Seorae Village to have road, park dedicated to Paris district

By Kim Rahn

Seorae Village in Seocho-gu, southern Seoul, will have a road and a park dedicated to the 15th arrondissement of Paris as part of exchanges with the Parisian district.

Seocho District Office said Wednesday that district head Cho Eun-hee signed a memorandum of understanding with Philippe Goujon, mayor of the 15th arrondissement, at the latter’s office in Paris, Tuesday.

Seorae Village is home to Korea’s largest French expat community with about 500 French nationals living there. According to the agreement, one of the roads in the village will be named Paris 15th Road, and its Ginkgo Park will be renamed, “15th Arrondissement of Paris Park.”

The arrondissement is one of 20 districts in the French capital. It also has one of the country’s largest Korean expat communities.

Marking the 130th year of diplomatic ties between Korea and France, the two districts will also send their musical and performance groups to each other’s local festivals and expand other exchange programs.

In an international forum organized by the Cites Unies France, Cho also introduced her district’s efforts to support residents of Seorae Village, including the French language on road signs, holding a Francophonie festival and offering Korean language classes to villagers.