Gyeongin Railway

Although the Korean government had realised the necessity of building a railway, the financial resources needed were lacking, as was the ability to undertake such a project. Although for centuries the Han River had been used to transport goods to and from Seoul, industrial development meant that a new system of mass transportation from the city to the port was needed. The nearest port to Seoul was Jemulpo opened in 1883, and so a railway between the two, referred to as the Gyeongin Railway, was conceived.

In February 1891, King Gojong negotiated a "Railway Construction Treaty" with the American entrepreneur James R. Morse, who had been trying to obtain the construction rights to the Seoul–Jemulpo railway project through Horace Newton Allen, who at the time was secretary of the American legation to Korea. However, in August 1894, under the terms of the "Korea-Japan Joint Interim Provisions", the Japanese government was given the right to build the railway, as the Korean government lacked the necessary funds. Due to the First Sino-Japanese War and the assassination of Empress Myeongseong, support in the Korean government shifted away the pro-Japanese faction to pro-Russian and pro-American figures, on 29 March 1896 the rights to build the Gyeongin Railway were sold to Morse. This was the first patent granted by the Korean government for the construction of a railway, and the first time that American interests received a transfer of rights from Korea. On 17 April Komura Jutarō, resident Japanese minister to Korea, filed a protest with the Korean government claiming that the sale of the railway rights to Morse constituted a violation of the Interim Joint Provisions.[4][5][6]

On the Gyeongin Railway in 1903.

The patent granted by the Korean government to Morse stipulated that ground be broken within twelve months of the date the patent application was made, and that construction of the railway be completed within three years. To fulfill the first part of this requirement, construction of the Seoul & Chemulpo Railroad was started on 22 March 1897 after a groundbreaking ceremony held at 9 am that day. In order to reacquire the construction rights, Japanese interests spread rumours about political instability in Korea, leading to the withdrawal of Morse's American investors. On 4 May, the Gyeongin Railway Underwriting Association was formed, and Morse, via Ōkawa Heizaburō (ja), offered to sell the project to Shibusawa Eiichi. Morse later made plans to sell the railway to a French syndicate for 3 million yen, but this deal fell through on 8 March 1898, and finally on 31 October of that year, he agreed to sell the Gyeongin Railway project to the Underwriting Association for 1.8 million yen. After meeting with Morse at the Yokohama Specie Bank, Shibusawa finalised the acquisition of the Gyeongin Railway, and on 15 May the Gyeongin Railway Co. Ltd. (京仁鉄道合資会社, Keijin Tetsudō Gōshigaisha, 경인철도 합자회사 Gyeongin Cheoldo Habjahoesa) was officially established, with Shibusawa as president.[7] The 32.9 km (20.4 mi) line between Noryangjin and Incheon was finally opened on 18 September 1899.[2]

On 1 November 1903, the Gyeongin Railway was acquired and absorbed by the Gyeongbu Railway, which continued operating its line as the Gyeongin Line.