Shot in between 1926 and 1935 by an unknown cameraman, this extraordinary silent home movie shows a visit to South Korea and Indonesia. In Seoul, at this time the Japanese protectorate of Korea, the film shows the Keijo Central Post Office, Gyeongbokgung, Chôsen Jingu, the Honmachi or Toyegyero shopping street. In Dutch Indonesia the areas shown are unclear, but it appears to be shot in Yogikarta. Some native dances are shown as well as volcanic Mt. Merapi and Merbabu.

0:09 Card: The film opens in Seoul with shots of rickshaws, possibly near the Gyeongbokgung palace wall. Rickshaws were imported to Korea in 1883 and remained one of the principal means of transportation until 1945, despite their ‘foreign’ and ‘Japanese’ image and several uprisings in the then-occupied country which led to the partial destruction of the rickshaw carriages.

0:21-0:37 Women doing laundry

0:38-1:06 an older man wearing a small « gat » hat, according to the pre-1897 Joseon ranking, hat size coordinated with social position, and considering his age it would at the time indicate he passed gwaego civil service examination, wearing and a dopo robe, reserved for confucian intelligentsia and clerks, which would mean he is or had been a jungin middle class civil administrator. Younger men walking by wearing a durumagi robe and western clothing, another older man

0:50 in a dopo and a yugeon hat, indicating that he is a confucian scholar. Men wearing a mix of durumagi and western hats walk by.

1:07​ the Japanese Government-General Building, completed in 1926 and demolished in 1996, often called the capitol building by foreigners, is seen.

1:14 Card: In and around the Shrine

1:22-3:10 ​ The Shrine of a Thousand Steps – Chôsen Jingû, built in 1925 and demolished in 1945. Both were destroyed after the Korean War. This is likely before 1935, when the visits to the temple became mandatory for every adult citizen.

2:14​ are sweeping views of Seoul.

3:13 card : « The Old Palace »

3:14​-3:33 Old Palace or Gyeongbokgung Palace, the main royal palace of the Joseon dynasty.

3:33 Sudden cut to what appears to be either the British Malaya or – more probable, Dutch Indonesia

3:43 Man wearing a saruk hat

3:52 Group of men in saruk hats, banana plantation in the b/g and houses on stilts

3:59 Man in Peranakan Chinese (Hakka) bug net hat leading a water buffalo

4:10 Group of Peranakan Chinese pushing a rail cart with baskets

4:21 – 4:26 Close-up of the stilt houses of South East Asian – Indonesian construction

4:27 – 4:35 A man and a woman on a balcony

4:35 – 4:47 Another stilt house

4:53 Laughing boy

4:58 – 5:05 Traveler’s palm

5:06 – 5:16 Same stilt house

5:17 – 5:25 A fishing village

5:26 – 5:35 Old woman with a child

5:36 – Egyptian, British and Abyssinian dignitaries watching a troupe of musicians, dancers and actors

5:58 Soldier in a traditional warrior attire

6:53 women playing kempyang or ketuk percussion instrument

6:58 Men in loincloths – Siapa Pribhumi Asli – a supergroup of Native Indonesians, demonstrating traditional hunting with poisonous darts,

7:15 Group of actors portraying natives, bearing spears.

7:20 Seascape with an island on the horizon.

7:30 Men followed by a group of bare-chested women, carrying baskets on their head.

7:54 A volcano, potentially Merapi and Merbabu near Yogikarta

8:15 a native Indonesian family, possibly Papuan subgroup.

8:26 Terrassed fields peppered with fruit trees

From 9:00​ – Seoul again, Keijo Central Post Office, demolished in 1957

9:07 card : « Life in Seoul »

9:11 Korean women with the traditional hairstyle, but wearing kimonos, according to the policies of Japanization of Korea.

9:17 Honmachim, the City Proper, Toyegyero shopping street.

10:02 Shopping district continued – as per policy of Japanisation everything is written in Japanese, natto fermented beans shop, women’s clinics, hand fans and hosiery, book shops

10:40 View back towards the Keijo Central Post Office

10:47 Older men holding onto the vestiges of the Joseon regime.

10:51 A child being pushed in a pedal car down the street, ‘large size’ overcoats shop

11:13 A mother walks with her young child on her back. Teenage girl, possibly a servant.11:36 Geisha house

11:45 a more rural view, with agricultural workers shown.

12:10 A group of women wearing a mix of kimonos and hanbok, store clerk with the name of the store Masurao on his uniform

:30 Toyegyero shopping street. Toraya Japanese pastry shop sign. An American flag seems prominently featured at 12:33​. The film ends with a shot of a proud Korean mother and child.

This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com