Bikini words

Bikini Words is a video made by Nils Clauss for Geumcheon District Office, an urban district of Seoul, South Korea.

The video was commissioned by Hongsung Kim, the founder of Design Studio Kerb, and Jinbok Wee, the head of Urban Intensity Architects, who were preparing an exhibition to shape an overall picture on how Geumcheon District has been shaped during the “miracle years” of  South Korea’s rapid economic growth starting in the 1960s all the way up to the mid 1990s using architecture, design, photography and film.

The Geumcheon District is part of the G-Valley, an area in Seoul which includes the districts Geumcheon, Guro and Gasan. This area was well known for it’s industrial activities in textile manufacturing, dressmaking and other labour-intensive industries during the 1970s and 1980s. Clauss’ project starts from an index of 99 words – compiled by researcher Haeyeon Yoo of the Soongsil School of Architecture – which dates back to the 1970s and 1980s and contains words or terms coined by the factory workers of that period. Some of these words had been newly invented and some had been given a new meaning. Some of the words are purely Korean, some of them are Konglish, a form of Korean language style English. This index is so fascinating as it's not only of value linguistically, but also as a unique social historical document that sheds light into the life of the so called “factory boys” and “factory girls” of that period and the harsh conditions they worked under. The words also emphasise the importance of education for the factory workers, and the role fashion played as a form of escapism in the short periods of leisure time they enjoyed.

Together with his producer Kuiock Park, Clauss went through the list of words and tried to build some of them into a theme that makes sense and creates a kind of narrative for the film. With the words they came up with, they created an insight into various aspects of a workers’ lives in a way that would be clear to an international audience to help them understand what was going on in Korea at that time. The eight words they chose are a mixture of new Korean and Konglish words, which neither make sense to native English-speakers nor in a Korean language context. This also explains the title Bikini Words, a Konglish expression made up for this film emphasising the linguistic focus of the film, but also referencing one of the key expressions in the film: Bikini Closet.

The area today has completely changed. Actually a lot of Chinese immigrants are now living in this area and most Korean factory workers from that time moved to other areas of Seoul.

Bikini Words
Writer, Director, Cinematographer: Nils Clauss
A content production in association with: Geumcheon District Office, Seoul
Producer: Kuiock Park
Cast: Sunhee Han, Ohsoon Kim, Hansoon Kho, Changwoo Lee, Sunmi Kho, Youngmi Kim, Sangsoon Park, Yunku Kim, Jongsoo Kim, Youngim Kim
Narration: Youngim Kim
Assistant Cameraman: Seongil Lee
Gimbal Operator: Seongil Lee, Nils Clauss
Gaffer: Hyohoon Park
Editor & Colorist: Nils Clauss
Music: Niello Tryst by Offthesky
Sound Operator: Minjae Lee
Sound Mixer: Udo Lee
Graphic Design: Design Studio Kerb
Font Animation: Jean Julien Pous
Location Support: Guro Industrial Complex Labor House, Shinheung Highschool, Dokang School, Geumgu School, Jeonju Film Commission, Napori Coffeeshop, Kwangjang Market, Piccadilly Club, Sibling Bathhouse, Chulsoon Lee
Prop Support: Younggon Kho
Word Index: Soongsil University Of Architecture
Special Thanks to: Geumcheon District Office, Urban Intensity Architects, Jay Hubert, Neil Dowling
Dedicated to the workers of Guro Industrial Complex, who appear in this video.