At the 2019 Vietnamese culture festival. Source: Vietnamese People Association in the RoK

The Vietnamese People Association in the Republic of Korea (RoK) are scheduled to organise the 10th Vietnamese culture festival in Seoul on September 4, VOV reported.

The festival will be held under the sponsorship of the Vietnamese Embassy in the RoK to celebrate the 77th National Day of Vietnam and the 30th anniversary of the Vietnam-RoK diplomatic relations this year (December 22, 1992 - 2022).

The festival will feature a range of activities, including a Vietnamese-Korean talent search contest, a writing contest on the Vietnam-RoK diplomatic ties, a painting competition for children of Vietnamese-Korean families, and an arts programme by Vietnamese artists.

Visitors will also have the chance to sample some traditional Vietnamese delicacies through 20 booths during the festival.

Spaces showcasing local culture from the past decades will be re-enacted. In addition, tourists will have opportunity to try on Ao Dai (the traditional long dress of Vietnam) and Hanbok (the traditional costume of the Korean), and write calligraphic works on paper or Non La, the Vietnamese palm leaf conical hat.

Ao Dai fashion show is held during the Vietnamese culture festival in the RoK in 2019. Source: Vietnamese People Association in the RoK

Introducing traditional Korean attire in 2019 event. Source: Vietnamese People Association in the RoK

The festival was organised for the first time in 2010 to promote the image of Vietnam in the RoK, as well as its special culture and tourism to Korean people.

After 30 years of bilateral diplomatic ties, Vietnam and the RoK have become important partners, especially in economy.

The RoK is one of the biggest investors in Vietnam over the past years, significantly contributing to the Southeast Asian nation’s economic development. Bilateral trade between the two countries has increased 160-fold since the establishment of diplomatic relations to USD 80.7 billion in 2021. Vietnam has become the 4th largest trade partner of the RoK and the latter is Vietnam's 3rd largest trade partner.

By the end of May 2022, the RoK is still the largest investor in Vietnam with a total registered capital of USD 78.6 billion, over 9,200 valid projects, accounting for 18.4% of total capital and 26% of the total number of foreign direct investment (FDI) projects in the Southeast Asian country. Two-way trade hit USD 22.6 billion in the first quarter of 2022, up 26.7% year-on-year.

Trade revenue between the RoK and Vietnam is equivalent to that between the RoK and other nine ASEAN member nations, Korean firms contributed around 25% to Vietnam’s total export value. Korean investment has been expanded to other cities and provinces, apart from Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and adjacent localities.

More than 200,000 Korean people are living in Vietnam while there are also roughly 200,000 Vietnamese people in the Northeast Asian nation at present.

To mark the 30th anniversary of the countries’ diplomatic ties this year, a number of cultural exchanges was planned to organise to step up people-to-people ties, especially between the Korean community in Vietnam and the Vietnamese community in the RoK.

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