earticle

영어

The purpose of this article is to look at technological and institutional elements of telephone system, and spatial distribution of telephone system in Seoul during colonial period. For this purpose, technological and institutional elements of telephone system was regarded as ‘environment of use' which determine user's behavior, and its political characteristics were investigated. In chapter 2, the political and military characteristics of technological telephone system are founded from the fact that the Government-General of Korea(GGK) had depended on primarily alterations of telecommunication mode, instead of depending on of extensive installation of telecommunication facilities, as essential measure of coping with diverse problems, such as contradiction between low-grade of transmission technology and increasing telecommunication demand. For example, GGK depended primarily on ‘simultaneous telegraphy and telephony' mode. Also, institutions related to telephone subscription, phone call, and charge of telephone fee were established in the direction of keeping a firm on not so much irregular phone call as regular call. Telephone system of this sorts had been diffused throughout Seoul city. In chapter 3 and chapter 4, the transfiguration of local telephone service area in Seoul and its spatial bias were examined. At first, local telephone service area in Seoul was changed roughly three times during colonial period. Local telephone service area began to be kept in order in 1910s, and was established systematically as telephone exchange system consisting of one head office and two branch office in 1923. And one more branch office was added in eastern area of Seoul in 1942. Even though there were more or less alterations, spatial distribution of telephone facilities in Seoul was hardly changed. Local service area of head office, covering business zone and Japanese place of residence, had exceeding 50% of the number of total telephone. If including Yong-San branch office covering military zone, the proportion was over 70%. On the other side, Gwang-Hwa-Moon branch office covering Korean place of residence about 30%. As a result, Korean people had to go to usually post office or public telephone nearby their place of residence. In sum, spatial structure of telephone diffusion in colonial Seoul was under bias toward nation. Keywords : Telephone System, Telephone Subscription District, Diffusion, Spatial Distribution