The U.S. state of Maryland has declared Jan. 13 as "Korean American Day" in recognition of contributions the Korean community has made to the state and the country.

Gov. Larry Hogan and Korean-American First Lady Yumi Hogan declared the day in a ceremony at the Governor's Reception Room at the Maryland State House.

In 2005, Congress designated Jan. 13 as Korean American Day in commemoration of the 1903 arrival of 102 Koreans in Hawaii in the first Korean emigration to the U.S. But Maryland is the first U.S. state to separately declare Korean American Day.

Hogan, who calls himself a "hanguk sawi," which means a "son-in-law of South Korea," has gained wide media attention not only because he was elected governor as a Republican in a traditionally Democratic state but also because of his Korean-American wife.

Yumi Hogan, an accomplished abstract landscape painter who teaches at the Maryland Institute College of Art, is Maryland's first-ever Asian-American first lady. The Washington Post even carried a long piece about their love story, including how they met at an art show in 2000 and married in 2004.

"The Korean-American community is incredibly important to Maryland and to America as a whole," Hogan said. "For over a century they have added to the richness and diversity of our country, and our administration remains committed to fostering a vibrant, flourishing Korean-American community here in Maryland. I am proud to call myself a 'hanguk sawi,' or 'son-in-law to the people of Korea.'" (Yonhap)