BANGOR – Myong Suk Chellew of New Sweden and her sister Pokcha Reopell of Shirley, Mass., already had a lot in common. Both left their native South Korea to marry American men and both settled in New England.

On Friday morning, however, Chellew became a citizen of the United States, just like her sister.

“I’m so proud of her. She did a great job,” said Reopell of her sibling after the ceremony in U.S. District Court in Bangor. Reopell, who took the citizen’s oath last year, attended Friday’s ceremony with her son Joe.

Jay Chellew said that he was proud that his wife “had finally chosen to become an American citizen.” The couple married in 1990 and moved to New Sweden five years later.

Chellew was one of 27 men and women from more than a dozen countries who became citizens at the ceremony Friday.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Margaret Kravchuk presided over the event.

Kravchuk told people in the crowded courtroom that she liked to give minicultural history lessons focused on American songs at the swearing-in ceremonies.

Friday, she explained how poet Julia Ward Howe came to write “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.”

“Too often we ignore our rich cultural history and lyrical tradition,” she said. “Music should be part of our civic life.”

Kate Lynch, an accomplished singer and law clerk for U.S. District Court Judge John Woodcock, then sang a moving rendition of the song written during the Civil War.

In closing the ceremony, she led the new citizens, their families and friends in singing “My Country ‘Tis of Thee.”

Seven attorneys were admitted to the federal bar by Kravchuk during the ceremony. They are Carol Webb of Waterville, Stephen Nelson of Houlton and Wendy Brown, Jennifer Eastman, Wendy Hatch, Amy Keck and Nathan Martell, all of Bangor.

After the ceremony, Ibette Silver accepted congratulations from her American-born friends. The Holden resident said she gave up her citizenship in Colombia because “I have strong feelings for this country.”

“I’m proud to be an American citizen,” said Silver, who has been in the United States four years. “This is my life now.”