Visit to 'city of rail'

By Do Je-hae

During a recent weekend, I was in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province. The main purpose of the visit to the satellite city was to spend the day at Wangsong Lake Park, which is famous for its rail bike experience, the nation's first rail bike that circles around a lake.

The wait was too long so we gave up on the rail bike and settled for a walk. The lakeside scenery was more than I had expected, and the park was beautifully designed, with ample space for families to have a picnic lunch on the lawn with a full view of the lake, and children to run around.

Everywhere you go in Uiwang, you can easily see signs proudly proclaiming Uiwang as the “city of rail.” While getting around the city, I learned that it is home to several relevant establishments, including the Korea National Railroad College and the Korean Railroad Museum. Uiwang's first railroad opened in 1905.

The railroad museum which sits right next to the Wangsong Lake Park was actually the highlight of my first trip to the “city of rail.” The museum is worth a visit if you are interested in two things: trains, and Korean history before and after the 1910-1945 Japanese rule of Korea. As someone who enjoys trains, it was very interesting to learn about the roots of Korea's railroad system which dates back to the late 19th century.

I first developed affection for trains during my first backpacking trip to Europe. I travelled through several countries with the Eurail pass and had the opportunity to see some of the most breathtaking views of my life from the train. Train rides are more enjoyable than being on airplanes, which are noisy, uncomfortable and are devoid of any good views.

The entrance fee for the railroad museum is pretty cheap, 2,000 won per adult, and 1,000 won per child. The museum has an outside display of old trains used from the onset of Korea's rail industry through those used during the 1950-53 Korean War and afterwards. The outside display also features model trains used by VIPs, such as former presidents Syngman Rhee and Park Chung-hee.

Unlike highways which were built during late 1960s, railways have more than 120 years of history in Korea. The most interesting part of the museum is the first floor, where visitors can see relics related to the major rail lines, such as the Gyeong-in, Gyeong-bu and Gyeong-ui lines which were all constructed during the Japanese occupation.

A timetable for the Gyeong-ui line, which opened in 1904, was very interesting because it reminded people that it was once possible to travel to China by train from Seoul. The railway line ran from Gyeongseong, the old name for Seoul, to Sinuiju in North Korea, which was then connected to the South Manchuria Railway. The line stopped operating between the south and north of the Korean Peninsula after the Korean War.

One old photo in the section of the museum about trains during the Korean War grabbed my attention. The photo showed a sign that read “the rail wants to keep running,”at Munsan Station in Paju on the Gyeong-ui line. Munsan station was used for freight trains to the inter-Korean industrial complex in Gaeseong, North Korea, in 2007 and 2008, but has stopped running since inter-Korean relations deteriorated under the conservative administrations of former presidents Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye.

The photo led me to ponder on the current situation on the Korean Peninsula. Inter-Korean train link has emerged as a hot topic after the April 27 Panmunjeom Declaration between President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The topic is expected to be discussed during the high-level inter-Korean meeting on June 1 as relevant officials are included in the delegations from the two Koreas.

Political agreements in the past have done little to bring the peoples of the two Koreas closer, but the April 27 declaration must be different. Reconnecting the Gyeong-ui line will be a welcome start to bridging the two countries and making the entire peninsula a unique place for train travel.