Alchemy of Daily Life Exhibition

Thursday 17 November 2005

Good evening.

Welcome to the Your Excellency Ambassador Shin, Vice Mayor Chang and delegation from Songpa-Gu, special Korean visitors, Councillors, distinguished guests and members of the public who are here tonight.

Christchurch really came of age as a city a few years ago when we opened this Art Gallery. It took many years to achieve.

For Christchurch and Songpa it has really only taken 10 years to reach a similar point of a sense of a coming of age of our relationship.

When cities and people start to share their cultural strengths with each other, you know a real conversation is taking place. All art, all culture, is to an extent a window into the soul.

Which is why tonight, I think you can safely say this relationship, and its many windows into many souls, has come of age.

Having arrived, we should take a look back at where we came from, not so long ago. My understanding of this mutual history is this:-

In 1988 Clyde Sugden became honorary Consul for Korea in christchurch. He talked with Seong Bang, or Charlie Lee to us, about setting up a sister city relationship with Korea.
There were about 2500 Koreans then living in Christchurch and the time seemed right to set up deeper sister city ties for trade, education, cultural and sporting interests.
From 1990 to 1993 they talked with various Ambassadors and the Council about the idea and where, and who, to choose for the sister city. Gradually Songpa became the first choice, in part because of the excellent rapport between Charlie Lee and Mayor Kim Sung Soon.
In April 1994 they put a submission to the Council with full support from the Korean War Veterans’ Association, the Korean community, and Mayor Kim. The formal sister city agreement was signed between Mayor Vicki Buck and Mayor Kim on 10 February 1995.
Educational and cultural ties flourished between Aranui High School here in Christchurch and Ogum High School in Songpa. Primary school ties and exchanges got underway in 2001 between Merrin Primary School and Se Ryun Elementary School and then in 2005 between Chisnallwood Intermediate School and Gowan Middle School.
There have been cultural exchanges, sports, art and educational exchanges, and this year the dedication of the Christchurch sculpture in Songpa.
These many achievements have only been possible because of the great work of a group of people I shall formally thank tomorrow night.

Tonight I will thank Songpa for their generosity and hospitality to so many of us in the last 10 years.

Thanks to Vice Mayor Chang and the delegation who are here to celebrate this birthday with us and to the Jeonju Cultural group who have come to show us another window into the Korean soul.

Thank you all.