A group of investors led by a South Korean hospital is considering building a medical facility to meet the health care needs of the Korean community in Gwinnett, one of Georgia’s most diverse and populous counties.
On Aug. 11, leaders from Hanyeo Expo Hospital, a 250-bed facility in the southwestern Korean city of Yeosu, toured Duluth, a suburban town of about 28,000 people where Korean grocery stores and businesses occupy entire developments and Korean churches dot the main roads leading into the city.
Lured by ties with local businessmen, Hanyeo leaders came to observe this Korean influence and scout possible sites including the Gwinnett Place Mall district for an elder care facility or health clinic.
Although the project is still in the most exploratory of stages, community leaders say the fact that the hospital sees Gwinnett as a potential market, especially for elder care, points to how entrenched the Korean community has become in Gwinnett.
“It means there’s enough of a permanent population that believes this is home,” said Chris McGahee, Duluth’s economic development manager, who added that the many Korean-owned restaurants and shops throughout Gwinnett provide an “authentic” experience for visiting Koreans and local non-Koreans.
“Duluth has been a central place for the Korean community to develop and change,” said James Song, vice president of the Korean-American Chamber of Commerce of Georgia, who helped host the Hanyeo delegation.
He said that a coalition of partners is using Duluth’s Korean-friendly environment as a selling point to lure investors from South Korea, many of whom have money to spend even during the economic downturn.
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SOURCE: GlobalAtlanta.com
