Ansan Sister City Park name has its roots in South Korea

View Neighborhood Newspapers' Naming Las Vegas series usually looks at places or buildings named for people who have made a local impact. But Ansan Sister City Park, 7801 Ducharme Ave., across the street from Johnson Junior High School, has a global heritage. It's named for a city far across the Earth.

Ansan is a city in the Gyeonggi Province of South Korea. It lies south of Seoul, near the Yellow Sea, and is part of the Seoul National Capital Area. According to its website, ansan.iansan.net, the population is 706,000. More than 100,000 residents work in manufacturing. The second-most numerous industry is in the wholesale sector, with about 30,000 employees.

"The park, I didn't even know it had a name," said Joy Burleson, a retired physical education teacher at Johnson Junior High School. "That's where we'd always go look for kids skipping school."

The partnership was entered into in the early 1990s as a hands-across-the-world gesture of goodwill.

"It's just for partner parks; it's not like we're sister cities," said Jace Radke, public information officer for the city of Las Vegas. "It's Sister City Park, but we don't do other stuff with them. The park (aspect) is the bulk of the sister city agreement."

He said the decision was proposed by Lynette Boggs McDonald, a city councilwoman at the time of the park's dedication in 1999.

Originally built in 1994, Ansan Sister City Park includes an 8-foot-tall statue of a popular Korean children's character, a 10-foot Asian pagoda and a playground with a sandbox designed with the traditional yin-yang symbol. In turn, Ansan, South Korea, built a replica of Las Vegas' Angel Park and named it Las Vegas Park.

Ansan Sister City Park sits on approximately 15 acres, has a jogging path, a playground and a fitness course. There are two tennis courts, two picnic areas, a soccer field and a volleyball court. It has bathroom facilities and is a nonreservable park.

"It's another way to get Las Vegas' name out there in the world, in another country," Radke said. "Obviously, that's important to us because we want visitors from all over the world to come to Las Vegas."

Contact Summerlin/Summerlin South View reporter Jan Hogan at jhogan@viewnews.com or 702-387-2949.