Supervisors approve the honorary name ‘Seoul Boulevard’ for John Marr Drive
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on Aug. 26 passed a resolution from Mason Supervisor Andres Jimenez to bestow the honorary name, “Seoul Boulevard,” on a portion of John Marr Drive in recognition of the contributions of the Korean American community.
A previous proposal from Jimenez to recognize the Korean community with an honorary name for Little River Turnpike between Hummer Road and Evergreen Road was met with intense opposition from some Annandale residents.
Related story: Annandale residents express their views on renaming Little River Turnpike
After considering those objections, Jimenez told the board, the section of John Marr Drive between Little River Turnpike and Columbia Pike “has emerged as a fitting location for this designation, reflecting the Korean community’s deep connection to this area.”
“Fairfax County continues to be shaped and enriched by the contributions of the Korean-American community, whose civic, cultural, and economic presence is deeply rooted in the fabric of our region,” Jimenez said.
“In recognition of these lasting contributions, and following strong community engagement, there is broad support for establishing an honorary road naming to commemorate the Korean community’s role in the county’s history and identity,” he said.
Fairfax County will be responsible for producing, installing, and maintaining signage related to the honorary name. The matter will be presented to the Commonwealth Transportation Board for review at its Sept. 17 meeting.
Related story: Objections raised on the process for giving Little River Turnpike an honorary name
Such a waste of resources. I hope the Transportation Board denies the request. Another example of the BoS wasting taxpayers money.
Totally agree!
Time to turn Virginia Red. Vote Republican and return to common sense and normalcy. Name changing and wasting taxpayer dollars needs to stop.
Ha ha! Using Republican, common sense, and normalcy in the same sentence. Maybe 25 years ago…. Sorry, not voting Orange this year.
I agree, it’s like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. At a time when we have so many other pressing issues facing our community – rising unemployment, ICE targeting our friends and neighbors, a $300m budget shortfall – this is not what we should be focusing on.
Elect a bunch of clowns, expect a circus. In this case it’s giving people “bread & circuses” to distract from the real issues of over spending on everything while the tax base collapses in the Fairfax. This is small compared to what Congress (both parties) has been doing, and we can see that the President is doing everything to divert attention from Epstein or any of his thorny issues. Go vote.
Thank you JTR – I agree!
I love this!!! I am so sick of everyone trying to stand up and defend the Asian community. We don’t need you to defend us!
I agree with Supervisor Jimenez. This should not be controversial issue but a celebration.
Our history as a nation has always recognized the people and cultures of our immigrants in our cities and communities. Let’s reflect our newest immigrant community to Annandale by allowing their representation to be recognized. It’s the American thing to do.
Harlem, New York City: A historically significant Black cultural neighborhood.
Little Havana, Miami, Florida: A cultural center for the Cuban-American community.
Chinatowns: These include historic districts in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York City.
Koreatowns: Koreatowns exist in Los Angeles, Atlanta and yes, Annandale.
Little Italy: Historic Italian-American enclaves were once found in many large cities, including New York and Los Angeles
Historic Filipinotown, Los Angeles: A recognized hub for the Filipino-American community.
Leimert Park, Los Angeles: Known as the “Black Greenwich Village,” it is a long-standing center of African-American culture.
Solvang, California: Founded by Danish immigrants, the town features traditional Danish architecture
In Virginia we have: Dublin (Pulaski County) Named directly for Dublin, Ireland
Belfast (Russell County): Named after Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Lovettsville (Loudoun County): Irish Corner Road.
This is not Miami, San Francisco, Los Angeles, or New York—it’s Annandale. Calling that tiny little piece of road Seoul Boulevard is hardly an honor, it’s an embarrassment. Is Jemenez so desperate for the Korean vote?
If Jimenez is just doing this for the Korean vote, then there must be a number of voting Korean Americans in Mason District worth courting. Sounds like Jimenez is attempting to take care of a constituent base…hey, he’s a politician. The Korean influence in Annandale is good commerce. This is as much a business minded choice as recognizing an ethic business community. We have room in Annandale for new names on street signs. Want a Gerry Connelly Ave or a Mortimer Snurd Blvd? Hey, I suggest you just make a suggestion to Supervisor Jimenez. This is America, let’s celebrate our diversity. And rest assured, John Marr, the first Confederate soldier killed in the Civil War (they lost the war, BTW), will still have a section of a street named after him.
