<html><div style='background-color:'><P>Dear Stefan,</P>
<P>The word Gyeongin comes from the planned connection of Gyeongseong station (1900) and Incheon.</P>
<P>The original line work planned by J. R. Morse failed in 1897 due to lack of capital, but a Japanese run company called (in Korean) Gyeongin Cheoldo Hoesa (<FONT size=2>Kyo^ngin Ch'o^lto) </FONT>undertook to complete the project in 1899.</P>
<P>Interestingly, Kyeongsong station was so named in July, 1900, a name which it had until 1905 (changed temporarily to Namdaemun Station). It would indeed be interesting to look at the primary documents in relation to the establishment of Gyeongsong station, and why that name was given.</P>
<P>Also, the station was renamed Namdaemun Station in 1905.</P>
<P>There is a bit of history about the Gyeonginseon line on <A href="http://www.naver.com">www.naver.com</A> in the dictionary.</P>
<P>I included the relevant part in Korean below.</P>
<P>길이 31km. 1896년(고종 33) 3월 29일 <A href="http://100.naver.com/100.php?id=66608"><FONT color=#096ab5>미국인</FONT></A> J.R.모스가 한국 정부로부터 부설권을 얻어, 1897년 3월 29일 인천 우각현(<SPAN onmouseover="tooltip_on('','우 : 소 우, ㉠소 ㉡별 이름')" onmouseout=tooltip_off()>牛</SPAN><SPAN onmouseover="tooltip_on('','각 : 뿔 각, ㉠뿔 ㉡모난 귀퉁이 ㉢구석 ㉣모퉁이 ㉤각도 ㉥총각 ㉦견주다 ㉧비교하다')" onmouseout=tooltip_off()>角</SPAN><SPAN onmouseover="tooltip_on('','현 : 재 현, ㉠재 ㉡고개 ㉢산이름')" onmouseout=tooltip_off()>峴</SPAN>)에서 공사에 착수하였으나 자금부족으로 중단하였다. 그 후 일본인이 경영하는 경인철도회사(<SPAN onmouseover="tooltip_on('','경 : 서울 경, 언덕 원, ㉠서울 ㉡수의 단위(兆(조)의 만배) ㉢크다 ㉣높다 ㉤근심하다 ㉥가지런하다 ⓐ언덕(原) (원)')" onmouseout=tooltip_off()>京</SPAN><SPAN onmouseover="tooltip_on('','인 : 어질 인, ㉠어질다 ㉡인자하다 ㉢사랑하다 ㉣불쌍히
여기다 ㉤어진 이 ㉥자네 ㉦씨')" onmouseout=tooltip_off()>仁</SPAN><SPAN onmouseover="tooltip_on('','철 : 쇠 철, ㉠쇠 ㉡무기 ㉢굳고 변하지 않다')" onmouseout=tooltip_off()>鐵</SPAN><SPAN onmouseover="tooltip_on('','도 : 길 도, ㉠길 ㉡도리 ㉢재주 ㉣구역이름 ㉤말하다')" onmouseout=tooltip_off()>道</SPAN><SPAN onmouseover="tooltip_on('','회 : 모일 회, ㉠모이다 ㉡모으다 ㉢깨닫다 ㉣맞다 ㉤회계 ㉥기회')" onmouseout=tooltip_off()>會</SPAN><SPAN onmouseover="tooltip_on('','사 : 토지신 사, ㉠땅귀신 ㉡토지신 ㉢단체 ㉣사일 ㉤제사지내다')" onmouseout=tooltip_off()>社</SPAN>)가 부설권을 인수하여 1899년 4월부터 다시 공사를 시작, 그 해 9월 18일 <A href="http://100.naver.com/100.php?id=137494"><FONT color=#096ab5>제물포</FONT></A>(<SPAN onmouseover="tooltip_on('','제 : 건널 제, ㉠건너다 ㉡구제하다 ㉢이루다 ㉣많다 ㉤더하다 ㉥그치다 ㉦나루')" onmouseout=tooltip_off()>濟</SPAN><SPAN
onmouseover="tooltip_on('','물 : 만물 물, ㉠만물 ㉡물건 ㉢사물 ㉣일 ㉤재물 ㉥보다 ㉦헤아리다')" onmouseout=tooltip_off()>物</SPAN><SPAN onmouseover="tooltip_on('','포 : 개 포, ㉠개(강이나 내에 조수가 드나드는 곳) ㉡물가 ㉢바닷가')" onmouseout=tooltip_off()>浦</SPAN>:인천)∼<A href="http://100.naver.com/100.php?id=38331"><FONT color=#096ab5>노량진</FONT></A>(<SPAN onmouseover="tooltip_on('','노 : 백로 노(로), ㉠백로 ㉡노우옛날에 춤을 추는 자가 가지고 지휘하던 백로의 깃으로 만든 물건)')" onmouseout=tooltip_off()>鷺</SPAN><SPAN onmouseover="tooltip_on('','량 : 들보 량(양), ㉠들보 ㉡나무다리 ㉢징검돌 ㉣발담 ㉤관골 ㉥양 ㉦양주 ㉧성(姓) ㉨양나라')" onmouseout=tooltip_off()>梁</SPAN><SPAN onmouseover="tooltip_on('','진 : 나루 진, ㉠나루 ㉡언덕 ㉢연줄 ㉣인연 ㉤진액 ㉥침 ㉦경로 ㉧넘치다 ㉨윤택하다')" onmouseout=tooltip_off()>津</SPAN>) 사이의 33.2km를 개통하였다. 1900년 7월 5일 <A
href="http://100.naver.com/100.php?id=185632"><FONT color=#096ab5>한강철교</FONT></A>가 준공되자, 같은 해 7월 8일 노량진∼서울(당시의 서울역은 <A href="http://100.naver.com/100.php?id=49034"><FONT color=#096ab5>서대문</FONT></A>으로 현재의 <A href="http://100.naver.com/100.php?id=720208"><FONT color=#096ab5>이화여고</FONT></A> 자리) 사이가 개통되어 서울∼인천이 완전 연결되었다. </P>
