Bridge over the River Kwai

The Kuang Yim Sunthorntham Foundation is building a religious complex by the famous bridge.

'An estimated 200,000 romusha (Asian forced labour) worked on the Siam-Burma railway. It would be difficult to calculate the exact number because so many of them ran away from their camps and so many died. It was very difficult to recruit Thai romusha because Thailand was an independent country, so the Japanese asked the Thai Chinese Association of Commerce to recruit Chinese romusha. But this recruitment was not so successful because the work conditions were not at all attractive.' (The BURMA-THAILAND RAILWAY McCormack Nelson 1993)

The area around the bridge has changed over the years with the bridge being a major tourist attraction. There is no real memorial to the many Asians who perished during the construction of the railway so maybe the new construction will not be out of place.