Monumental Project

image courtesy of city of tacoma

MONUMENTAL. A monument commemorating the relationship between Tacoma and Gunsan, South Korea will be dedicated this fall.

The city of Tacoma has agreed to give $5,000 to its Korean sister city of Gunsan to help pay for a monument commemorating the 30th anniversary of their sister-city relationship. Another $5,000 has been collected from members of the Tacoma community by the sister city committee, bringing Tacoma’s contribution to $10,000 for the $50,000 monument.

The monument will be unveiled during Gunsan’s 2008 International Sister Cities Week Sept. 29-Oct. 3. Tacoma City Councilmember Marilyn Strickland will attend the event to express the city’s support.

“I think the Sister Cities program that we have is very important,” said Strickland, who was born in Seoul, South Korea, and is returning to the country for the first time since her birth. “When I came to the states I was an infant, so I really don’t have any memory of Korea. To return to my country of birth, I’m sure it’s going to be very emotional and very exciting. I hope to make contacts there and form relationships.”

Gunsan, located on the Yellow Sea, is similar to Tacoma in many ways. It is one of Korea’s busiest port cities with about 270,000 residents. A U.S. Air Force base is located in the city.

Oksun Wilson, chair of the Tacoma/Gunsan Sister City Committee, said the similarities are what made Gunsan a good candidate for a sister city.

“We decided to go with Gunsan because there were a lot of similarities between the two (cities), and the population is about the same,” said Wilson, who led the effort to raise money for the monument within the Tacoma community. “They’re just like brother and sister. They’re so much alike.”

The monument, a pillar with text and carvings of the American and South Korean flags, will accurately represent the relationship between the two cities, she added. It will be placed in Gunsan’s busiest park.

“Every day several thousand people visit the park,” Wilson said. “When they see the monument it just is a reminder that there is a sister city in America and that we have been developing our relationship over 30 years.”

Wilson, in her role on the committee, said she would like to continue developing the relationship between the two cities, through cultural and educational exchanges and exchanges of goods. For Gunsan’s Sister Cities Week later this year, she is trying to find Native American dancers to accompany the Tacoma delegation to share a bit of this country’s culture. She is also working to introduce Tacoma trade goods to the city.

The city of Tacoma also has a monument commemorating its relationship with Gunsan. The granite sculpture was a gift from the Korean city, presented in 1991 to commemorate the Washington state centennial. The monument is located in Marine Park along the Ruston Way waterfront, for joggers, cyclists, pedestrians and other passersby to enjoy and appreciate.

Soon, Tacoma’s brothers and sisters an ocean away will have the opportunity to appreciate the Tacoma-Gunsan relationship, too.

“The whole earth is becoming smaller and smaller, we get to know each other more, and we’re not so isolated,” Wilson said. “Through the monument I think the city of Gunsan will be aware that there is a city in the United States that we are sort of like relatives. I think it’s a really good idea.”

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