Hamamatsu City Delegation Visits Gimpo City... Revitalizing Intercultural Cities in the Asia-Pacific Region

On September 23, Gimpo City in Gyeonggi Province held a meeting at the communication room of Gimpo City Hall to officially welcome the delegation from Hamamatsu City, Japan, the first intercultural city in Asia. This visit was a meaningful occasion aimed at promoting friendship and cooperation between the two cities and strengthening collaboration for the activation of intercultural cities.

Kim Byungsoo, mayor of Gimpo City, is taking a commemorative photo after holding a meeting to officially welcome the delegation from Hamamatsu City, Japan, the first intercultural city in Asia, at the communication room of Gimpo City Hall on the 23rd. Provided by Gimpo City

The meeting was attended by a total of five people, including Hiroki Furuhashi, Deputy Director of the International Affairs Division of Hamamatsu City’s Planning and Policy Department, and Professor Oh Jungeun of Hansung University. The delegation extended their congratulations and support for Gimpo City’s designation as an intercultural city by the Council of Europe and expressed hopes for continued exchanges in the future.

Kim Byungsoo, mayor of Gimpo City, stated, "I met with the mayor of Hamamatsu City on the 18th, and today’s visit by the delegation served as an opportunity for the two intercultural cities to become acquainted, deepening mutual understanding between the cities. We will continue to work toward revitalizing intercultural cities in the Asia-Pacific region through international cooperation."

A representative of Hamamatsu City responded, "We sincerely congratulate Gimpo City on being designated as an intercultural city. As a fellow intercultural city, we look forward to working even more closely with Gimpo City to realize the values of diversity and inclusion together."

This visit marks the first official visit by Hamamatsu City since Gimpo City was designated as an intercultural city. After the meeting, the delegation visited the Gimpo City Foreign Residents Support Center and the Gimpo City Intercultural Exchange Center to observe Gimpo City’s foreign resident policy services in action.

The delegation recognized that Gimpo City has been actively pursuing policies for multicultural coexistence and social integration both domestically and internationally.

In particular, as the chair city of the National Multicultural Cities Council, Gimpo City held a forum at the National Assembly on September 12 on the topic of "Measures to Bridge the Educational Gap for Youths with Migrant Backgrounds." Through such efforts, Gimpo City is leading foreign and multicultural policies in Korea, strengthening inclusive policies nationwide, and taking the lead in international exchanges.

Gimpo City plans to continue fostering an urban environment where citizens of diverse cultural backgrounds respect and cooperate with one another, while also raising international recognition of the intercultural city brand.

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