• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.585-601
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• 2004

The purpose of this paper is to examine the change of Korean land transportation system and pattern during 1905-1911 concentrated on road construction so-caued ‘Sinjak-ro’. As conclusions, modem road or ‘Sinjak-ro’ started from modem port to inner hinterland where economic resource or regional center located. A trunk railroad running through Korea Peninsula from Busan to Sinuiju(border between China) is opened its complete operation in 1906 by Japanese investment, when no ‘Sinjak-ro’ road construction begun. Thus from the beginning, railroad station also became important starting point of ‘Sinjak-ro’ as seaports. Before the Japanese annexation of Korea, the ‘Sinjak-ro’ road was constructed mainly between seaport or station, where Japanese commercial settlement located, and hinterlands to help their economic invasion. This study could not deal with other modem transportation systems such as railroads and waterways. It is necessary to examine whole changes of modern transportation systems in this age so that we would comprehend modernization feature of Korea from the viewpoint of transportation history.