Vietnamese Brides Take Part in a 'Korean Culture Experience'

The pre-marital education program named 'Korea Cultural Experience' Course is a special project of the Vietnam-Korea Cultural Exchange Center (KCCC). The program aims to assist Vietnamese brides who have completed the legal marriage procedures and are waiting for an exit visa to Korea.

Korean culinary class for Vietnamese brides. Photo: Thoi dai

KCCC is a Korean NGO, licensed by the Government of Vietnam with Operation License No: AT553/UB-HD. The Center's operational objectives are to assist Vietnam in community development, poverty alleviation, education promotion and cultural exchange between the two countries. In the trend of increasing international marriage between Vietnam and Korea, for more than 10 years, the Center has persistently performed the work of assisting Vietnamese brides.

According to Dr. Sim Sang Joon, Director of the Center, as of December 2021, with the financial support of the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), Samsung Electronics, Everon company, the center has trained more than 1,500 students, coming from all over the country such as Hai Duong, Hai Phong, Quang Ninh, Thanh Hoa to Nghe An, Ho Chi Minh City, etc.

The brides are from 18 to 25. After the course, the graduates will reunite with their husband's family, who are currently living in all parts of South Korea, from Seoul to Jeju Island.

Dr. Sim Sang Joon said that one result has been recorded that most Vietnamese brides after completing the course have a happy family life in Korea. The brides can quickly adapt to their new life thanks to the special points in the educational program that the Center has provided.

First of all,the program has invited excellent lecturers both Vietnamese and Korean with high expertise and enthusiasm. Moreover, the lecturers can use both Korean and Vietnamese fluently. The relationship between the lecturers and students as well as between the students is dear and close like a family member.

The class teaches about traditional Korean rituals for Vietnamese brides. Photo: Thoi dai

Secondly, the Center has provided students with the most basic knowledge about the country and people of Korea, where Vietnamese brides come to live, become wives and mothers, and become Korean citizens, through a variety of subjects including Korean language - Hangul, Korean etiquette, parenting skills, Korean history, geography, and Vietnam-Korea relations, reproductive health care.

Thirdly, the program renews every month, with one new course a month. Each class recruits about 25 to 30 students, studying in a class all day during the day. In the evenings, the Center also sends counselors to discuss with the students to solve the problems they are facing. During the course, the brides not only get to study, eat and stay for free but also enjoy a trip to visit the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and historical and cultural sites around Hanoi.

Finally, after coming to Korea to settle down, Vietnamese brides continue to contact KCCC's staff by phone or email to promptly solve problems in life. Every year the Center also spends an expense to send a delegation to Korea to visit some of the students' families during the summer vacation.

Although the course isn't lengthy but very rich in cultural knowledge, which is very useful for the real life of Vietnamese - Korean multicultural marriage families.

Over the past 10 years, the Vietnam-Korea Cultural Exchange Center (KCCC) has trained more than 1,500 students from all over the country. Photo: Thoi dai

In the past two years, due to the Covid-19 pandemic situation, travel between the two countries has faced many difficulties, and marriage immigration has also slowed down. However, in the future, the relationship between Vietnam and Korea will continue to expand even more, and the marriage relationship has also developed since then. The expansion of such courses is extremely useful in order to minimize possible negative impacts on the two countries' friendly bilateral relations.

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