Early 1900s Footage of Incheon's Opening Era Discovered in France After 120 Years

Scenes of Jemulpo Port from 1908 to 1910
Korean Film Archive Provides Footage to Incheon City

Incheon Jemulpo Port (stone embankment pier with wooden deck)

A film capturing the opening era of Incheon 120 years ago has been discovered in France.

The Korean Film Archive announced on December 22 that it had newly identified a silent documentary film believed to have been produced between 1908 and early 1910, and provided it to the Incheon city government.

The title of the film is "Korea: Scenes of Seoul and Jemulpo Port." The original is a nitrate 35mm negative film preserved at the Cin?math?que Fran?aise in France. The Korean Film Archive has secured a screening print, a 4K digital scan file, and a sound file.

The first part of the film features the Donuimun (Seodaemun) area before its demolition in 1915. The latter part shows scenes from Jemulpo Port near Incheon Station, which was the terminus of the Gyeongin Line. The everyday lives of Joseon people, including dock workers, porters, and street vendors, are captured in relatively vivid detail.

This is believed to be the earliest known footage of Jemulpo Port among the materials identified so far. Although about 120 years have passed, the image quality has been preserved well enough that signs and written characters are still legible.

Incheon Jemulpo Port (Joseon ship docked at the domestic rice-only pier)

The film also contains scenes of the construction of a temporary customs office-previously known only through documents-and the reclamation and building work for the customs site (now the area around Jungbu Police Station) between 1906 and 1909. The filming locations are believed to be around the Korean Christian Centennial Monument in Hang-dong 1-ga and near the Incheon Metropolitan City Architects Association in Hang-dong 4-ga.

The Korean Film Archive first identified this film during an inspection at the Cin?math?que Fran?aise in November 2023 while on a business trip to France. They revisited in May of last year to assess the film's condition and agreed to a joint restoration. Restoration work began in June of that year at the Paris branch of L’Immagine Ritrovata.

The Incheon city government plans to utilize this material as urban history content, for exhibition videos, and as research and educational resources.