Roh Jung-tae
The author is a writer and senior fellow at the Institute for Social and Economic Research.
At 9:45 p.m. on Nov. 11, 1977, a deafening explosion tore through Iri Station in North Jeolla. A freight train loaded with around 30 tons of dynamite, ammonium nitrate and detonators exploded, engulfing the station in flames. The blast killed 59 people, injured 1,402 and leveled every building within a 500-meter radius, turning the area into rubble.

Investigations revealed that several railway employees had accepted bribes, or "express fees," to allow trains to make unnecessary stops. The freight train carrying explosives from Korea Explosives Co. - now Hanwha Group - had stopped at Iri Station for that very reason, exposing how such corruption had become routine.
Personal negligence exacerbated the disaster. The train's security guard, identified by his surname Shin, reportedly drank while waiting for the delay to end. He returned to the freight car, lit a candle and fell asleep in his sleeping bag. When the candle fell and ignited a box nearby, Shin briefly tried to put out the fire but soon fled the scene. He survived without injury, while dozens of others perished.
The tragedy was a convergence of small but fatal errors. If station workers had not demanded bribes, if the guard had not been drinking, if he had slept elsewhere or if a fire extinguisher had been available inside the freight car, the explosion might never have occurred. Donations poured in from across the country, but it took years for the city to recover from the physical and emotional scars.
Nearly half a century later, Korea has endured other national disasters, including the Sewol ferry sinking and Itaewon crowd crush. The country has since placed greater emphasis on safety, yet serious accidents still occur. Despite official vows to prevent another tragedy, Korea continues to struggle with a culture that treats disasters as political issues rather than as systemic failures requiring reform.
The Iri Station explosion remains a painful reminder that safety is not secured by technology or slogans alone. It demands transparency, responsibility and the will to change the habits that allow negligence and corruption to persist.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.

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