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| Park Dong-woo, aide of California State Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva / Yonhap |
Oct. 9 is Hangeul Day in Korea, which commemorates the promulgation of Hangeul, or the Korean alphabet, in 1446.
From this year, the state of California has also started celebrating the day together after its State Assembly unanimously passed a bill last month designating Oct. 9 as Hangeul Day.
Recognizing the Korean American community's growing contributions to the state, California State Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva and two other members proposed the bill to acknowledge the importance of the Korean language and Korean Americans' influence in the U.S.
The bill was proposed by the three state assembly members, but Quirk-Silva's aide Park Dong-woo was the unsung hero behind the state legislature's decision.
"This is very emotional. It was the first time for a minority group to have its own commemorative day for their language in the U.S.," Park was quoted as saying by Yonhap News Agency. "I wasn't very sure until the last minute whether the bill was passed in September."
Park added Korean Americans in California sent 2,713 letters to the California State Assembly this year. He delivered each letter to state assembly members in the California districts based on the senders' return addresses.
The entire 80 California State Assembly members as well as 40 state senators got letters from Korean Americans who supported the bill thanks to Park's efforts, and the bill was passed unanimously last month.
Park said the Maryland General Assembly is also seeking to pass the same bill next year.
Park settled in California with his family in 1970.
After graduating from a college in the state, he started his professional career at telecommunications giant AT&T. He worked there for 26 years and then entered politics as a policy adviser during the Obama administration.
Park joined Assemblywoman Quirk-Silva in 2013.