If you look at the signage on the store fronts in “Korea Town”, it is not hard to figure out who owns them.
With the Korean signage I don’t even know what the store sells. I am so glad that you are going to pay for the new maps, road signs, address changes in publications. Oh, but wait, you are not going too?
Of you don’t want to pay for this name change, definitely don’t read about the changing the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, or more recently changing the Name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War.
This name change is cheap compared to some of what is going on.
And let’s not forget changing Denali back to Mt McKinley, a slap in the face to the local indigenous peoples. And how about changing all those military bases back to being named after Confederate traitors who fired on American troops.
Supervisor Jimenez is trying to court the Korean vote when he is up for re-election. I hope people can see through this ploy. When Supervisor Jimenez realizes there is a big Hispanic vote available, Columbia Pike might be renamed Mexico City Boulevard.
Why not name it after and honor the late US House Representative Gerry Connelly?
Gerry Connolly is the reason the (former) KMart shopping center wasn’t redeveloped almost 20 years ago and that is the guy to be honored in this section of John Marr Drive??
What was the proposed development 20 years ago?
Unsure but I got told the same and neither of us know the next thing to find county documentation that goes back that far
It should have been voted on. I’m against any name change in order to only represent one group of people.
Until now, John Marr Drive represented only one group: white apologists of the Confederacy.
(Lt. Charles Henry Tompkins, a New Yorker born in Virginia, won the Medal of Honor for his actions at Fairfax Court House – ambushing and killing John Marr. And yet only Marr’s name appears on Fairfax Roads.)
Roads should be be named after those who gave back to Fairfax County and their country – such as Tompkins or the local Korean-American community – not to those who sought to divide and enslave their fellow Americans.
I have lived here all my life. I disagree with you. It’s always been Korean town and I don’t really need you guys to keep defending Asian people. Just stop.
Once again, the idiot supervisors have no intention of listening to their constituents.
you haven’t lived here long, then.
There was a vote. It wasn’t heavily politicized tho 👎
Have great respect for the Korean community, they bring so much , however do not approve of the name change. Our taxpayer money could be put to better use . For example the homeless dying on our streets . Please use money for human beings not things such as street signs . .
I love how it’s the section of road that is about to be demolished for condos/ redevelopment.
Not condos… apartments.
I’m confused.
Here’s why:
I’ve been told that, although “Koreans” own many businesses in Annandale, few, if any, of them LIVE there. So…WHAT “Korean Community” are we talking about?
We know well (Annandale’s transition from largely Hispanic to largely Korean businesses being a prime example) that the focus of a business community can change with time. Why try to create something that attempts to prevent that natural and harmless progression?
Then there’s this question: if these business owners are indeed Korean AMERICANS (i.e., American citizens of Korean descent), then why name a street after the capital of a foreign country and consider that it HONORS, rather than ISOLATES, them from the mainstream America they’ve been eager to join and participate in?
Annandale is named after a foreign place, the river Annan in Scotland.
Washington and Lord Fairfax would not have identified the name “Annandale” – chosen in the 1830s (by an immigrant) long after Fairfax County and Washington, D.C. were originally settled.
“Seoul” (“Capital City” in Korean) and “Columbia Pike” are aspirational names for a drab suburban strip. While neither Seoul nor Columbia iṡ an English name, they are inoffensive and reflect the area’s development.
(Most of Annandale’s roads were named in the 60s and 70s by VDOT and developers, and have no significance at all.)
Why are people so worried about names reflecting Korean-Americans? It’s not woke or DEI or whatever and it’s not worth letting it ruin your day.
Excellent post, Annandale. It’s an honor to be a jurisdiction that adjoins you.
They wanted it as a way to market this area to tourists. I believe it was the Korean American Association. And you’re right, very few live here in Annandale.
I love this! Great choice
Totally agree JTR!
Thanks for clarity, the lesson and sanity. Some of the comments are more revealing than you know. Our tax money is wasted every day on some frivolous political thing deemed important; probably by someone who does not live in Annandale.
My objection no matter where I’ve lived, is naming things after any person. No one person is perfect, pious or pleasing to the masses; so, stop doing it. ‘Seoul Drive’ matters to local Korean Americans who for generations have invested in the American Dream here in Annandale. I’m surprised this has not already happened.
Let’s hope it won’t meet ‘intense opposition’ this time.
Wow. You people are really bitter about Koreans aren’t you?