Next Year Marks the 20th Anniversary of Sister City Partnership: Incheon-si and Honolulu-si Strengthen Exchange and Cooperation

Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok Visits Honolulu City to Commemorate 120th Anniversary of Hawaiian Immigration

Incheon Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok visited Honolulu City Hall in Hawaii, USA, on the 21st (local time) and discussed cooperation plans with Mayor Rick Blangiardi (third from the right) before taking a commemorative photo.
[Photo by Incheon City]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] Incheon City and Honolulu City, Hawaii, USA, which will celebrate the 20th anniversary of their sister city relationship next year, have decided to further strengthen their friendship, cooperation, and exchanges.

Marking the 120th anniversary of Korean immigration to Hawaii, Incheon Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok, who is visiting Honolulu City, met with Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi on the 21st (local time) to discuss ways to enhance cooperation and exchanges between the two cities, including jointly holding the 20th anniversary sister city commemorative event.

Also present at the meeting were Heo Sik, Chairman of the Incheon City Council, and Tommy Waters, Chairman of the Honolulu City Council.

The two cities established their sister city relationship in 2003 at the proposal of Incheon City, coinciding with the 100th anniversary of Korean immigration to the Americas. Since then, they have actively engaged in exchanges such as participating in sister city summits, attending the opening ceremony of the 2014 Incheon Asian Games, reciprocal visits by mayors and delegations, and exchanges between city councils.

This is Mayor Yoo’s second visit to Honolulu City, following his first in 2016. On this occasion, he proposed to Honolulu strengthening exchanges among public officials, enhancing cooperation in cultural fields, and installing a commemorative sculpture for the sister city relationship.

Mayor Blangiardi agreed to the installation of the sculpture and said, "I will visit Incheon next year to celebrate the 20th anniversary of our sister city relationship. I hope that the two cities will strengthen exchanges and cooperation in various fields so that it goes beyond culture and events to include concrete and practical support in areas such as economy, trade, and business."

Mayor Yoo also met with Hawaii Lieutenant Governor Sylvia Luke on the same day, and they shared a commitment to strengthen cooperation.

Lieutenant Governor Luke said, "Incheon is significant as the starting point from which Koreans first emigrated overseas to Hawaii 120 years ago. Next year, I plan to lead a large delegation from Hawaii to visit Incheon and discuss ways to enhance cooperation."

Honolulu City, located in the southeastern part of Oahu Island, Hawaii, is the capital of Hawaii with a population of 350,000. It is an international city connecting the United States and Asia and a world-renowned resort city with developed tourism and leisure industries.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.