Summer Days in Keijo—written in 1937

Overview

In 1937 and 1938, Sten Bergman published In Korean Wilds and Villages in Stockholm and in London, respectively. This book, also translated into Korean in 1999, was presented as part of the author's zoological and ethnographical interest in East Asia. The text for this film, Summer Days in Keijo—written in 1937 (2007), is inspired by two minor chapters about the city Keijo (out of a total of 34 eloquent chapters on "Korean wilds and villages"). Keijo is the Japanese pronunciation of the old word for Seoul, known as Kyungsung to many contemporary Koreans. The city, since 1937, has repeatedly been revamped, relocated, displaced, demolished, or destroyed by the capricious needs of the ever-sliding bar of present times. This film documents the dated modernization of Keijo as previously witnessed by Bergman's generation; what was witnessed then is now recognized only with textual specters over the site.