Korean Day opens in Quang Nam province

The event was jointly held by the provincial People’s Committee and the Embassy of the Republic of Korea (RoK) in Vietnam to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Vietnam-RoK diplomatic ties on December 22, 1992-2017.

Vice Chairman of the Quang Nam’s People’s Committee Le Tri Thanh said that over the past 25 years, relations between Vietnam and the RoK have witnessed fruitful results and prospects. Quang Nam is the province receiving the most non-refundable ODA from the RoK Government with over US$41 million.

The country is one of the biggest investors in Quang Nam province; about 31 Korean firms are operating in the locality with a total capital of nearly US$250 million, generating jobs for nearly 10,000 workers.

Non-governmental organisations from the RoK provide humanitarian and community development aid packages worth hundreds of millions of US dollars for Quang Nam annually, he noted.

In recent years, the RoK has been among countries having the biggest number of tourists to Vietnam’s central coastal province. In 2017, Quang Nam is expected to welcome more than 300,000 Korean tourists. The province has officially signed friendly cooperative relations with three Korean localities - Osan, Yongin and Gwangyang cities, he said.

This is the first time that a provincial level locality has coordinated with the Korean Embassy in Vietnam to co-chair an important international exchange event in various fields such as culture, arts, education, and environment, Thanh said, adding that the province always maintains good relations between Vietnam’s localities and Korean diplomatic agencies and organisations operating in Vietnam.

The Korean Day in Quang Nam starts with the Korean Film Week with the best award-winning films in the RoK showing in Quang Nam for the first time from December 11-17.

The highlight of the event is art exchange activities on December 15-16 between artists from Gwangyang city with local artists, performing traditional music of the two countries. Kpop singers from Dongdeok University also cheered up audiences.

Under the framework of the event, there will also be a meeting with Korean partners to acknowledge the positive contributions of Korean individuals, groups and localities to the socio-economic development of Quang Nam over the past 20 years, exchanging and promoting investment cooperation between Korean and Quang Nam enterprises, and sharing experiences in building new rural areas.

Other noteworthy activities include a photo exhibition on the land, culture and people of the RoK and Quang Nam, a workshop sharing experience in the building of new areas in Quang Nam and new village movement in the RoK, and an exchange meeting among students.