<P>This Naver article refers to a "Seoul Station" existing in 1900, but that is a factually incorrect part of the article.</P>
<P>It is hard not to draw the inference that the name Gyeongin does not have something to do with the Japanese managed construction project, and also the plans for the original name of Seoul Station. I look forward to further light being shed by other scholars on the details of that Japanese company (Gyeongin Choldo) and also the naming of Gyeongseong Station in 1900.</P>
<P>Warm regards,</P>
<P>Paul Shepherd</P>
<P> </P>
<P> </P>
<P><BR> </P><BR><BR><BR>
<DIV>
<P>===============================================</P>
<P>Paul Shepherd</P>
<P>Ph.D Candidate</P>
<P>Graduate School of The College of Law, Seoul National University</P>
<P>Mobile: (ROK) 010-7217-7675</P>
<P>===============================================</P></DIV>
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From: <I>"Stefan Ewing" <sa_ewing@hotmail.com></I><BR>Reply-To: <I>Korean Studies Discussion List <Koreanstudies@koreaweb.ws></I><BR>To: <I>Koreanstudies@koreaweb.ws</I><BR>Subject: <I>[KS] By train from Seoul to Incheon--what's in a name?</I><BR>Date: <I>Tue, 24 Jan 2006 16:46:56 -0800</I><BR>>Dear KS list members:<BR>><BR>>All right, it's my turn to ask a vexing question. The question and <BR>>its motivation are arcane and necessarily long, so my apologies in <BR>>advance, and please feel free to skip this posting entirely.<BR>><BR>>(For consistency's sake, I'm using McCune-Reischauer for almost all <BR>>place names in this article, both historical and modern. Some names <BR>>go by different renditions today.)<BR>><BR>>Korea's first railway line was built during the era of foreign <BR>>concessions, at the close of the 19th century. In
1899, a line was <BR>>opened connecting Noryangjin (across the river from the city gates <BR>>of Hanso^ng--modern-day Seoul) with Chemulp'o in Inch'o^n, the <BR>>forerunner of today's Kyo^ngin Line. (The Noryangjin-Kuro stretch <BR>>is now part of the Kyo^ngbu Line to Pusan, a 6-track artery served <BR>>by everything from the high-speed KTX to lowly, <BR>>packed-to-the-handrails local Line 1 subway trains.)<BR>><BR>>Historical articles on the early development of Korean railways <BR>>invariably refer to the original 1896 line as the Kyo^nginso^n (so^n <BR>>= Line; http://www.korail.go.kr/2003/100th/year/index1.html) or <BR>>Kyo^ngin Ch'o^lto (Railway; <BR>>http://webzine.korail.go.kr/20050402/00250.html). If the line was <BR>>in fact so named in 1896--which is not at all clear--this would <BR>>indicate that the characters in the line's name were
chosen because <BR>>the line connects the capital (so^ul kyo^ng) with Inch'o^n (o^jil <BR>>in). The Kyo^ngbu (to Pusan, opened 1905) and Kyo^ngu^i Lines (to <BR>>Sinu^iju, 1906) appear to have been named on a similar pattern.<BR>><BR>>The sticking point is that, up until 1910, Seoul's name was <BR>>Hanso^ng, and thereafter changed by or under the Japanese <BR>>authorities to Kyo^ngso^ng. Long-time Korean practice before and <BR>>since has been to name many provinces, transportation routes, or <BR>>events by joining together one character from each of the two place <BR>>names involved: thus, Ch'ungch'o^ng-do (Ch'ungju-Ch'o^ngju); the <BR>>Kyo^ngjo^n (Kyo^ngsang-Cho^lla) railway line; the Kuma (Taegu-Masan) <BR>>Expressway; and relevant to the recent discussion, the Puma <BR>>(Pusan-Masan) Uprising(s) (?--cannot find their mention now). Why,
