It was the first east–west trunk line to be opened, connecting the capital Gyeongseong to the important east coast port of Wonsan.

One of the earliest construction plans of the Railway Bureau of the Government General of Korea was for an east−west trunk line to connect Keijō to the important port of Wonsan.

The first section of this planned line was the 31.3 km (19.4 mi) segment from Yongsan to Uijeongbu, which was opened by the Chosen Government Railway (Sentetsu) on 15 October 1911.

[4] Electrification of the Pokkye−Gosan section of the Gyeongwon Line began in December 1940; it was completed and commissioned on 27 March 1944,[5] and commercial electric operations commenced on 1 April 1944.

[6] After the partition of Korea following the end of the Pacific War in 1945, the Gyeongwon Line was split along the 38th parallel between the stations of Hantangang and Choseongni.