A Closed Video Store's Second Act

55,000 Videos From A N.Y. Icon's Renowned Collection Find A New Home In An Earthquake-Shattered Sicilian Town

(CBS)  Sometimes an economic bust in one town translates into an economic boom in another. Allen Pizzey has sent us this Postcard From Sicily:

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Yongman Kim gazes at his boarded-up video store in New York City … an archetypal symbol of the recession.

"I felt like I am a loser," said Kim.

At its peak Kim’s customer base was 200,000 strong, with four locations. Now he’s down to a few customers in a much smaller retail space.

A combination of online video and the recession broke his bank account, and more.

"Well, when I close, some customer cry and my employees also cry. I was pretty sad."

But unlike big time CEOs, Kim blames himself:

"Kim's is always on cutting edge, but how come you didn't prepare for cutting edge this time and lose all the business?" he asks.

But half a world away, in the Sicilian hill town of Salemi, first inhabited in the 6th century B.C. and half-wrecked by an earthquake in 1968, people see Kim in an entirely different light.

"Kim! Kim! Kim!” they chant.

The noisy welcome is for a shipping container bringing all 55,000 titles from Kim’s defunct video rental business to a new home.

Most of the offers Kim had to house the collection he built up over twenty years were, as he put it, "disappointing" and even "insulting" - especially as all he wanted was to keep it intact and available to the public.

Then, by chance, an Italian film buff named Franca Pauli heard about Kim and sent him an e-mail.

"This e-mail convince me and grab my attention immediately because it quite different," he said.

The town of Salemi was willing to put Kim's entire stock in the library of a 17th century former monastery, an offer Franca Pauli cheerfully admits was hardly based on a sound financial model.

"It's been all about inspiration and fun," Pauli told CBS News correspondent Allen Pizzey with a laugh. "But the sparkle is completely irrational."

"Irrational in what way?"

"It’s just [a] desire of doing this against all reasonable planning."

But that's in keeping with Kim's business philosophy.

The collection includes rare and hard-to-find titles from all over the world, from the sublime ("The Spirit of the Beehive") to the ridiculous ("Mondo Trasho") - not the kind of thing to attract a government bail-out … but too eccentric to abandon.

Ambitious plans include professional sub-titling, Internet streaming, and what's called "a never-ending festival" … films running twenty-four hours a day, which ought to get them through the entire collection in about … eleven years!

Salemi’s mile-a-minute-talking Mayor Vittorio Sgarbi saw Kim’s collection as a perfect fit for what he calls "Project Earthquake," a somewhat unorthodox strategy to stimulate his town’s economy and rejuvenate its devastated historic center.

About 1,000 ruined houses are being offered for sale, for one Euro (about $1.30 at today’s exchange rates).

The only condition is that they be rebuilt by local craftsmen to their original form within two years.

And when they’re finished, Kim’s 55,000 videos will provide years of entertainment.

Two economic dreams together ... an ideal business model for troubled times.

[jiw382]

www.kimsvideo.org

[cbsnewss1]

I Hope Kim does not blame himself as he is doing a big disservice to all his friend and all the people he worked with.
John Forjone NY

[salfree]

I too was taken aback by this story. Being of Sicilian descent and a mason,I
would be very interested in having one of the homes rebuilt . I hope someone
can contact me.

[francapauli]

My email contact is [e-mail].
Franca

[ladybird2]

my husband and i are interested in purchasing property in sicily and would like to know how to get more information on this, i look forward to hearing from you in the near future,thanks

[cheryltaylorwiddoes]

I watch CBS Sundy Morning every Sunday, what a great program.

My husband and I would like the opportunity to restore an old stone villas in Salemi, Italy.

How would I go about getting information on Salemi UnRestored Houses?

Please Provide Info Regarding Salemi House Purchase.

Thank you.

[francesco-s]

interesting story can someone please post any contact information you may have for Ms. Pauli and/ or the Salemi development team. thanks

[francapauli]

I'm working on Kim's Video Collection in Salemi and I'm part of the team which is planning and developing the future related projects. Both the project and the context are absolutely exciting. The Collection is now managed by an international work team made of skilled professionals and Mr. Kim will always be part of it. I'll be very happy to answer questions related to the project and, of course, to welcome volunteers and supporters, given the huge amount of work we are facing. Thanks everyone, Franca

[italian_property]

i have just moved here to Salemi in Sicily working with Sgarbi the mayor as i am promoting the 1 euro house offer and other properties in Sicily.
The arrival of Kims video was emotional and exciting...you should have seen the local school children creat a human chain so that the videos could be transported from the containers in to the museam....moving...don't worry Kims collection is in good hands. The council will be organising a film and art festival during the summer. If anyone is interested in participating please search for details. Ciao
Salemi, Sicily, MIPC.

[aritc10]

I tune in to "Sunday Morning" every week without fail. I was surprised this morning to see the story on Salemi. My mothers family is originally from there. When I was a teenager, my family was stationed in England at the time(Military), we took a trip to Salemi for a month to visit my mothers relatives. It was exciting to see it again after all these years. It was a heartwarming story. Is there any way to view the video that was on the show?

[fremder]

What a wonderful story.

[superstonemason]

Retired Marble Mason would love opportunity to restore old stone villas in Salemi, Italy.
How would I go about getting information on Salemi UnRestored Houses? I'm glad
Kim's Video was able to continue, despite strange twist. Again, Please Provide Info Regarding Salemi House Purchase.

[proitalian]

Wonderful good story.We like to visit Sicily this year for two to three weeks. i like to visit town Salemi and also hope to buy an old house for one dollar(?) and restore it. It sounds too good to be true but good to dream (?) for near retiring old people. May be i did not hear it right.

I hope somebody from that town respond to this.

[francklazare]

Does anyone knows how to contact the city of Salemi, regarding the sale of houses?

I was a Kim's video customer for more than 20 years, first when it started on Avenue A. It's sad than no New York Institution, or video store was willing to get the collection. Where am I going to rent my foreign films and documentaries?

[rragaini]

I am usually a big fan of your program and generally appreciate the care that you take with the stories produced, however, with this rather poignant and interesting tale, was it REALLY necessary to subtitle Mr. Kim's comments? He spoke in clear, perfect English that was better than many natives of the U.S. And to make matters worse, you chose NOT to subtitle the Mayor of Salemi who spoke in Italian. Subtitling Mr. Kim was, in my opinion, at the very least rude and at the very worst racist. In the future, please listen before subtitling!

[johns4321]

My surname is Salemi with origins back to Salemi Sicily. Is there a possibility that the video of this story can be posted on CBS News.com? The town is really trying to re-build!

[Shelly-Ahrens]

I liked this story. I don't think Mr. Kim should be down on himself. He spent twenty years providing entertainment to a lot of people. Now he's providing entertainment to Salemi. How many of us can say we've touched a town half a world away ? I'm very interested in the reconstruction project in Salemi. How would one obtain information in doing so?

[Chilly_Billy]

Oh my! 50,000 USA format DVDs that will not play on a European format player.
That's a shame.