Skip to main content

Fairfax County Teachers Embark on Cultural Exchange to Sister Jurisdiction

Two Fairfax County English teachers have embarked on a month-long journey to our partner in Korea where they will have the opportunity to meet with Korean teachers and students, and explore the vast cultural offerings of the Songpa-gu district of Seoul, South Korea.

The trip, generously funded by the Songpa-gu government, includes trips to museums and tours of markets and the countryside. Songpa-gu families will host our two teachers, where they will have the unique opportunity to be immersed in the language and culture of South Korea.

We are so honored and happy to accept the offer of our counterparts in Seoul, and its residents, to host our teachers and give them such a great opportunity to learn about Songpa-gu. I thank Mayor Kim Young-Soon for helping initiate this program and look forward to discussing future opportunities with the new mayor, Mayor Park Choon-hee when she visits Fairfax County this fall.

Representing Fairfax County on this trip are two highly respected high school ESOL teachers: Laura Brown of West Potomac High School and Brian Olmes of Robinson Secondary School.

Laura and Brian will spend their mornings in Songpa-gu working at Posung High School, a prestigious boys high school. There, they will meet with teachers and students and teach them about life and school in the U.S. and learn about what it's like to be a student, and a teacher, in Korea. The school is not in session, but will be running a special English program while Laura and Brian are there.

In the afternoons, they will take in all that Songpa-gu has to offer, including the National Museum of Korea, the Dongmaedun and Namdaemun markets, and the National Folk Museum.
The evening time will be spent with their host families, where they will learn first hand about the rich history of our sister jurisdiction.

Laura and Brian arrived in Seoul on July 23, and will return to Virginia on August 23. I look forward to hearing about their experience in Songpa-gu.

On July 13, 2009 the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors entered into a Sisterhood Partnership with the Songpa-gu. The government of Songpa-gu sought out Fairfax County after researching several localities and finding many similarities with our county. The district has a population of approximately 620,000 citizens, and hosted the Seoul Olympic Games in 1988.

A delegation from Fairfax County visited Songpa-gu in September of last year, and toured Youngdongil High School during the trip.

Background.

On July 13, 2009 the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors entered into a Sisterhood Partnership with the Songpa-gu. The government of Songpa-gu sought out Fairfax County after researching several localities and finding many similarities with our county. The district has a population of approximately 620,000 citizens, and hosted the Seoul Olympic Games in 1988.

A delegation from Fairfax County visited Songpa-gu in September of last year, and toured Youngdongil High School during the trip.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

In wake of the Zika virus, travel, spring break still O.K.

Representatives from the CDC and the NIH were on hand at the White House during Monday's press briefing to update the public and address concerns over the Zika virus that has caused some babies to be born with deformities. Dr. Anne Schuchat from the Centers for Disease Control and Dr. Tony Fauci from the National Institutes of Health told reporters that a vaccine is in the making.   The pair also said they are particulary concerned about women who are pregnant, or plan to get pregnant, who have either traveled to or plan to travel to areas of South America and the Carribean known to have the Zika virus. Despite those bold statements, the doctors said there is no wide-spread concern and that Americans should continue to travel, including during upcoming college spring breaks --  when college students travel to warmer climate destinations to escape winter weather. "Travel to Zika-affected areas is very common among Americans, and we don’t think that needs to stop&quo

(OTR): The White House on Hamas Terrorist Attack

 Tip: long read. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 10, 2023 VIRTUAL ON-THE-RECORD GAGGLE BY NSC COORDINATOR FOR STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS JOHN KIRBY ON HAMAS TERRORIST ATTACKS IN ISRAEL   Via Teleconference 5:54 P.M. EDT   MR. KIRBY:  Good evening, everybody.  As you know, the White House has been closely following the situation in Israel, and the President has been actively engaged, regularly receiving updates on the latest developments from the national security team.  In fact, this morning, he met with members of the senior team -- including the Secretary of State; National Security Advisor; the Principal Deputy National Security Advisor; the Homeland Security Advisor, Liz Sherwood-Randall; and, of course, the White House Chief of Staff, Jeff Zients -- all to receive the latest update from -- from the morning.   ADVERTISEMENT CMB BUSINESS SOLUTIONS   He has also spoken twice with Prime Minister Netanyahu this -- over the weekend, certainly to express our deep sympathy for all those missi

Your White House Intern Chance Is Here!

 Info on how to become a White House intern. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 10, 2023   Biden- ⁠Harris Administration Announces the Application Period for Summer Session of the White House Internship Program President Biden and Vice President Harris are announcing today that the application period for the Summer 2024 session of the White House Internship Program will open on Monday, October 16th. The session will begin in June 2024. ADVERTISEMENT CMB BUSINESS SOLUTIONS The White House Internship Program is a public service leadership and development program that provides emerging leaders with an opportunity to gain valuable skills while supporting the work of the White House and furthering the priorities of the Biden-Harris Administration. This program provides paid internships across the Executive Office of the President. Interns participating in the White House Internship Program will support the White House Office and the Office of the Vice President. Program participants must be U.S.