earticle

영어

The purpose of this article is to examine the service of electric car(電車) which had been introduced in 1899, and the role of it in a daily life as well that had been changed by the progress of urbanization with opened railways, particularly focused on the electric car line of Cheongryangni and Wangsimni. The Cheongryangni line with the last stop of Empress Mungsung`s tomb, Hongreung(홍릉), was symbolic meaning of inspiring anti-Japanese sentiments as well as the beginning of modern transportation. But under the Japanese Imperialism, the symbolic meaning of the first electric car line was becoming faint, and moreover as the Empress Mungsung`s tomb was moved to Geumgok(金谷) by the state funeral of King Ko-jong(고종) in 1919, the significance of this line was faded out. According to this situation, the electric car had been becoming the urban transportation system connecting the downtown and the suburbs. The electric car of this line was penetrating Dongdaemun(동대문) in the initial period. Yet after the Committee of disposal of castle wall(성벽처리위원회) which had been formed along with the forced abdication of Ko-jong, had removed the castle wall of Namdaemun(남대문), the Cheongryangni line was operated on the north route of Dongdaemun since 1911. The Wansimni Line opened in 1914, was operated all along on the bounds of Gwanghuimun(광희문) with removed of the northern wall. By the active establishment and extension of electric car line in the 1910’s, it was getting easier for passengers to approach to the downtown. Therefore the role of suburb electric car lines was growing up. At that time the population in the suburbs was expanded rapidly by settlers from various local regions. For the accessibility to the downtown where riches in more jobs, was developed an important condition, the area near the downtown was densely populated. As the role of electric car was getting important, the commuters in the suburbs continually maintained the extension, double lines, and abolition of the fare system by scope. These demands were realized in the 1930’s, with the double lined Cheongryangni and Wangsimni, establishment of Donamdong(돈암동) line, and fare system of one scope by 5jun(錢). On the one hand the electric car had been an daily life to the residents on the suburbs, but on the other hand the electric car’s extensive role had been arisen as the joining transportation means to the people coming up downtown by railway from local districts. When the Kyongwon(경원) railway was first established at Yongsan- Cheongryangni scope in 1911 before the railroad track was totally opened, the Cheongryangni electric car line and Wangsimni line were extended to the rail station of Cheongryangni and Wangsimni respectively. This function of urban transportation is not different from today’s ones which the residents and local district populations move to the downtown by subway and bus, only the change of vehicle, to commute or for leisure activities. That the electric car had already been existed in walled city before one century ago, is the most important element that the spatial field of Seoul was expanded. Because this electric car that had been the ‘leg’ of citizens of Seoul by half-century ago, was operated from downtown to Cheongryangni through Dongdaemun, we still remembers the first route of electric car was ‘Cheongryangni=Hongreung’ line.