Songpa-gu Forms Sister City Relationship with Tokyo's Bunkyo-ku

December 20: Bunkyo-gu Delegation from Japan Visits Songpa-gu to Establish Sister City Relationship and Tour Key Facilities
▲Promoting Multisectoral Exchanges in Culture, Education, and Sports ▲Supporting Public and Private Sector Exchanges ▲Agreement on Overall Cooperation in Exchanges

Songpa-gu (District Mayor Seo Gang-seok) announced on December 20th that it signed a sister city agreement for friendly cooperation with Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan, at the KT Songpa Building Songpa Academy.

Bunkyo-ku is an educational city located in the center of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, home to 19 universities. It has the Tokyo Dome, a large stadium and performance venue, and has a history of hosting the Summer Olympics, similar to Songpa-gu, the host of the '88 Seoul Olympics. The abundance of temples, parks, and ancient pottery excavation sites also resembles Songpa, the old capital of Hanseong Baekje, which houses the vast Olympic Park.

Based on these commonalities, the two cities have built a friendship since 2009. Although there were intermittent pauses, exchanges resumed last October when Bunkyo-ku visited Songpa-gu, and in March this year, Songpa-gu participated in the Bunkyo-ku festival, promoting its city brand to Japanese residents, continuing active exchanges.

On the 20th, riding this positive momentum, the sister city agreement ceremony between the two cities was held. To sign the agreement, a delegation from Bunkyo-ku, including Mayor Narisawa Hironobu and Chairperson Shiraishi Hideyuki, visited Songpa-gu. They shared their thoughts on the sister city relationship with Seo Gang-seok, Songpa-gu Mayor, and other district officials, and signed the agreement together.

The agreement includes three key points: ▲ exchanges in various fields such as culture, education, and sports ▲ mutual support for visits between the two institutions and promotion of resident exchanges ▲ activation of overall exchanges and enhancement of mutual cooperation.

Going forward, the two cities will cooperate in human exchanges and information sharing across both public and private sectors.

A district official stated, “Taking this sister city agreement as an opportunity, we plan to expand exchanges between the two cities in various fields such as youth and private sports.” In fact, the district is considering youth historical and cultural experience exchanges and inviting Bunkyo-ku to the 25th Hanseong Baekje Cultural Festival in 2025 to diversify exchanges in the new year.

After completing the agreement, the Bunkyo-ku delegation concluded their visit by touring major facilities within the district, including Garak Market, Songpa Youth Center, and the Seokchon Lake area.

Seo Gang-seok, Mayor of Songpa-gu, said, “The long-standing friendship between Songpa-gu and Bunkyo-ku, two of the most important autonomous districts in Seoul and Tokyo, has borne fruit. Based on this precious beginning, we will grow together by sharing experiences and wisdom in various fields such as education, culture, arts, and sports to improve the quality of life for our residents.”