Representatives of Six International Sister Cities of Suwon Visit City for Suwon Hwaseong Cultural Festival

[Suwon Ilbo = Reporter Jung Jun-sung] Representatives from six international sister cities of Suwon Special Metropolitan City visited the city for the "61st Suwon Hwaseong Cultural Festival."

Representatives from six cities—Asahikawa (Japan), Cluj-Napoca (Romania), Toluca (Mexico), Hai Duong (Vietnam), Siem Reap (Cambodia), and Phoenix (USA)—paid courtesy calls to Mayor Lee Jae-jun and participated in events including Sister and Friendly Cities Day and performances by international sister city arts troupes.

The Sister and Friendly Cities Day event held on October 4th at the front garden of Naknamheon in Hwaseong Haenggung was attended by representatives from the six international sister and friendly cities as well as representatives from four domestic sister and friendly cities including Pohang, Jeju City, Taean, and Bonghwa County.

In his welcoming remarks, Mayor Lee Jae-jun said, "King Jeongjo held state events at Naknamheon and invited honored guests to share joy together," and expressed, "I am grateful to all of you who have made the long journey to visit Suwon, and I hope you will continue to be honored guests of our city." He added, "We will spare no effort in providing support so that we can become partners in future growth beyond simply sharing friendship."

After concluding the Sister and Friendly Cities Day event, the representatives from sister and friendly cities moved to Yeomingak to participate in the bell-ringing ceremony celebrating the Suwon Hwaseong Cultural Festival. They also attended the opening ceremony of the Suwon Hwaseong Cultural Festival held on the special stage in Haenggung Plaza.

The invited performance by international sister city arts troupes held on October 5th at the special stage in Haenggung Plaza featured performances by troupes from Asahikawa (Japanese traditional drums), Cluj-Napoca (Romanian traditional dance), Hai Duong (Vietnamese folk dance), Siem Reap (Khmer traditional dance), and the Suwon City troupe.

The representatives from international sister and friendly cities will observe the joint reenactment procession of King Jeongjo's royal procession on October 6th.