Annandale residents express their views on renaming Little River Turnpike

About 70 people came to a community meeting at the Mason Government Center on Jan. 30 to learn about and express their opinions on a proposal to rename a portion of Little River Turnpike to honor the contributions of Korean Americans.

Mason Supervisor Andres Jimenez stressed that the name change would be totally honorary. “No one needs to change their address. No maps will change,” he said. 

The name change would refer to the section of Little River Turnpike in Annandale between Evergreen Lane and Hummer Road.

“This is the first step to a transparent process. No decisions have been made,” Jimenez said.

There will be another community meeting on Feb. 5, at 6 p.m., at the Korean American Association of Greater Washington, 7004 Little River Turnpike, #L.

While the proposal initially suggested the name be changed to Gangnam Street, a survey handed out at last night’s meeting listed several other options: Korea Street, Korea Boulevard, Korea Way, Koreatown Road, Sejong Road, Arirang Road, and Hangang Road.

Related story: Honorary name proposed for Annandale’s main street

Several non-Koreans at the meeting said they opposed the name change because Annandale is a diverse community with a variety of ethnic groups and one group shouldn’t be favored over the others. As one person said, “We don’t need to give one group a higher level of recognition.”

“Little River Turnpike is a historic road,” said a longtime Annandale resident. “To think of it as otherwise is disrespectful to other groups that have contributed to the community.” Someone else called on the supervisor to focus on more important things like crime and code violations.

In response, Jimenez said the Korean-American community approached him with the name change. If other groups come forward with a similar proposal, it would also be considered.

Steve Lee, president of the Korean American Association of Greater Washington, presented the name change idea to Jimenez last fall. Korean Americans have been part of the community since the late 1980s, he said. Over 50 percent of the businesses along Little River Turnpike in Annandale are owned by Korean Americans.

The name change would not cost taxpayers anything, Lee said. It would be totally funded by the Korean-American community.

Annandale has long been informally known as Koreatown, said a resident who immigrated from Korea in the early 1970s. Noting that there is a Little Italy and Koreatown in New York, she said, “this place is special for me and my family. This is where people come for authentic Korean food.” Honoring the Korean community “doesn’t offend other groups.”

Not all non-Koreans opposed the name change. “It’s about time we have recognition for the Korean community in Annandale,” said one resident. “This is an opportunity to highlight Annandale. I’m glad this is moving forward.” 

Andres urged participants to let him know their views. “This is your opportunity to voice your opinion on whether you want a name change and what it should be,” he said. “We’re having an open discussion to figure out how to go forward.”

Based on community feedback, Jimenez said he will determine whether to present the name change as a Board Matter for a vote by the Board of Supervisors. An official renaming requires 51 percent support from property owners. 

Several people at the meeting said they didn’t know about the name change proposal until shortly before the meeting. They urged Jimenez to conduct more public outreach, including emails to HOAs.

Jimenez agreed to send out additional notifications before the Feb. 5 meeting.