Sharon Quirk-Silva, California State Assembly Member and Lead Proponent of "K-Ginseng Day" Designation

Attending the Opening Ceremony of the 43rd Geumsan World Ginseng Festival

From the left, Sharon Quirk-Silva, Member of the California State Assembly, and Park Beomin, County Governor of Geumsan (Photo by Geumsan County).

Sharon Quirk-Silva, a member of the California State Assembly who spearheaded the resolution to designate "K-Ginseng Day" in California and has worked to globalize the ginseng industry, attended the opening ceremony of the 43rd Geumsan World Ginseng Festival held on September 19.

Photo by Geumsan County

Prior to this, on September 18, Assemblywoman Quirk-Silva had an official meeting with Park Beomin, Mayor of Geumsan County, and visited the Geumsan County Council. On September 19, she also toured the ginseng harvesting experience center at the Geumsan World Ginseng Festival and the Geumsan Fresh Ginseng Center, where she learned about the current state of the Korean ginseng industry and engaged with industry stakeholders.

Photo by Geumsan County

A graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a bachelor's degree in sociology, Assemblywoman Quirk-Silva has served six terms since 2012. She has played a leading role in promoting Korean culture and building relationships with the Korean community within the multicultural society of the United States.

In addition, she has led the establishment of Korea-related commemorative days such as "Kimchi Day" (2021), "Ahn Changho Day" (2019), and "Yu Gwan-sun Day" (2019, 2024), contributing to raising the profile of Korean culture in the United States.

Photo by Geumsan County

Park Beomin, Mayor of Geumsan County, stated, "Assemblywoman Quirk-Silva's visit is highly significant in terms of expanding exchanges for the globalization of ginseng," adding, "Through this, a new chapter can be opened for ginseng exchange and cultural cooperation between Korea and the United States."

He continued, "We will do our utmost to raise awareness of ginseng in the United States and to strengthen cultural and economic exchanges between the two countries."

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