The Dead Soul’s Railroad

 As my hometown, “Dead Soul’s Railroad” is located in Iksan, South Korea.  Because of the large number of people who died on that railroad, the village people called it the “Dead Soul’s Railroad.”


Located in Iksan, South Korea, this railroad line was built by the Japanese. Many people from the surrounding villages died during the aggressive military railway construction. This railroad was used to carry weapons to China during Japan’s imperialistic expansion. This railroad was also used during the Japanese Occupation of Korea (1910-1945), to take young Korean males to be used as human bullet shields and forced labors, and young Korean females were taken to be sex slaves for Japanese soldiers. Most of those taken away did not come back to our land, but died where they were taken. During the Korean War (1950-1953), a train full of people travelling on these tracks was fire-bombed, yet another deadly event on this rail line. Even after these brutal events, people disappeared and were found later floating on the river beneath this railroad line. That’s why the village people called it the “Dead Soul’s Railroad.”