With the development of mining in North Korea, freight locomotives were needed that could be used on the winding mountain routes. The 2-8-2 type was already used for heavy freight trains, but there were concerns about excessive wear on wheel sets and rails due to the many tight curves. Thus, a leading bogie was used and the engines were called "Matei", which came from the American name "Mountain".

Development took place in Gyeongseong along with the Pacific Pashiko class locomotives, and that's where the first two examples were built. For the other 48 locomotives, the production order was given to Kisha Seizo in Japan. The locomotives had a modern look with large smoke deflectors and a common cover for the dome and the feedwater heater. The grate of 67 square feet was fed by a mechanical stoker.

During World War II, six examples were either destroyed or stolen by the Soviet Army. After the division of Korea, some of the rest came to the northern and southern parts of the country. In South Korea they became the Mateo1, while in the North they were referred to as the Madoha class. In the north they were also used in front of passenger trains and their long service life can be seen from the fact that they were re-classified as the 7100 series in the 1970s.