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Washington city looks for Korean sister city

May 1, 2015

(Courtesy of www.ci.lynnwood.wa.us)

By The Korea Times Seattle staff

A Washington city with a significant Korean American population is looking to find a sister city in South Korea.

Nicola Smith, mayor of Lynnwood, Wash., held a meeting with Seattle Korean Consul General Moon Duk-ho and other local Korean leaders Monday.

With the mayor were City Councilman Sid Roberts, Police Chief Steve Jensen and Fire Chief Todd Gates.

Smith, who attended a taekwondo competition overseen by local master Ki Seung Cho, met Moon there and agreed to look into furthering both the city’s and its Korean community’s development together.

The city of Lynnwood has formally requested the help of the Seattle Consulate in finding a sister city.

Moon said they are currently looking at two or three cities in Chungcheong Province, and that they would help in securing a sister city for Lynnwood.

Yoon Boo-won, head of the United Korean School based in Seattle who was present at the meeting, requested in turn help in using a leased space in Lynnwood for the Korean language school.

Smith promised help in finding space within Edmonds Community College, and later a high school currently under construction.

Two other Washington state cities have a Korean sister city: Spokane with Jecheon, South Korea, and Federal Way with Donghae. The state itself has a sisterhood with Korea’s Chollabuk-do.