• Journal of the Korean Society for Railway
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.151-162
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• 2013

This paper presents a comparison of Korean and Manchurian railway system during the Japanese colonial era of Korea. While both railways share the common characteristics of an imperial railway, they revealed several differences. Firstly, the Manchurian railway was likely a private company, although it was operated half privately and half by the government. The Manchurian railway operated like the East Indian Company in India during the English colonial era. On the other hand, the Korean railway was fully operated by the government at a ministry level. While the Korean railway solely concentrated on the railway, the Manchurian railway was involved in regional development and the coal-mining industry as well. Secondly, in contrast to the Korean railway, the Manchurian railway was more lucrative, and was relatively more predominant regarding carriage of freights. Thirdly, railway officers in Korea were elected government bureaucrats, while Manchurian railway officers came from diverse political parties and social strata. After the annexation by the Kwantung Army, the Manchurian railway was mainly influenced by the military. The common characteristic here was that both railways were utilized for military purposes as imperial railways. In partilcular, the Manchurian railway executed military orders directly. Hereafter, through a comparative study between the Japanese and Taiwanese railways, a clear and accurate understanding of the characteristics of the Korean railway during the Japanese era will be revealed.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Railway
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.489-501
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• 2015

This paper analyses the decision process of the Gilhoe Line construction of the Manchurian Railway and consignment process of the North Korea Line to the South Manchuria Railways as part of the 12-year Chosun railway plan. It was found that these two events were connected and could be explained by Japan's consistent continental policy, which had expanded its territory toward China. This paper explicates Japan's railroad policy and the characteristics of the Chosun railway. Moreover, evidence to identify connections among Japan's national railway, the Manchurian railway, and the Chosun railway has been scrutinized. One territory policy between Chosun and Manchuria is also examined. Comparison of new resources on the Gilhoe Line construction of the Manchurian railway and the 12-year plan of the Chosun railway, and their correlations, is expounded. This paper elucidates that the Gilhoe Line construction and the North Korea line consignment operation by the South Manchuria Railways had the intention of obtaining Japanese military and economic supremacy over East Asia.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Railway
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.423-431
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• 2017

This study analyzed the educational background, career, and post-retirement activities of notable bureaucrats employed at Chosun Railway Bureau during the Japanese colonial period in Korea. First, significantly, most railway bureaucrats were of Japanese origin, being specialized in railway operations and adjusted to occupation in a reserved organizational environment for a considerable time period. Second, the Japanese showed explicit eagerness to work at the Chosun Railway, which fitted their ideology of railway bureaucrats. In addition, almost 60% of the bureaucrat population had strong educational experience from Tokyo Imperial University, which is equal to the percentage of graduates from other institutions operating during the Japanese colonial period. Moreover, in the very early period of building the railway system, the demand for specialists was higher than for other jobs and divisions because of the railroad's complex infrastructure, which resulted in high job appointment rates. In a similar sense, based on a strong affiliation of bureaucrats with railways, the number of bureaucrats from Japanese Railway Worker's Bureau was higher initially because of bureaucrats from South Manchurian Railway Company. These changes essentially contributed to alteration of bureaucrats' awareness and created a more positive attitude regarding the Chosun Railway. In the meantime, as opposed to the Taiwan and Manchurian Railways, both Chosun Railway and the Taiwan Railway were operated in compliance with strong bureaucratic traditions.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Railway
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.157-165
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• 2015

At the end of the 19th and in the early 20th centuries, Japan, Korea, and Manchuria, and areas throughout East Asia, suffered a number of cycles of growth and development, for which the railway was a very important development tool and was closely associated with national policy. East Asian affairs, especially at the time, seemed very important to the continent, and their influence on the advance of this remarkable era was especially prominent in Japan. In the midst of this period, the national railway may have evolved under national policy and railway policy and under a variety of organizations and persons of influence. In this paper, we have tried to find the similarities and differences among the three countries that built the East Asia Railway; we consider the characteristics of the East Asia Railway from the perspectives of these three countries. Comparing the characteristics of the three country's railways, first, Japan had the motives of continental expansion and modernization in its pursuit of the railway; in Korea, the railway played the role of a continental rail link; and in Manchuria there was a tendency to pursue direct domination of the railway. Second, the Japanese applied their railway model to Korea; the Korean railway may have been in operation, but it was an extension of the railway of Japan. The railway in Manchuria showed a similar pattern to that which can be found in the state of Asian domination of Europe ; Japan showed aspects of dominance over the railway because it had experience running a private railway.