Parliamentarian from South Korea visits Offenbach
Representatives from a province in South Korea wanted to find out how local politics works in Germany in Offenbach. Stephan Färber, head of the city council, welcomed them here.
A delegation from South Korea visited Offenbach last week. The delegates from Gangwon-do province wanted to find out how local politics works in Germany. They were welcomed by Stephan Färber, head of the city council, who answered all their questions - including what duties and rights Offenbach city councillors have and how cooperation works.
The members of the Planning and Administration Committee of the Parliament of Gangwon-do Province in South Korea traveled for 10 days - Germany was the last stop after Finland and Estonia.
The diversity of Offenbach's tasks and the fact that city councillors work on a voluntary basis and only receive an expense allowance surprised the guests. They were also surprised by the scope and variety of voluntary activities that citizens carry out in our city. Be it in the social sector, in the volunteer fire department, the technical relief organization, in youth work, in sport, culture or in the wide range of support services coordinated by the volunteer center.
When City Councillor Färber answered the question about the average age of Offenbach's population with 40.8 years (Offenbach is the second youngest city in Germany together with Freiburg), a murmur went through the room. South Korea, the guests said, was unfortunately struggling with an ageing society.
The province of Gangwon-do, which borders the 38th parallel that marks the border between North and South Korea, is also well-known in Germany, Färber reminded the audience: the 2018 Winter Olympics were held in Pyeongchang.
The guests were impressed by Offenbach's town hall and the Christmas market, which they visited at the end of the meeting.
The committee gathered with Stephan Färber on the steps in front of the town hall for the final photo. The text of the banner brought by the guests in the picture reads: "Benchmarking using the example of excellent political measures within the framework of municipal policy systems" / Planning and Administration Committee / International business trip of the Planning and Administration Committee in 2022 / Dec. 6 - Dec. 16 / Finland - Estonia - Germany.