a moderate fee. At the same time, by the early 1930s nearly all of the 22,000 Japanese households used clean water.

Nonetheless, the fact that in the early 1930s about half of the city population drank safe water was important, and this is one of the major reasons behind the above-mentioned increase in life expectancy.

It is not incidental that many Koreans wanted to move to Seoul where life was so much better than in the countryside. This led to the explosive growth of the city.

Prof. Andrei Lankov was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, and now teaches at Kookmin University in Seoul. He can be reached at anlankov@yahoo.com.

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