100 Years Photo No. 89
● Newspapers busy with large train crashes
an accident occurred where trains heading south adn north respectively collided head-on. The newspaper first reported this incident in detail in the morning and evening newspapers of November 28, 1924, and quickly dispatched a photographer to the scene. On the second page of the Dong-A Ilbo dated November 29, 1924, three photos were included along with a follow-up story of a photojournalist who went on a business trip. The title of the article is “Headquarters special photo team painstakingly photographed – Express train head-on collision pictorial.”
●How the accident occurred In the early morning of Thursday, November 27, 1924, a large train accident occurred on the Longjin River Railway Bridge in China. At around 1 a.m. on this day, two trains traveling north and south collided head-on, causing significant damage to both the freight train and the express train. The accident occurred while freight train No. 72, which departed Andong County (currently Dandong, China), was passing through Sinmak Station and entering Hanpo Station. At that time, the No. 5 express train, which was leaving Busan and heading to Bongcheon (currently Shenyang, China), fell short of the Ryongjin river railroad bridge and collided head-on. In this accident, the locomotives of both trains as well as two freight cars were severely damaged, and the baggage car and windows of the express train were shattered.
At that time, freight train No. 72 normally had to arrive at Hanpo Station first and wait for the express train. However, on that day, it arrived about 5-6 minutes late and ended up arriving at the station almost at the same time as the express train. Consequently, the express train could not receive a signal and was waiting on the Ryongjin River railroad bridge. Meanwhile, freight train No. 72 began entering the station, but its brakes did not work properly, breaking the switch and colliding head-on with a waiting express train.
●Accident reporting and photographer’s reporting process
At that time, the photojournalist quickly prepared and went to the scene. On the afternoon of the 27th, when the accident occurred, he received a request from his editor to “take pictures so that they can be published in tomorrow’s newspaper,” so he set off with his camera and boarded a local train bound for Sinmak at 5:05 p.m. However, the train did not arrive at Hanpo Station until 8:50 p.m., three hours later than expected.
He persuaded the station master to go to the accident site during the night. Even in adverse conditions, including rain in the middle of the night, I walked to the Ryongjin River railroad bridge, about a horse (about 4km) away from the station, and filmed the accident scene.
They worked hard to find the most vital locomotive,but the damaged locomotives had already been moved to Pyongyang and Yongsan,respectively. He quickly moved to Pyongyang to photograph the locomotive, secured photos at Kaesong Station at 4:30 a.m., and returned to Gyeongseong at 9:40 a.m. to complete the photos to be reported in the newspaper. On November 29, two days after the
![What kind of aftereffects did the photojournalist who went to cover the train crash suffer? [청계천 옆 사진관]](https://dimg.donga.com/wps/NEWS/IMAGE/2024/11/29/130533224.1.jpg "What kind of aftereffects did the photojournalist who went to cover the train crash suffer? [청계천 옆 사진관]")
●Changed photo reporting surroundings
This incident suggests several changes when comparing the past and present photo reporting environments. First of all, there are advances in transmission technology. It took more than 24 hours for the photos taken at that time to be delivered to readers. This is as the photojournalist had to return to the Seoul headquarters with the film, go through the growth and printing process, and then deliver it to the newspaper production team. Today, on the other hand, photos can be transmitted instantly over wireless networks.Sence the introduction of SK telecom’s CDMA technology in the early 2000s, an environment has been created where newspaper photographers can instantly send photos taken on site to headquarters.
If citizens other than photojournalists were on the train, they could take pictures with their cell phones and send them to the media. There is also a big difference in the reporting environment between the past and present. According to the article, in 1924, a photographer was able to persuade the station master to guide him to the scene. However, today, for security and safety reasons, journalists’ formal requests are most often turned down. In particular, when public officials are in a disadvantageous situation, it has become virtually unfeasible to receive reporting cooperation with the authority of a press card. This has changed considerably since the early 2000s, and now reporters must find their own ways to access the field.Public officials often show an attitude of using the media only in situations that are advantageous to them.
●Afterword
The photojournalist succeeded in capturing the accident scene despite difficult circumstances,but the hardships of the process were clearly reflected in the writing. At that time, after completing his reporting, he concluded his article by saying, “It was a success, but there are still aftereffects.” The article ended with ‘aftereffects’, but I tried to infer what kind of aftereffects there would be from my experience as a photojournalist 100 years later.
I went on a business trip to Dandong Station, China in June 1997 while taking pictures with film. It was the first day food aid to North Korea began after the division, and my senior, who had originally planned to go on a business trip, had his visa issuance delayed by the Chinese authorities, giving me the possibility. it was an exceptional experience to go on an overseas business trip 7 months after joining the company and 3 months after becoming a full-time reporter. It’s unimaginable
now, but at the time, the decision was made the night before (I wasn’t going home at that time and I was having a noisy dinner with my seniors near the office), and I was going on a business trip, and the plane ticket was purchased by the company’s travel agency and airline.It was processed ‘expedited’ through the public relations team. it was already night when I landed at Shenyang Airport in China, took a taxi for 4 hours, and arrived at Dandong Station. The next day, I woke up the Chinese workers at Dandong Station to find out the time of the train to North Korea, which was expected to move at dawn. Fortunately, I was able to film the train crossing the Yalu River Railroad Bridge and entering North Korea, but Korean reporters, including myself, were caught by chinese police and interrogated. after manny twists and turns, I was able to secretly send it to seoul, but I was deported and ordered to leave Dandong within 8 hours. It took 12 hours to get there,we stayed up all night checking the available filming times and filming points,and after the police inquiry,we were immediately deported and had to take a train to Beijing. The problem is that I had a total of 5 bags on my back and shoulders during that trip. These included camera bags, telephoto lens bags, laptop bags, scanner bags, and development kit bags.I remember not packing the clothes and toiletries I needed for a business trip in separate bags, but putting them in the free space in each bag. Unlike broadcast reporters, newspaper photographers frequently enough travel alone. There is no assistance, and more often than not, they move independently rather than accompanying reporters.
There were also conditions such as an absolutely insufficient amount of sleep and the inability to prepare meals. Of course, at the time, that wasn’t an critically important condition for a young photojournalist in his 20s.
When I went on a business trip, it left marks on my shoulders and back as if I had been whipped. the blood pooled as the bag straps were pressing down on my body.
Personally, body fatigue is not the only aftereffect of reporting. I also have quite a few regrets about my relationships. the process of scolding and appeasing someone in order to go to the scene was sometimes rude and unreasonable when I thought about it after the reporting was over. If any of you who met me while covering the story have such memories, I would like to apologize and ask for your forgiveness through this article. I think the ‘aftereffects’ that the photojournalist who took pictures of the train accident 100 years ago refers to are also such regrets.
What did you feel in the photo? please leave nice comments today as well.