Grant County strengthen ties with Korean city

Positive balance of visit from Gunpo City delegation

GRANT COUNTY — The visit of dignitaries from Gunpo City, Korea, lasted less than a week. Yet, Grant County leaders are saying the trip, as brief as it was, was successful.

Led by Gunpo City Mayor Yoon Joo Kim, authorities from Grant County's sister city participated in a variety of activities, which local observers say helped strengthen the relationship between Grant County and their friends in the Korean metropolis.

"The visit, although short, went very well," said Caroline Spira, director of communications for the Grant County Economic Development Council, who added that the visit was another step forward after a successful student exchange that took place this summer.

The purpose of the visit had been to strengthen the ties formed between the city and the county, with future hay and potato shipments already in the works besides the student exchange.

"We wanted both sides to strengthen the bonds and get to know each other better," Spira said. "Before this visit, only Mayor Kim had been to Grant County before.

This time around, joining Kim was a delegation of people which included Koon-Hy Cho, president of Korco Foods and the director of business development in South Korea for the GCEDC.

During their visit, Kim and Cho invited local leaders and authorities, Spira among them, to visit Gunpo City in the near future. Another person invited was Moses Lake Mayor Ron Covey, who said it had been an honor to meet Kim and the rest of the delegation.

"It was a great opportunity to meet and share ideas, goals and visions for the future," he said. "This will only enhance the cooperation between the cities."

Covey said he hoped to see that the friendly relationship between Gunpo and the city he leads will help foster economic development in Moses Lake.

"In order to grow as a community," Covey said, "Moses Lake has to not only have an economic base in agriculture, but in other areas."

These areas, he said, benefit directly from the trade agreements reached with places like Gunpo City.

"That is only a part of the overall picture of the relationship between the Moses Lake and Gunpo," he said.