Hangang Railway Bridges
A cluster of four railroad bridges (aerial view) crosses the Han River in the middle of Seoul. Built at different times in Korea’s history, each claims the name Hangang Railway Bridge (한강철교: map) and measure about 1.1-kilometers long.
- Bridge A (1900; single-track) — Gyeongin Line from Incheon to Seoul.
- Bridge B (1912; single-track) — Gyeongin Line from Seoul to Incheon.
- Bridge C (1944; double-track) — Gyeongbu, Honam, Jeolla, & Janghang Lines.
- Bridge D (1995; double-track) — Seoul Subway Line 1 & Gyeongbu Line.
Today, these bridges carry trains and subways. However, their supporting pillars hold the nation’s history.
Look at Bridge A — west to east, the third bridge. Single-track bridge with gray trusses. This bridge with an unremarkable name bears a remarkable past.
The Wide Han
The Han River is no ordinary river. Its width in Seoul reaches a kilometer (1,000 m; 3,280 ft).
Let’s compare that to other famous rivers:
Because of limited technology, Koreans only use ferries to cross the Han for millennia. Hangang Railway Bridge A was the first to span the river’s banks when it opened in 1900.
Detonation of the Hangang Bridges
North Korean troops surged across the 38th Parallel in 1950 and started the Korean War. Within a few days, they were tracking mud on Seoul’s doormat.
To slow the North’s advance, a panicked colonel in the South Korean Military (ROK) ordered the detonation of all bridges across the Han, including the Hangang Railway Bridges and the Hangang Footbridge.
Over 4,000 souls were still fleeing across the bridges as they collapsed. Eight hundred perished.
Seoul’s post-war economic explosion rebuilt the Hangang Bridge as a vehicle and pedestrian bridge in (1958), and restored Railway Bridges A and B (1969), and C (1957).
