Seoul & Jemulpo Railroad: The First Railroad of Korea

Korea's "first" passenger train at Jemulpo on Sept. 18, 1899 / Courtesy of Patrick R. O'Donnell

By Robert Neff

In the 19th century, railroads and their steam locomotives were viewed as a sign of modernization ― vehicles of the industrial revolution. Japan built its first railroad in 1872 and by 1893 was manufacturing its own steam engines. In China, the first railroad was built in 1876, but was promptly dismantled the following year due to the company's failure to secure government approval. Four years later, another railroad was built ― with approval ― and was fairly successful. Unlike its neighbors, railroads did not appear in Korea until the threshold of the 20th century.

Surprisingly, not much has been published in English about Korea's first railroad ― the Seoul & Jemulpo Railroad ― even though it started out as an American enterprise. Articles in contemporary newspapers and railway journals were all illustrated with the same handful of tired photographs ― often blurry due to the limits of printing technology.

Korea's "first" passenger train at Yeongdeungpo on Sept. 18, 1899 / Courtesy of Patrick R. O'Donnell

This year, however, a new book by Patrick R. O'Donnell, aptly titled "Seoul & Chemulpo Railroad: The First Railroad of Korea," provides a wealth of unpublished or rarely seen photographs of the construction of the railroad and the men responsible for building it.

The 331-page book is divided into eight chapters and seven appendixes. The first three chapters are dedicated to general Korean history ― including one that examines the assassination of the Korean queen. They are well-documented and interesting, but to be honest, I read through them quickly because I wanted to get to the meat-and-potato chapters of the book ― the railroad.

The next two chapters describe the construction of the railroad and its subsequent acquisition by Japanese interests. These chapters are filled with interesting tidbits and anecdotes including the origin of Korea's National Train Day ― Sept. 18.

On the way to Seoul, circa 1899 or 1900 / Courtesy of Patrick R. O'Donnell

According to O'Donnell, on the morning of Sept. 18, 1899, a special train was dispatched to Yeongdeungpo to pick up invited Korean and foreign dignitaries and transport them to the railroad's opening ceremony at Jemulpo (now part of Incheon).

"Upon its arrival in [Jemulpo] the train was greeted by a large number of Japanese, Koreans and foreigners. The ceremony was simple and speeches were given by Mr. Pak, the Korean Foreign Minister, Mr. Hayashi, the Japanese Minister and by Mr. Adachi, identified as the chief manager and engineer of the railroad. Foreign Minister Pak stated the line had been begun by Americans and was being completed by Japanese and expressed the hope that the railroad would provide a bond of unity among all the interested countries. Following a demonstration by Japanese wrestlers and an elaborate collation the "opening train" of Korea rolled out of [Jemulpo] at one o'clock bound for [Yeongdeungpo].
Ensconced on the train were the visitors from Seoul and friends from [Jemulpo]; they were seated in six passenger coaches which had been manufactured in the United States. First and second-class passengers were seated in the same car, one-third of the space reserved for first-class and two-thirds reserved for second-class. Third-class seating was composed of a separate car and was of simpler accommodation."

As evidenced by O'Donnell's pictures, the event was well-attended and quite successful.

A water tank at Jemulpo, circa 1899 or 1900 / Courtesy of Patrick R. O'Donnell

The sixth chapter focuses on the years following Korea's loss of independence and up to the start of the Korean War in 1950. It is interesting, but I think it would have been better if he concentrated more on the railroad system after Japan's defeat and Korea's liberation. Photographs of Korean locomotives from 1945 through 1950 are fairly common and would have nicely illustrated this part of the book.

O'Donnell used a great number of sources for these first six chapters ― mainly articles from English-language newspapers and magazines published in Korea and Japan, articles from railway and mining journals published in the United States and diplomatic reports from the American and British representatives. They provide a lot of useful information, but I wish he had been able to obtain some of the railroad's Western employees' letters as they would have given us a more personal look at the company's operations as well as Korea in general. They would have also provided us ― the readers ― with examples of petty jealousies and hurt feelings that plagued the small Western community. A good example of this is found in the personal letters of Horace N. Allen, the American minister to Korea.

