History of the Gunpo City—Grant County sister cities

The sister-city relationship between Gunpo City and Grant County began with the goal of economic development, but both sides hope to plant seeds for future growth among the area's youth.

In 2001, Koonhy Cho, a Michigan businessman who is originally from Gunpo City, bought land outside of Moses Lake with the goal of locating closer to the ports in Seattle for cheaper export across the Pacific Ocean, his daughter and Gunpo City cooperation team member, Young-Mi Cho, said.

Koonhy Cho met Grant County Economic Development Council Executive Director Terry Brewer while buying the property. The two men later linked up while Brewer was in Asia for an economic development conference along with Gov. Gary Locke, and Brewer met with Gunpo City Mayor Yoon Joo Kim, who expressed interest in starting a sister-city relationship.

Brewer saw a potential to market Grant County products, such as hay and potatoes, to South Korea, and in 2003, Mayor Kim and a delegation of Gunpo City officials flew east to Grant County to learn about the local economic-development possibilities.

In 2002, the Grant County Economic Development Council and Gunpo City signed an agreement for economic trade, Brewer said in an e-mail. At the same time, both Ephrata and Moses Lake signed agreements of friendly relations with Gunpo City, Brewer said.

Earlier this spring, the relationship broadened. A Grant County delegation, consisting mostly of city and county officials, bought their own tickets to come to Gunpo and learn about the way the Koreans run their cities. That trip was similar to the student exchange, though more focused on meetings with Gunpo officials to discuss the way the city is run, Young-Mi Cho said.

In April 2003, Grant County Commissioner Tim Snead signed a sister city agreement with Gunpo, making the relationship official.

Finally, in the vein of the Moses Lake-Yonezawa Sister City exchange, Gunpo City and Grant County will exchange students this year.

Moses Lake City Councilman Lee Blackwell, who, along with the Big Bend Economic Council, have been the driving force behind the student exchange, said he hopes the youths and chaperones involved will be able to come back to Grant County to spread the word about the sister city.

Then, in the middle of next month, Gunpo City will send a delegation of about 15 students to Grant County, where they will have the opportunity to see how Americans live, at least for two weeks.

In September 2004, Grant County has invited another delegation, which will include Mayor Kim and his wife, Brewer said.