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'Now, Here, France'

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"Now, Here, France" by Kim Sun-mi / Courtesy of Mimesis Publishing

By Kim Ji-soo

Everybody has a preferred place or country outside their homeland that they find enchanting.

To Kim Sun-mi, a journalist for the Korean vernacular Dong-A Ilbo newspaper and author of "Now, Here, France" the aforementioned country is that place.

Having studied French in high school in Seoul, the opposite-to-trepid reporter had a chance to study at Paris ESMOD-ISEM in 2016.

"Now, Here, France" is a book that offers a diverse array of topics related to the European country ― from trees in Paris and in-city events to collaborations of fashion artists and technology, and education. As a mother of two, she describes her children's experience at elementary school and kindergarten there.

Through these topics, the writer tries to illustrate the country's undercurrent of a focus on culture and independent thinking, and the will to continue to creatively innovate.

One of the noticeable chapters is the second, titled "Innovation and Luxury."

It provides a glimpse into the rapidly budding technology scene in France. The author carries the experience of participating in the annual Viva Technology in 2018, observing French President Emmanuel Macron actively seeking both a flow of manpower and investment into his country, along with global companies investing in France.

It might be a model that South Korean policymakers would want to emulate as the country looks to revitalize its economy.

There is also an introduction to Station F, set up by the telecom giant Iliad's Chairman Xavier Niel in the Paris 13th arrondissement that houses some 1, 000 start-up companies with a workforce close to 3,000, and built with Niel's own funds. He was mentioned as the eight richest man in France with 6.1 billion euro in 2018.

Niel also founded a free coding school Ecole 42, where coding fanatics come together to teach and learn.

As the weather warms in Korea and more runners are out on Seoul streets, the story about Run My City Paris, where runners run past landmarks like the Palais Garnier opera theater, should have people musing. Seoul city government officials should ponder whether they could do the same for runners here by allowing them to pass through Seoul City Hall or Sejong Cultural Center, or Korea's National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, as the writer suggests. As the author noted, it doesn't have to only be Seoul ― famous localities such as Gyeongju, the old capital of the former Silla Kingdom (57 B.C. ― 935 A.D.), could very well host one too.


Kim Ji-soo janee@koreatimes.co.kr


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