Korean American Day To Be Officially Recognized

Montgomery County residents may enjoy a 28th day of special commemoration around this time next January. 

The Montgomery County Council on Tuesday introduced a bill to officially add Korean American Day to the county's list of designated days of religious, ethnic and cultural significance. The day is already recognized by the county executive office, but has not been officially added to county law. 

About 30,000 Montgomery County residents are Korean Americans, making up about 3 percent of the county's population, according to county records.  Korean American day is celebrated on Jan. 13 to recognize the first group of immigrants to the U.S. from Korea, who arrived Jan. 13, 1903. 

Councilmember Valerie Ervin (D-Dist 5) of Silver Spring proposed the bill. 

"I was approached by leaders of the Korean American community who desperately wanted their day to be codified in law," Ervin said. With all nine council members signed on as cosponsors, Ervin believes the bill will be passed without contest.

The county's days of commemoration were enacted in 2006 at the request of multiple community groups, said Councilmember George Leventhal (D-At Large) of Takoma Park.

"It was the council's judgment then that identifying this list was a nice way to educate county employees and the public about culturally significant days," he said. "It can help all of us understand each other better."

The law officially recognized five days of commemoration, but also allowed for the county executive's chief administrative officer to designate other holidays. Officially recognized days include Martin Luther King Day and Ash Wednesday.

In addition to Ervin's bill, Leventhal has indicated that he will propose a second bill that will codify all of the CAO's additional 22 days of commemoration, including Korean American day, Christmas and Passover. The approval of these days will not necessarily grant county employees days off, or other wise change county schedules unless specified in law.