Welcome to Gunpo

Editor s note: Columbia Basin Herald editor Erin Stuber has joined a delegation of Grant County representatives in Gunpo City, South Korea and is reporting on their visit over the course of the week.

GUNPO CITY, South Korea In the United States, a handshake and the right price may seal the business deal, but South Korea is half a world away, geographically and culturally.

Here, a trusting relationship must first be established and it is primarily for that reason four delegates from Grant County are taking in Gunpo City one day at a time.

Gunpo City is within an hour of Seoul, Korea s capital, by subway or car, but with 280,000 citizens it is a sizeable city in its own right. City streets are remarkably clean for such a metropolis and downtown buildings are brightly decorated with numerous lighted signs . la Tokyo, but to a lesser extent. It is surrounded by green hills that are completely undisturbed by development but for a few observatories, cell towers and power structures. Building is not allowed there, though in the valley of Gunpo City below, apartment complexes and other buildings rise high into the sky to make use of the vertical space because there isn t any more room on the ground to sprawl.

This is a city nearly the size of Spokane so I m really honored Grant County can have a sisterhood relationship with them, said LeRoy Allison, chair of the Grant County Commissioners who is leading the delegation this week. It s a big city and it s growing fast.

Grant County and Gunpo City signed a sisterhood agreement in 2003. Terry Brewer, executive director of the Grant County Economic Development Council, first met Gunpo City Mayor Yoon Joo Kim in 2002 and Grant County delegations have visited in April of 2003 and 2004. Gunpo City delegates came to Grant County in October 2002, August 2003 and September 2004. This year s delegation is comprised of LeRoy Allison and wife and Mattawa School District psychologist Benaya Allison, National Frozen Foods general manager Gary Ash and GCEDC communications and research manager Caroline Spira. Moses Lake City Council member Lee Blackwell had planned to make the trip but had to opt out for personal reasons.

Some trading has begun through the sisterhood, though there are great expectations on both sides of the sisterhood to expand those dealings.

The world is fast becoming one village, said Kim at the Gunpo Citizen Grand Festival opening banquet on Saturday night after the delegation s first day of touring Gunpo City. Our meeting today and (our) united efforts will result in Gunpo development in sister cities.

The Grant County delegation began Saturday with a tour of Gunpo City Hall, where Allison was particularly impressed by the Citizens Room, a public office where free Internet is available, as well as free phone use. A formal meeting led by the mayor and also attended by various other city officials was held there to welcome the delegates. All of them received plaques proclaiming them honorary citizens of Gunpo City, and ceremonial gift exchanges were held.

A video was shown about Gunpo City which gave an impressive visual tour of the city and explained its own Vision 2020, in English. Gunpo City is focused on expanding services for its youth and the elderly, bettering its welfare programs and has massive ambitions for urban development, all to meet its goal of a happy city with satisfied citizens, according to the video. A treat for the Grant County delegation: county residents Brewer, Ralph Kincaid and Terry Dorsing appear in the video. That brings it home, LeRoy Allison told the mayor later.

The delegation then met with the city council of Gunpo City in their chambers and ceremonial gift and business card exchanges were held as part of formal introduction procedures.

The day continued with tours of E-Mart, which was billed as Korea s answer to Wal-Mart but is more on par with a large department store. The delegates toured the Gunpo Youth Center next which hosts a variety of programs and classes for children and adults.

At the Gunpo Citizen Grand Festival, the delegates were honored at a banquet prior to the first night of events during Gunpo City s largest week-long annual festival, as were nine delegates from Clarksville, Tenn., Gunpo City s only other American sister city. Delegates from Gunpo City s sister city in Japan and those from its domestic sister cities in Korea were also in attendance. Delegates from all the sister cities are participating in various activities this week in Gunpo.

Following the banquet, the delegates joined Gunpo s mayor and other city officials in a parade, which included traditional Korean bands, marching bands, clowns, youth groups and plenty of children dressed as princesses, elves, superheroes and other costumes for the occasion. They promenaded to a downtown stadium for a performance arts concert attended by several thousand. The entertainment ran the gamut from a popular Korean pop singer to a classical orchestra and was followed with a large fireworks display.

A long first day of touring Gunpo City left Grant County delegates with some warm first impressions of the city.

Gunpo City is a very big, green, vibrant city that gives the impression of being a small, friendly and warm place, Spira said.