Construction of a bridge crossing the Han River, circa 1899 or 1900 / Courtesy of Patrick R. O'Donnell

In a letter to his sons, Allen complained about not receiving a free pass:

"The Japanese R.R. people charged me heavily for the first ride over the road [that] I secured and helped to build, but that was to be expected of the Japanese, and it will save me trouble for I won't have to help them when they get into difficulties."

Chapter seven is, undoubtedly, the most interesting part of the book. Page after page is graced with beautiful pictures from O'Donnell's collection. According to him, his photographs are from an album compiled in 1901 by Mr. T. Adachi, the Japanese manager of the railroad, and given to the Baldwin Locomotive Works as a gift of appreciation. In addition to his own collection, O'Donnell included pictures from Terry Bennett ― the founder and proprietor of Old Asia Photography ― and from the Lusia I-A Park Foundation. It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words, but I would need many more than that to describe them.

Smith F. Philips (the tallest man and the subject of yesterday's article), and on his right, Charley Ross (a Korean policeman) holding a human skull, circa 1897-1899. / Terry Bennett Collection and courtesy of Patrick R. O'Donnell

While most of them are related to the railroad, there are others that depict everyday life in Seoul and Jemulpo. Studying the images, one cannot help but wonder about the individuals who have been captured forever in these prints and their backstories. Fortunately, O'Donnell provides answers.

Chapter eight, titled "Biographical Notations," is over 180 pages long and is an eclectic collection of biographies of Koreans and foreigners ― many of them having nothing to do with the railroad. This chapter is like Christmas; turning each page reveals a new surprise ― a picture and a biography. There are the well-known foreign personalities such as Horace Allen, Henry Appenzeller, Ernest Bethell, Harry Bostwick, John McLeavy Brown, Harry Collbran … (the list goes on and on) as well as Korean personalities including, but not limited to, the royal family (the king and queen), officials (Yi Yong-ik and Min Yong-hwan) and Korean activists (An Jung-geun, Jang In-hwan and Jeon Myeong-un).

The finishing yard circa 1898-1899 / Courtesy of Patrick R. O'Donnell

There are also the relatively unknown individuals who had little or no impact on society, but whose legacy lives on through their images. Among them are McKinley, the 10-year-old Chinese boy (named after the American president?) who often slept beneath the dining table, but somehow managed to be included in some of the pictures.

Charlie Ross, the Korean policeman, is an intriguing character that we know next to nothing about. He is seen in a couple of the images ― particularly in one of Terry Bennett's photographs in which he is holding a human skull. I am guessing the skull was recovered from one of the many graves that were relocated when the railroad was being constructed.

The interior of the drawing room car ― traveling in style, circa 1899 or 1900 / Courtesy of Patrick R. O'Donnell

Finally, there are the appendixes where one can find copies of contracts, treaties, Afansasy Ivanovich Seredin-Sabatin's account of the murder of the Korean queen and related reports, business documents and even Secretary of State Dean Acheson's speech to the Washington Press Club in January 1950.

I can attest that it is not easy gathering so much information ― especially pictures ― as O'Donnell did for this book. In an email he wrote, "Here is something I think you can appreciate: I spent a considerable amount of time searching ship manifests in order to figure out when Stephen Bonsal went to Korea in 1895." I can truly appreciate it. I have spent hundreds of hours looking at newspapers and other documents in search of information.

The interior of the third-class car ― quite a difference, circa 1899 or 1900 / Courtesy of Patrick R. O'Donnell

If you are interested in Korean history and old pictures of Korea, trains and steam engines, as well as biographies (and, sometimes, gossip), then this is a book for you. You can order it on Amazon.

I wish to thank Patrick R. O'Donnell for allowing me to use his pictures for this review.

Robert Neff has authored and co-authored several books including "Letters from Joseon," "Korea Through Western Eyes" and "Brief Encounters."