Published : Oct. 23, 2011 - 19:09
The Swedish Embassy is holding an exhibition of images taken by a famed zoologist more than 75 years ago.
Sten Bergman carried out natural science work here during a visit from February 1935 to November 1936 with the purpose of studying birds, mammals and insects in Korea and to collect samples to bring back to the Swedish museum.
Sten Bergman with a goshawk in North Korea (Sten Bergman Project)
During his stay, he tried to capture almost everything of what he saw in the photos.
Then, he published a book named “In Korean Wilds and Villages, 1938,” which has become an important historical record for Koreans to track the life of their ancestors.
Besides the photos introduced in the book, almost 1,000 other photos have been kept by his grandson, with 90 of them describing the daily lives of everyday people in Korea now on display.
Through the scenes of “Women at the Washing Place,” “Powerful Fishermen Pulling out the Fish Net,” “Naive Children” and “Cherry Blossom Picnic at Changgyeong Palace,” visitors will get a glimpse of smiling local people during the difficult era of the 1930s.
The exhibition runs until the end of the year at the Seoul National University Museum.
For more information, visit the embassy’s site at www.swedenabroad.se/seoul