금강산의 식민지 근대 - 1930년대 금강산 탐승 경로와 장소성 변화

Abstract

The railroad was a key device in the Japanese empire’s expansion of overseas territories toward the Korean Peninsula and Manchuria. While most of the colonial railways constructed by the Japanese imperialism were built and operated for military, political, and economic purposes, the Mt. Geumgang railway line, which was mainly constructed and operated for passenger transportation for tourism, is a very unique case. Since Mt. Geumgang is not only a traditionally famous scenic spot but an unrivaled world-class natural landscape in Korea, it has always been a critical target of the colonial tourism development of Japanese railway imperialism. In this article, I tried to analyze the spatial changes of Mt. Geumgang area in 1930s, particularly in relation to its access transportation, by focusing on the changes of touring courses and travel itineraries shown in 1931, 1934, and 1939 editions of the official travel guidebooks titled as “Travel Routes and Expenses Estimation” which were published annually by Japan Tourist Bureau in 1920~1930s.<BR>For the Chosen Government-General who led the development of Mt. Geumgang from the beginning, improving the convenience of transportation was a top priority for tourism development of Mt. Geumgang area. The access route to Mt. Geumgang can be divided into three routes: First, the sea route from Wonsan Port through the East Sea(Wonsan-Jangjeon line), second, the motorway that descends from Anbyon which is the nearest town from Wonsan by Gyeongwon railway line, and the third is the closest route to the traditional route that enters the Nae(Inner)-Geumgang through Jangansa temple beyond the Danbalyeong Pass from Cheolwon. As the railroad construction crossing over the rugged Danbalyeong Pass was delayed, the initial period of colonial modern tourism development focused on the Oe(Outer)-Geumgang area, in which process tourism resources around the Oe-Geumgang and the Hae(Seaside)-Geumgang were newly developed.<BR>The era of popular tourism of Mt. Geumgang has been opened since 1930s, when the railroad lines of the second and third routes to Mt. Geumgang were completed. In mid-1930s, mountain trails directly connecting the Nae-Geumgang area and the Oe-Gumgang area were developed, and various routes along the Mt. Geumgang tour were commercialized. As tourism in Mt. Geumgang became popular in the late 1930s, some areas where tourists gather became developed as a district of secular pleasure and entertainment. As a result, the traditional perception that mystified Mt. Geumgang as a landscape of sublime beauty or surreal novelty gradually weakened. In this aspect of the discontinuous change in the placeness of Mt. Geumgang, we can find out the coloniality of Japanese colonial tourism hidden behind the external modernity.