Duluth builds stronger ties to Korean community with task force

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By Joel Anderson

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A handful of Korean restaurants had been shut down for alcohol violations. Emergency responders struggled to navigate areas where the only signs were in the Hangul alphabet. Such was the case four years ago, when there were few meaningful relationships between Duluth City Hall and the city's thriving Korean community.

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Atlanta Radio Korea AM 1040 director Kevin Kim (left) interviews He Beom Kim, Consul General of the Republic of Korea during one of his daily radio segment in Duluth. Gwinnett County saw its Asian population increased by nearly 101 percent over the past decade, booming city like Duluth recently earned recognition for the recent creation of its Korean Task Force. City officials formed the group to help bridge cultural and language barriers between the city's Korean residents and businesses and City Hall.

Vino Wong, vwong@ajc.com Atlanta Radio Korea AM 1040 director Kevin Kim (left) interviews He Beom Kim, Consul General of the Republic of Korea during one of his daily radio segment in Duluth. Gwinnett County saw its Asian population increased by nearly 101 percent over the past decade, booming city like Duluth recently earned recognition for the recent creation of its Korean Task Force. City officials formed the group to help bridge cultural and language barriers between the city's Korean residents and businesses and City Hall.

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Only a few months into her first term, Mayor Nancy Harris started pondering ways to ease the tension and welcome the new residents into the fold.

"It was a new challenge for our city," said Harris, who won the mayoral seat in 2007. "It was clear that there was a need for education on both sides."

Sitting in a county that saw its Asian population more than triple -- Gwinnett went from 12,000 Asians in 2000 to 42,583 in 2010 -- city leaders responded by forming the Korean Task Force. The group's objective: overcome cultural and language barriers between the city’s Korean immigrants and businesses and city hall.

The program just earned Duluth recognition at the annual Mayor's Day Conference in Atlanta last month; Duluth was one of six cities in Georgia honored as a "trendsetter." The initiative was widely hailed by officials both in and out of state.

"It's a great example for other communities to follow," said Reba Campbell, deputy executive director of the Municipal Association of South Carolina. "It's the first time that I've seen something like this done deliberately."

The concept originated when Harris was the principal at Suwanee Elementary in the early '00s. Harris enlisted the help of teachers and the PTA to engage the increasing numbers Korean immigrants and their children in the area.

"The group said the best way to get a group of Korean parents to come to the school ... was to have events Sunday after church," Harris said.

The program worked well enough that Harris replicated it at B.B. Harris Elementary in Duluth after she moved there in 2003. There, the program was designed to accommodate the school's burgeoning Latino population.

Harris imported the concept to city hall shortly after her election. Jenny Wesselmann, a Duluth-based real estate broker and member of the task force, said a group of volunteers and police officers soon went out and began introducing themselves to local Korean businesses.

Their initial priority was to explain alcohol ordinances, which had caused friction over the years. The task force soon set up an alcohol training course specifically aimed at Korean business owners.

"Many Koreans didn't even know they were breaking the law," said Wesselmann, a South Korean native. "They thought they were being targeted because we are a minority."

Harris "cares about Koreans and other [minority] community groups," said Jinsuk Kim, president of the Seoul-based Korea Daily newspaper, which has a branch office in Duluth. "We need to see more ... so we can communicate well and get a close relationship."

Other Korean community leaders are hopeful the task force will enhance their efforts to interact with Korean residents and business owners, many of whom still feel marginalized in Gwinnett.

"I don't think the task force has much influence yet," said Kevin Kim, general manager and morning show host at Atlanta Radio Korea WPBC-1080 AM. "But [Harris] is trying to make a difference."

Harris is trying out some different concepts with the task force. Two weeks ago, the group held its quarterly meeting at a local karaoke bar and plans to hold the next one at a barbecue restaurant.

She said the task force could also expand to include other minority groups.

"Our vision is to be more of a global outreach group and support small businesses," she said. "We want to help these cultures assimilate into the American culture and the Duluth way of life."