A streetcar passes through the West Gate circa 1900.



By Robert Neff



The introduction of streetcars into Seoul brought great change and was dubbed by one American magazine as "the first step towards civilization in ‘the Hermit Kingdom.'"



Women were allowed to ride in the streetcars which, in effect, ended the age-old curfew law that prevented women from being out on the streets during the daytime.



But the transition wasn't always easy.





Korean and foreign passengers circa 1900.



Passengers and crew were oblivious to time and often caused the car to be delayed with their tardiness in boarding. Once the crews were well trained and began punctual operations, the passengers, too, were conditioned to respect time. Even the yangban class learned, much to their dismay, the streetcars waited for no one.



But Seoul's streets, even the main thoroughfares, were crowded. Small shops and restaurants intruded into the streets, and often pack animals, including Korean ponies, were tied to the tables where their owners ate and drank. The approach of the streetcars often startled the vicious Korean ponies and caused them to lash out at anything and everything within reach of their hooves or teeth.



But it was the pedestrians that caused the most concern as they seemed oblivious to the dangers the streetcars posed. One early observer described men walking stolidly and with a dignified strut along the track with the expectation that the car would go around them. Unfortunately, the cars did not go around them.





Women board a streetcar circa 1900.



There was also the matter of the common people sleeping on the rails during hot summer nights. One American wrote: "We often saw long rows of white-clad citizens, like prostrate ghosts, laid out on mats of straw, snoring in ecstasy, their necks reposing on the cool, and, to them, comfortable rails."



The people had become accustomed to the timetable of the streetcars and knew that the last streetcar (the Owl) left Queen Min's tomb at 11:30 at night and arrived at the terminal at midnight. Once the streetcar had passed, they could comfortably use the rails as their pillows.





A streetcar passes through the crowded streets circa 1900.



However, on August 4, 1900, "The Owl" was delayed, possibly due to mechanical problems, and departed much later than usual. At least two people were unaware it had been delayed and laid out their straw mats thinking "The Owl" had already passed for the night.



Even though the streetcar was equipped with an electric light and probably a bell, due to the late hour, probably gave no warning rings or calls to alert pedestrians of its approach. The driver, still rather new and thinking that the streets were empty, was most likely going faster than normal in an effort to make up for the lost time.



The tragedy occurred near the bridge just outside the South Gate. The driver spotted the two sleeping men and tried to bring his streetcar to a screeching halt but it was too late. The streetcar rolled over the necks of the sleeping prone figures and decapitated both men like an "electric guillotine."





A streetcar ticket office circa 1900.



A horrified but angry crowd gathered and shouts for revenge echoed in the streets. They attempted to destroy the mechanical murderer that had just mangled their neighbors to death but were stopped by the Korean army and the streetcar company's Western guards.



The following morning the SERC responded by placing posters on all the streetcar poles in the city, declaring the track as the private property of the SERC. Henceforth no one would be permitted to sleep on the rails. These posters were quickly ripped down by the crowds. Eventually the company capitulated to the demands of the Korean public who continued "to enjoy the night air with their necks upon the chilly steel, heroically defying the electric guillotine."





A boy reads the company's proclamation.