Nantes City Administration Delegation Visits Suncheon for Garden Expo... Sister City Ties

Continuous Praise Follows as Visitors Tour the Garden Expo Venue

Suncheon City in Jeollanam-do announced that from the 10th for two days, four administrative officials, including Pierre Emmanuel Marais, the Deputy Mayor of Nantes City, a sister city in France, visited Suncheon.

The delegation discussed ways to enhance friendly cooperation between the cities and toured the 2023 Suncheonman International Garden Expo site, cheering for its successful hosting.

[Photo by Suncheon City]

On the 11th, Deputy Mayor Marais and his party toured the garden expo site, praising it as “more creative than any European city where garden expos have been held.” He added, “The eco-belt, which overcomes the dilemma of development and conservation, restores the wetlands of Suncheonman and preserves them permanently, presenting a new agenda of unprecedented challenges worldwide, such as carbon neutrality, and showcasing a new future city model.”

He especially noted, “The Green Island, which returned asphalt roads reminiscent of gray cities to citizens in an eco-friendly way, and the Ocheon Green Plaza, a flood prevention facility transformed into a lawn plaza, are unique urban spaces with contemplation, community, and culture, serving as the finest masterpieces connecting the city center.”

Additionally, on the 10th, they visited the Nantes Garden, which was established as part of the 2009 international friendship exchange project and features French traditional relics such as the ‘laundry boat’ and ‘rose garden.’ They expressed being moved by how the Nantes Garden has been reborn as a cultural space in Suncheon and is actively exchanging cultural ties.

The Nantes Garden places the flexible S-shaped curves of Dongcheon Stream and Suncheonman at its center, along with the winding Loire and Erdre Rivers flowing through Nantes City. The laundry boat, directly produced and installed by Nantes City, creates a unique landscape, providing another attraction for tourists visiting Suncheonman.

Meanwhile, the ‘10th Korean Spring’ festival, which promotes Korean culture and arts, will be grandly held in Nantes, France, for four weeks from May 13 to June 11.

Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, the festival is hosted by the Korean Spring Association (President Mira Bodez) and supported by the Korea Foundation (KF) and the Korea Foundation for International Cultural Exchange (KOFICE).

The main event will feature exhibitions of cartoon portraits of the mayors of Suncheon and Nantes, as well as various performances and events such as traditional fairy tale concerts read in Korean and French, and small-scale Sarangbang concerts.

Started in 2013 in Nantes, one of France’s seven major cities, the Korean Spring festival was the first Korean cultural festival held in a provincial city rather than the capital Paris. Every year, thousands of citizens participate in the event, making it one of the major festivals in western France where Korean culture is enjoyed.

This visit by Nantes City marks the first in five years since April 2018, during which both cities promised to expand youth and cultural exchanges to share experiences in garden culture and foster a future-oriented partnership.

Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Heo Seon-sik hss79@asiae.co.kr

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