"Thank You, Jeju Residents"... Dan Go of the Jeju Go Clan Responds in Korean to Election Congratulations

Korean American U.S. Representative-elect Dan Go of the Jeju Go clan
Congratulatory banners in his grandfather's hometown of Hagwi 1-ri draw attention
"Thank you, Jeju residents... I'll carry K-culture's momentum forward"

U.S. Representative-elect Dan Go, a Korean American, thanked Jeju residents in Korean, saying "Gamsahamnida" ("Thank you") after they put up banners congratulating him on his election.

"A source of pride for the Jeju Go family"... He greets his hometown, where banners were put up

On the 5th, members of the Jeju Go Clan’s Yeonggokgong Branch Association and village officials put up a banner in Hagwi 1-ri, Aewol-eup, Jeju City, congratulating U.S. Representative-elect Dan Go. Yonhap News Agency

According to Yonhap News Agency on November 11, Go met with Korean correspondents at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., that day and said, "I want to say this very clearly to the people of Jeju: Thank you for putting up the congratulatory banners. It meant more to me than I can say." He said "thank you" in Korean.

The banners were put up on November 5 in Hagwi 1-ri, Aewol-eup, Jeju City, the hometown of Go's grandfather, Dr. Go Gwangrim. The Hagwi 1-ri Village Association and his relatives put up three banners bearing messages such as, "A source of pride for the Jeju Go clan! Congratulations to Dr. Go Gwangrim's grandson, Dan Go (Go Wonyoung), on his election to the U.S. House of Representatives." Go Taesik, head of the Hagwi 1-ri senior citizens' association, said, "Dr. Go Gwangrim and I are eighth cousins—we're goendang, or relatives in the Jeju dialect. It is a great honor and privilege for someone from our family to become a person of global prominence."

Go, 41, was elected to represent Massachusetts' 6th Congressional District in the midterm elections held on November 3, becoming the seventh Korean American to serve in the U.S. Congress. A Democrat, he previously served as chief of staff to the mayor of Boston and as a White House aide in the Joe Biden administration. His first run for the House was in 2018. He came in second in the Democratic primary for Massachusetts' 3rd Congressional District, losing by just 145 votes, and conceded after a recount. Eight years later, he ran again and is now headed to Congress.

The fruits of two generations of migration from Jeju and Lebanon... "More moving than I can say"

Korean American Democratic politician Dan Go, 41, whose Korean name is Go Wonyoung, was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in the midterm elections held on the 3rd local time. Yonhap News Agency

His grandfather, Dr. Go Gwangrim, earned a doctorate in law from Harvard University and served as South Korea's ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the United States. His father, Harvard professor Howard Go (Go Kyungju), served as an assistant secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services under the Barack Obama administration, while his uncle, Harold Go (Go Hongju), served as dean of Yale Law School and as legal adviser to the U.S. Department of State. His mother is Lebanese. Dr. Go Gwangrim's six children are reported to have earned a total of 12 doctoral degrees from Yale and Harvard.

That day, Go held a press conference with Asian American candidates newly elected to Congress and began his remarks with the Korean greeting "Annyeonghaseyo" ("Hello"). He said, "Several decades ago, my grandparents and maternal grandparents immigrated to the United States from Jeju and Lebanon, dreaming of a better life. Less than two generations later, I have become the first Arab American and Asian American elected to Congress from Massachusetts."

Go said his 96-year-old grandmother had called late at night to congratulate him on his election. "After deciding to come to the United States 70 years ago, it must be more moving than she can say to see her grandson represent the people in Congress," he said. He added, "I can't even imagine what my grandfather, who has passed away, would have said if he had seen this."

He said he hopes to visit Korea with his six- and three-year-old children after taking office early next year. He joked that although the flight is long, the children should be fine if he plays their favorite movie, K-Pop Demon Hunters, on an iPad. He added, "My children don't like K-Pop Demon Hunters because they're Korean. Their white friends like it too." He also mentioned the films Oldboy and Parasite, as well as the Netflix series Squid Game. "All of this has become an important part of American culture—something my father, now in his 70s, could never have dreamed of when he was young," he said. "It is my role to carry this momentum into politics."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.