<BR>>then, was the original railway called not, say, the Hanin <BR>>(Hanso^ng-Inch'o^n) Ch'o^lto, but the somewhat contrived Kyo^ngin <BR>>Ch'o^lto?<BR>><BR>>That Seoul was not officially named as such until one year after <BR>>liberation in 1946 does not preclude the possibility that the word <BR>>"so^ul" ("capital") was used colloquially to refer to the city prior <BR>>to that time. When streetcars first came to the capital in 1898, <BR>>the operating company--Hanso^ng Cho^ngi Hoesa--was referred to in <BR>>English as the "Seoul Electric Co." <BR>>(http://www.seoul.go.kr/life/life/culture/history_book/picture_seoul2/7/1203339_3020.html <BR>>, 7th photo from top; note Han'gu^l rendition of company's name as <BR>>"Hansyo^ng Tyo^ngu^i Hoesa"). Could the character "kyo^ng" have had <BR>>some currency as a written noun, equivalent to the colloquial
name <BR>>"Seoul"?<BR>><BR>>It is also possible that the original railway had a different name <BR>>and that the modern name--Kyo^ngin--has only been applied to the <BR>>line retrospectively by later writers. Under this scenario, the <BR>>Kyo^ngin Line and its pre-1910 younger sisters--the Kyo^ngbu and <BR>>Kyo^ngu^i Lines to Pusan and Sinu^iju respectively--would have been <BR>>so renamed some time after the Japanese annexation. In that case, <BR>>the first character in each line's new name would presumably have <BR>>come from the "kyo^ng" in "Kyo^ngso^ng" (the Japanese "Keijo"), <BR>>Seoul's new name--the same character, but with a different story <BR>>behind it.<BR>><BR>>To summarize, my question, then, is this: Was the name "Kyo^ngin" <BR>>chosen (over, say, "Hanin"), because the character kyo^ng denotes <BR>>"capital," the Korean
equivalent--Seoul/So^ul--being the colloquial <BR>>name for Hanso^ng? Are there attestations in other <BR>>(non-rail-related) sources to the use of "kyo^ng" (or "Seoul") to <BR>>refer to the capital during the Choso^n Dynasty? Or is this a <BR>>commentary on non-scholarly historiography, with modern writers <BR>>retrospectively applying an anachronistic name to the railway, the <BR>>original name lost in the mists of time? Or between the railway's <BR>>concession holder--James R. Morse--and the Koreans with whom he <BR>>worked, was this highly idiosyncractic name the simple result?<BR>><BR>>I hope someone, somewhere on this list can provide some sort of <BR>>satisfactory answer. It would appear that whatever the answer, <BR>>there's an interesting story waiting to emerge!<BR>><BR>>Thanks in advance,<BR>>Stefan
Ewing<BR>><BR>>_________________________________________________________________<BR>>Designer Mail isn't just fun to send, it's fun to receive. Use <BR>>special stationery, fonts and colors. <BR>>http://join.msn.com/?pgmarket=en-ca&page=byoa/prem&xAPID=1994&DI=1034&SU=http://hotmail.com/enca&HL=Market_MSNIS_Taglines <BR>> Start enjoying all the benefits of MSN?Premium right now and get <BR>>the first two months FREE*.<BR>><BR>><BR></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></div></html>