AEMS: AEMS Database

In 1993 President Mitterrand visited Korea. On this visit Mitterrand promised that he would restore to Korea the 297 volumes of the Oe-Kyujanggak Archives (the royal protocols of Chosun Dynasty in Korea), pillaged by the French army in 1866 and now part of the collections in the Bibliothèque Nationale de France (National Library of France). As a sign of intent, he assured the interested parties that a two-volume book, the Hyikyungwon-Wonsodogam-Uigwe, would be immediately returned. However, the next day Mitterrand handed over only the first volume to Korea, taking the second volume back to France.

Even now, more than a decade after Mitterrand's promise, the rest of the books remain in the Bibliothèque Nationale de France. Coréen 2495 is the French call number of the first volume returned to Korea in 1993. Using this call number as a clue, the filmmaker begins a journey to Europe to document the second volume and the rest of the books yet to be returned to Korea. On this expedition the filmmaker meets the people who are involved in the issue and discovers the political and economic intrigues behind the scenes.

Shot in Korea and Europe, Coréen 2495 unveils the imperialism that underlies global political systems, a Korean government that has proven helpless against it, and the people who have devoted their lives to reinstating the Oe-Kyujanggak Archives to Korea.