일제강점기의 한국철도와 만주철도의 비교연구

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.