By Kim Se-jeong
Staff Reporter
Last Tuesday at the Grand Hyatt Seoul, New Zealanders in Korea got together to see one of their lawmakers doing diplomacy with Korea.
It couldn't be better, for Melissa Lee has a Korean background, understanding the culture, customs and language.
She said she joined the New Zealand Parliament from the national list member in 2008, the equivalent to a proportional representation lawmaker.
Born in Korea but brought up in New Zealand, she spoke on topics that appealed to both the New Zealand and Korean members of the audience. And she carried it out in a frank and straightforward manner that kept the guests attentive during her rather long speech.
She started out by talking about her personal memories and her feeling towards Korea. ``Korea is my birthplace and it will always be a special place.''
Growing up in a family who ran the first Korean grocery store in New Zealand, she said that she had unique experiences.
``And I had the honor of typing labels (this was before computer labeling days.) after school,'' Lee said.
Speaking Korean almost fluently, she switched back and forth between English and Korean during the speech ― from time to time embarrassing the interpreter who was there to help her.
Lee came to visit Korea last week at the invitation of the Overseas Korean Foundation to take part in the Future Leaders Conference in Seoul.
Before joining parliament, she worked as a journalist for almost 15 years.
Coming to discuss Korea-New Zealand relations, she demonstrated her well-educated knowledge on pretty much all aspects of the relationship.
Lee welcomed the Korea-New Zealand free trade negotiations that have just started, saying that ``it will benefit both New Zealand and Korea tremendously. Especially with opposite seasons, the two will greatly benefit from each other.''
She encouraged more Korean students to choose New Zealand for their overseas education destination.
To those interested in immigrating, she said that rules and regulations have been loosened, especially for those with distinctive skills.
But she did avoid some questions ― one attendee asked whether New Zealand would reduce tuition fees for international students at the level of domestic students.
She said she tried to get herself involved with the Korean-New Zealander community in Aukland by organizing a Korean film festival.
Members of the New Zealand Chamber of Commerce, New Zealand diplomats, Korean businessmen and women with connections with New Zealand attended the event.