Photo by Eric Brady | The Roanoke Times

Kim Gi-Yeol, major of Wonju, South Korea, looks at a portrait of former Roanoke Mayor Noel C. Taylor hanging on the wall of the municipal building named in his honor. Kim was friends with Taylor through the sister cities program that links the two municipalities.

Photo by Josh Meltzer | The Roanoke Times

Mayor Kim Gi-Yeol of Wonju, South Korea, thanks the crowd for its applause after throwing out the ceremonial first pitch at the Salem Avalanche game Thursday night.

The mayor of Wonju was poker faced and dapper, with a pinstriped suit and a neat part in his thinning black hair. And like a true politician, he knew a good photo opportunity when he saw one.

On Wednesday, Kim Gi-Yeol led his entourage through Roanoke's Century Plaza -- home to a small, beige pillar that honors Wonju, South Korea. The mayor quickly took his position next to it, smiled a half-smile and waited for the cameras to flash.

Then Mayor Kim, perhaps needing a break from all the sightseeing, sat in the shade.

This occurred 14 hours into a brisk 60-hour tour of Roanoke by the mayor, his wife and a small group of Wonju city officials. They were 11 well-dressed guests in all, continuing a 43-year-old exchange between the two cities.

Wonju, as commuters along Wonju Street may know, is Roanoke's sister city. It is an industrial center of 340,000 and manufactures lacquerware, paper and medical instruments. In Wonju, city hall sits on Roanoke Street. Roanoke's past four mayors, going back to Noel C. Taylor, have made the trip there. And after these decades of international kinship, Wonju is the oldest of the seven sisters in Roanoke's sorority.

So what happens on these goodwill trips? This week, the Wonju delegation packed landmarks, lunches and cultural exchange into the two-day, three-night stop, plus made a shopping trip to Elizabeth Arden. Finally, to spice up the proceedings, the visitors took in a Salem Avalanche game.

Did Mayor Kim like baseball?

Did Mayor Kim know he would throw out the first pitch at Thursday night's game?

His translator passed these questions along.

The mayor shrugged, so the translator, Jeong Eun-Suk, chimed in: "He cannot see the ball very well."

But Mayor Kim gamely took the field Thursday, tossed for home and raised his cap to the crowd. There were handshakes and applause all around.

Elsewhere, Kim, who is 66, had plenty to see in Roanoke before his planned departure this morning.

The delegation stopped at the O. Winston Link Museum and furthered cross-cultural understanding with an explanation that, in Korean, trains go "chic-chic-pok-pok" not "chug-a-chug-a-choo-choo."

There were moments of cross-cultural surprise, too, when a sort of Korean-style group massage session broke out in the lobby of the museum.

There was a Kiwanis lunch, where Kim had rice, green beans, spaghetti and ham. Stops were also made at Center in the Square and the Roanoke municipal building. "The mayor had a lot of money questions," said Linda Harrison, board member of Roanoke Valley Sister Cities.

When pressed for his impressions of the city, the mayor said it was "clean, neat, cozy."

Hosts from Roanoke Valley Sister Cities trailed the group, fondly remembering their visits to Wonju over the years.

"They put us up in a country club," said Jack Tompkins, executive coordinator for Roanoke Valley Sister Cities, who has been twice and even recalled marching in a parade. The Korean visitors are staying at the Sleep Inn.

Harrison remembered trips to the beach and a Buddhist temple. "They go all-out," she said.

Midafternoon, the delegation moved to the Roanoke Civic Center for a tour of the facilities. Kim, a fan of John Wayne and classical music, had questions about the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra.

The group took a short break for finger foods and drinks in the lobby of the Roanoke Performing Arts Theatre. Kim was offered a glass of iced tea -- sweet, he was told, in the Southern style.

He took a sip and then, like a true politician, bypassed his translator. "It's good," he said.