I, Kim Sang Soo, respect the a New Zealander and the beautiful city of Christchurch. Last 6Th December I arrived here from Sydney. I have now been here for 2 months.

It is one year since I was last here in Christchurch. I am now working on writing a novel. One year ago, in January, it was my first time here in New Zealand and Australia. I had started from Auckland and travelled on a bus tour around the North Island, and then came down to Christchurch.

I found that many of the Kiwi people had a natural sympathy with nature. I was very surprised and was overcome with emotion. This was especially obvious during my trip from Greymouth to Christchurch on the Alpine Express railway. As we crossed the mountains between the big, wide, Canterbury plains and the narrow, moist, Westcoast, I was again overcome with emotion.

When I arrived in Christchurch I saw that nature was not only seen in the city surroundings but it was also apparent within the city itself. However, my schedule only allowed me to spend one night in Christchuch before I had to leave to fly to Auckland city. I didn't experience this feeling again until I returned last December for a three month visit.

I am a Korean artist involved with cinema script writing, stage writing and directing of drama performances, photography, and installation art. I have shown these art forms in Korea, Japan, France and Switzerland and Europe area.

Sometimes the Korean government as part of its State Policy would ask me to work with them on projects concerning state government cultural policies. As a result of my experiences, and my own point of view I have many ideas and experiences which would also be relevant to New Zealanders.


I've just had a few days in here, but I want to say, "New Zealand needs to be reorganized."
I'm just an alien to this beautiful world, but I hope New Zealand could be, not just a country of Kiwis, but the world of every human's possibility.
 
New Zealand has very good social welfare facilities and overall public social system. (compared to Korea, it's really good. Education, medical service and the way to solve problems of unemployment and so on... ) But, what their industry relies on are mostly primary production and the tourism industry.

This means that there is a limit on the amount of meaningful resources available to the country and the government. Therefore, it means that the base of welfare system is not very secure. So, I think that the government needs to provide stable financial resources and rearrange industry organization for their future vision. To make tour industry the higher value-added service, they should support the cultural art field more.
 
In 2007, about 40 thousand "good brains" shipped off to Australia, England, and many other countries. Many people leave here to get a job. It is New Zealand that offered them a good university education, but they sail to another world. What's the problem? What is the government doing?
 
I think they should develop the 21st century's knowledge industry, and embrace immigrants. This city, Christchurch, can have a new city which is bigger and wider than Seoul, or Tokyo, in Canterbury plane.
 
The ambitious vision about re-designing the country through a decisive, open-door policy will work. It will result in us making a Worldwide Hi-tech Culture City with around two millions of people step by step for 10 years. It will be a city of totally different concepts.
 
Of course, there are some benefits coming from restraining immigration, but, it is needed to live with more people harmoniously. It's worth while, not only for boosting up domestic demand, but also for dividing the battle field(the earth) to keep people in balance with nature. 
 
If New Zealand opens the door to many immigrants and develops the knowledge and creative industries such as knowledge, culture, art, new energy, environmental industries, then many clever young people will not leave here, and a lot of people with dreams and abilities will come and stay instead.
 
Particularly, they speak English, so the knowledge industry can spread concepts and vitality over the other English speaking cultures.
 
Even, if it has fewer resources than neighboring Australia, isn't it possible to bloom the new renaissance of the whole English speaking culture in the land of clouds, New Zealand?

I think Christchurch city can become an affluent city with strengthened art, culture, industry, and education in the center of their economic system (right now the tourism industry is in the center).

Given the chance, I would like to make a new synthetic and progressive plan to change the city, even hough I'm just a foreigner like the youngs of London Oxford Christchurch College, 200 years ago. They were strangers also.
It would be possible only if I could have a chance to show my ideas under the title, 'Creative Christchurch project 2020'. It includes both creation and renovation.


Now I first propose two projects for New Society:
The first project is to produce a theatre production which would be shown to the whole world. We would first produce and show it in Christchurch and from there we would take it to Sydney, London, New York and around the world. From this people from around the world would want to visit Christchurch to see the original theatre production.

The second project concerns a television production concerning Canterbury food. The program would be sent out to other English speaking countries for viewing. It would be similar to Jamie Oliver's program; however, it would be more interesting by  combining comedy, philosophy and nature. Christchurch has a wide surrounding area with natural farming, the"best in the world" vegetable producing areas, natural clean water resulting in pure, unpolluted vegetable and animal products.

Regards
04 February  08

kim Sang Soo