'Bringing South Korea to Dubuque!'
by Mayor Roy D. Buol,
Photos by Kent Renier of the Rotary Club of Dubuque

In a world of increasingly complex relationships, the City of Dubuque was privileged to welcome a group of South Koreans recently as a part of an international education program sponsored by the Rotary Foundation of Rotary International and the Rotary Club of Dubuque! One of our local premier organizations, the Rotary Club of Dubuque serves to foster cultural and educational opportunities and to provide grant and scholarship support for our area's high school students and non-profit agencies and organizations. On an international scale, the education program of Rotary is designed to pair districts to both send and receive professional study groups whose members or teams experience unique vocational, cultural and social experiences during their stay.

Five local Rotarians and their families hosted the South Korean Group Study Exchange team members in their homes during their three-day stay. The team came to Iowa from a region composed of 2.2 million citizens and located approximately four hours from Korea's capital city of Seoul. The largest area of the team's home region, Gwangju, is well-renowned for its tasty food and beautiful surroundings as well as Namdo (the southern area of Korea) culture. It is now busy redeveloping part of the city into a hub of culture, envisioning it to be the center for Asian culture in the near future.

Gwangju is well known for its righteousness and bravery through the tenacious struggle against Japanese occupation, and for the Gwangju Democratic uprising against the military dictatorship on May 18, 1980, that arose from respect for democracy, human rights and peace. Gwangju is currently transforming into a modernized cultural and industrial city, constructing cultural landmark buildings, high-tech industries, and research divisions for automobiles, electronics, optical electronics, biotech and others.

During their visit, the team members, Mr. Dong-Gun Oh, Ms. Minsu Kim, Mrs. Youngran Son, Mrs. Yeonju Jeong and Mr. Joong-Wha Chung, experienced vocational opportunities in their individual fields of interest, including meeting with Conlon Construction to learn about some of the major construction projects occurring throughout our city; held meetings with executives at the Dubuque Area Chamber of Commerce, Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque, City of Dubuque and Crescent Community Health Center; spent time in the classroom at Washington Junior High School; and held meetings with cardiologists and staff at Mercy and Finley Hospitals and Dubuque Internal Medicine. A day was reserved for them to experience the vast array of arts, cultural and nature amenities of our community.

The other region of the Gwangju District has been a largely agricultural and fishing economy until very recently. Discontent to lag behind other provinces in industrial development, people are now embracing the idea of utilizing the vast land resources of the area to develop sustainable and non-polluting high-tech industries. The major products are currently agricultural, such as rice and vegetables like cabbages, radishes, garlic, onions and all manner of greens grown without seasonal restrictions due to greenhouse technology. It was particularly heartening to learn about their country's commitment to "green living," which supports the fact that our city, state and nation are not alone in its efforts to address global warming and climate change solutions.

Along with gifting them the city's official pin, Masterpiece on the Mississippi, it was my privilege to present them with an official Proclamation that acknowledged Rotary's vision of peace and world understanding and to proclaim April 26-28, 2007, as "Rotary Foundation Group Study Exchange Days in Dubuque, Iowa!" Yes, right here in our city, the Rotary Club of Dubuque provided a unique opportunity for our city government, business, medical, education and cultural sectors to join together to educate and inform our South Korean guests about Dubuque's characteristics and charm, while advancing and promoting international understanding and good will!