Is there a tram in your city? Here in Busan, we don’t use them. 

The only time that my family and I rode a tram was when we traveled to Vienna and Prague. I loved them. The trams ran pretty much everywhere, making it a fun and convenient way to get around the city.

Many of you might not know that there used to be a tram running through the heart of Busan, because there are no traces of it left in the city today. But let me tell you: Busan was one of three cities in Korea that had trams: Busan, Seoul and Pyeongyang.

The first tram line opened in 1915 here in Busan. The majority of people who traveled by tram were Japanese. In the early 1900s, many Japanese lived near the Choryang Weagwan area in Busan.

They loved to visit Dongrae area to enjoy the spa. So, to make their journey to Dongrae easier, they built tram lines between Jin-gu and Dongrae. It took about 20 minutes by tram to get to Dongrae from Jingu, cutting down on travel time.

But Koreans did not like trams…

There were a lot of misconceptions about trams, because they used electrical power. Koreans experienced a lengthy drought in the early 1900s. Right now it doesn’t make sense, but people back then believed that the overhead wires that powered the trams absorbed moisture and prevented rain showers.

Some incidents have occurred onboard a tram. In 1933, a man in his 70s was taking a mini trip to Busan from Yangsan. He was so startled after seeing a tram for the first time, that he jumped right onto the track. Although he was quite injured, luckily he didn’t lose his life.

In May of 1934, a baby was born on a tram. The mother, who was in her 20s was visiting her family from Ulsan. While taking the tram to the hospital, she gave birth to a baby girl.

Trams back then ran on two different routes; one was from Gudeok stadium to Yeongdo and the other went from Gudeok Stadium to Oncheonjang.

The trams moved so slowly that passengers were able to simply hop off at any point, whether they were at one of the 11 stations or not.

As time went by, Koreans changed the way they felt about trams.

In 1910 there were about 19 trams, but by 1957 there were 73.

The demand for trams continued to increase as they received more frequent passengers. By 1966 there were nearly 150,000 people who relied on the trams for transportation.

That year, there was about 1.4 million people living in Busan, which means that more the 10 percent of Busan’s population traveled via trams.

Trams, however, stopped operating on May 19th, 1968, due to the destruction caused by the Korean War. Salvageable tram cars were sold for cash.

However, if you go to Bumin Campus at Donga University in Busan, you will be able to see one of Busan’s trams that was made in Atlanta.

If you visit between 1 and 2 pm, you can go inside of the car.