Korean

Officials from the South Korean city of Go Seong toured City Hall on Thursday as part of their effort to establish ties with Glendale. If the delegation is successful, the town of 56,000 people would be the sixth foreign municipality to claim an official relationship with Glendale under the auspices of the Sister Cities International organization. The possible bond is being pushed by Planning Commissioner Chang Lee, a prominent Korean businessman in the Greater Los Angeles area, who said the relationship would be “mutually beneficial” between the two entities.

Crescenta Valley High School Korean Parents Club held their third annual luncheon on Dec. 12 at the Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s Station. “It was our way of thanking both the sheriff and fire departments for all they do,” said Vicky Song, president of CVHS Korean Parents Club. Parents served up barbecued ribs, rice, salad, fried wontons and Japchae (a noodle dish). Elementary and middle school parents joined the high school club in preparing and serving. Song estimated they served about 70 people throughout the day. “We appreciate what they do and this is our way of saying thank you,” Song said.

     It was pretty scary for Jenny Jang almost two years ago, when she and her parents moved nearly 6,000 miles across the globe from Seoul, Korea, to their new home in La Crescenta, Calif. The then-9-year-old spoke no English, and neither did her parents, Sam and Lillian Jang nor her 7-year-old brother, Joseph.      But now, after lots of hard work and dedication to learning in her new language, Jenny, an 11-year-old sixth grader at Valley View Elementary School, speaks English fluently and helps translate for her parents as needed.

GLENDALE — About 25 teachers attended a seminar on Korean culture Wednesday afternoon that participants said would help them interact with students of all immigrant backgrounds. The seminar, co-sponsored by the Glendale Unified School District and the Korea Academy for Educators, was held at the district’s Professional Development Center and gave a three-hour historical and cultural snapshot about Koreans to teachers, organizers said. The hope, Korea Academy President Mary Connor said, was that the session would be a starting point for exploring the similarities between students of different backgrounds and specifically initiating education about Koreans, a group that makes up about 15% of the district’s population, school board member Nayiri Nahabedian said.

Locals looking to get their Korean food fix or just grab a meal downtown have a new restaurant option on Brand Boulevard. Tofu Village, the first Glendale venue in a Southern California restaurant franchise that serves tofu stew and other East Asian food, opened July 11 in a space most recently occupied by Takeshi Ramen, a Japanese restaurant. The Glendale restaurant joins the Tofu Village, which opened on Foothill Boulevard in La Crescenta nearly a year ago, as well as versions in Alhambra, Little Tokyo and other Los Angeles-area locations.

Robert Horsting is combining his two passions — history and filmmaking — in his new documentary “Citizen Tanouye,” and making some inroads into promoting peace and ending hate and intolerance. The Glendale resident and his friend Craig Yahata of Valencia have co-directed and produced the documentary that is based on the life of a Japanese American who was killed while serving in Italy during World War II. The documentary has won several awards at film festivals and will be broadcast this week on American Public Television stations, including KLCS.

Students who finished a new, 10-week Korean conversation class at Mark Keppel Elementary on Thursday left the enrichment session with some practical knowledge of a new language and a hearty appetite for Korean food. The school, which began a Korean Dual Language Program with a group of kindergartners this fall, started a distinct, weekly Korean language class in late February to introduce students who aren?t in the dual-language program to Korean. Parents had asked for a way to offer their children some exposure to the language, so educators responded by creating the conversation class, which was open to Keppel students in every grade level, said Naehi Wong, who coordinates the dual language program.

Commission to present ‘Jewels’ The Glendale Commission on the Status of Women will present the annual “Jewels of Glendale” Luncheon from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Thursday at the Oakmont Country Club. Tickets are $50 and parking is complimentary. The 2008 “Woman of Courage” award will be presented. For information and reservations, call Lana Haddad at (818) 548-4844 or e-mail her a lhaddad@ci.glendale.ca.us.   Congregations come together on Easter Crescenta Valley United Methodist Church members will gather with the Korean congregation of Hansarang United Methodist Church and friends from Christ Armenian Church to dedicate a peace pole, which will have “May Peace Prevail on Earth” written in English, Korean, Armenian and Spanish at 11:30 a.m. Sunday at Crescenta Valley United Methodist Church, 2700 Montrose Ave., La Crescenta.