In the first student exchange between the City of Brea and Anseong, 17 Brea students and their chaperones arrived in Anseong, Korea on June 24. Council Member Marty Simonoff, Planning Commissioner Michael Kim and Nancy Lee, the Vice President of the BKSCA (Brea Korea Sister City Association), are also in attendance. Kim is also the president BKSCA and was made and Honorary Citizenship of Anseong by Mayor Eun-Seong Hwang. The distinction is due to the vision of the Brea City Council to develop a sister city relationship with Anseong in 2011, and thanks to the hard work by Brea Staff and the members of BKSCA Committee.
The Sister City program was first established in October 1959 to promote international goodwill through greater understanding of cultures and lifestyles. Since becoming a participant, the City of Brea continues to build bridges of friendship and understanding through very special relationships with its three Sister Cities. Two long-standing sister cities are Lagos de Moreno, Mexico, adopted in 1969, and Hanno, Japan, adopted in 1980. In 2011, Anseong, Republic of Korea became Brea’s newest Sister city.