Md. adds S. Korean sister state; Here’s a list of Md.’s sisters

Maryland on Tuesday became a sister state with a South Korean province.

Secretary of State John Wobensmith on Tuesday in South Korea signed an agreement to establish a sisterhood relationship with the province of Jeollanam-do, sometimes translated into English as South Jeolla province. Jeollanam-do is the home province of First Lady Yumi Hogan, who attended the signing.

Under the plan, the state and province will promote trade, business and entrepreneurship, grow educational opportunities and foster cultural and artistic exchange. The province already has a similar relationship with Howard County.

Members of the Maryland delegation also planted a tree to commemorate the signing.

Jeollanam-do is the second South Korean province to have a sister state relationship with Maryland; the other one, Gyeongsangnam-do, sometimes translated as South Gyeongsang province, became a sister of Maryland in 1991. The Maryland Sister States Program started in 1980.

Interested in knowing who else Maryland has a sister state relationship with? Here’s a list of Maryland’s sister states, and the years that they became sisters of Maryland, according to the secretary of state’s office.

• Anhui Province, China 1980
• Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan 1981
• Nord-Pas de Calais, France 1981
• Walloon Region, Belgium 1989
• Gyeongsangnam-Do, Korea 1991
• Lodz Region, Poland 1993
• Leningrad Oblast, Russia 1993
• State of Jalisco, Mexico 1993
• Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 1999
• Bong and Maryland counties, Liberia 2007
• Harju County, Estonia 2009
• Ninh Thuan Province, Vietnam 2011
• Kocaeli Municipality, Turkey 2012
• County Cork, Ireland 2013
• Ondo and Cross River States, Nigeria 2013
• KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa 2015
• Negev Administrative District, Israel 2016
• Piura Region, Peru, anticipated 2017