Haenam-gun and China's Yongyuan County 400 Years of Friendship 'Strengthening Exchange and Cooperation'

On the 11th, the delegation from Yongyuan County, China, visited Hainan to sign an international friendship city agreement

Haenam-gun, Jeollanam-do (Governor Myeong Hyeon-gwan) has signed an international friendship city agreement with its sister city, Yongyuan County, China, and decided to further strengthen the friendly cooperative relationship between the two cities.

On the 11th, the Haenam-gun?Yongyuan County international friendship city agreement ceremony was held at the Pine Beach Hotel in Haenam-gun, attended by Haenam-gun Governor Myeong Hyeon-gwan, Yongyuan County Party Secretary Gao Zhong, and other officials.

The ceremony was also attended by officials including Gao Dongrui, a standing committee member of the Guangdong provincial city overseeing Yongyuan County, and Consul General Jang Cheonggang in Guangzhou, who congratulated the signing of the agreement.

Haenam County signed an international friendship city agreement with Yongyuan County, China, its sister city.
[Photo by Haenam County]

This agreement ceremony was arranged to reestablish the relationship between the two cities, which formed a sister city bond in 1999, as international friendship cities and to further strengthen their friendly cooperative ties.

According to the agreement, Haenam-gun and Yongyuan County will establish a long-term friendly cooperative relationship, build a system for mutual visits and exchanges, and promote cooperation in various fields such as industry, culture, tourism, sports, education, and administration.

In particular, they agreed to actively support mutual interests such as Jin Lin research and cultural exchange and to cooperate actively for joint regional development.

Governor Myeong Hyeon-gwan said, “Haenam-gun and Yongyuan County have maintained a relationship of mutual support for each other’s development and cooperation for common prosperity based on a precious friendship spanning over 400 years of history,” adding, “I hope that this international friendship city agreement will develop into a relationship of exchange and cooperation that goes one step further than the previous friendly cooperation.”

Gao Zhong, Party Secretary of Yongyuan County, responded, “I feel very meaningful that the two cities, which have not had the opportunity to meet since COVID-19, have once again reaffirmed their will for friendly cooperation by signing this international friendship city agreement,” and added, “I thank Haenam-gun for the friendly cooperation shown so far, and I believe this agreement will serve as an opportunity to connect the two cities with an even stronger friendship.”

Yongyuan County in Guangdong Province, China, is the birthplace of General Jin Lin, who served as a naval commander during the Japanese invasions of Korea (August 1597?December 1598) and fought alongside Admiral Yi Sun-sin to repel the Japanese forces. Following General Jin Lin’s legacy, his descendants migrated and settled in Hwangjo Village, Sanim-myeon, Haenam-gun, forming the Guangdong Jin clan village.

Hwangjo Village is home to the Hwangjo Byeolmyo, the shrine of General Jin Lin, which has become a symbol of Korea-China friendly cooperation, with visits from prominent figures such as Chinese Ambassador Xing Haiming.

The Yongyuan County delegation will visit Haenam’s Usuyeong tourist site and Hwangjo Byeolmyo during their schedule from the 11th to the 12th, along with the agreement ceremony.

Haenam-gun and Yongyuan County have maintained exchanges in various fields through mutual visits since forming a sister city relationship in 1999. This agreement ceremony is the first face-to-face event in four years since Governor Myeong Hyeon-gwan’s visit to Yongyuan County in 2019, and the Yongyuan delegation is also scheduled to visit Haenam for this year’s Myeongnyang Battle Festival.

Governor Myeong Hyeon-gwan emphasized, “Following the memorandum of understanding for friendly cooperation with Yiwu City in May, the international friendship city agreement with Yongyuan County has established a foothold for Haenam-gun’s exchange and cooperation with China,” adding, “We will expand exchanges and cooperation in various fields and build a foundation for long-term growth momentum.”

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