Inaugural Train Ride on the Reopened Third Hangang Railway Bridge

The Third Hangang Railway Bridge was restored in 1957 with U.S. support.
The photograph shows the opening ceremony held on July 5, 1957, attended by Minister of Transportation Moon Bong-jae, U.S. Economic Coordinator for Korea William E. Warne, and other officials from the Office of Economic Coordination (OEC).

The three Hangang railway bridges and a pedestrian bridge were blown up during the evacuation phase of the Korean War in 1950. Temporary bridges were constructed for Seoul’s recapture in September 1950. Post-armistice, the U.S. funded bridge reconstruction through the International Cooperation Administration (ICA), which provided $1.5 billion from 1955 to 1961 primarily for raw materials and transportation infrastructure.