The Vietnam Exchange Association in Korea in coordination with the Honorary Consul General of Vietnam in Busan (Gyeongnam region) recently organized the Spring festival for Overseas People 2019.

Kim Dae Geun, Head of Sasang District enjoys Vietnamese caligraphy.

The event, attracting over 1,000 Vietnamese and Korean participants, was meant to reinforce the bonds among Vietnamese community in Korea and bring homeland’s traditional culture closer to the host country.

Speaking at the event, Head of Sasang district, Kim dae Guen said currently, there are more than 6,800 multicultural families and foreigners living in Sasang district, of which about 1,230 families are formed by Korean-Vietnamese marriages, accounting for 18% of foreign residents in the locality.

Sasang District has been putting vast effort in and will commit to building a dynamic, harmonious and cosy living environment between the local community and the expat community, he noted.

In 2018, Sasang district was honored with an outstanding award for excellent assessment on multicultural and foreign community support policies. In more details, local authorites have been helping the foreign community via launching/organizing a wide range of services/activities, such as: multicultural counseling center, multicultural street; international street food festival, free health check-up day, multicultural restaurants sponsorship and assistance, etc.

In order to improve the lives of multicultural families, in 2019, Sasang district is planning to spend around 750 million won to help improve the livelihood of these families via assisting them in doing business or finding jobs for migrated women.

Korean friends excitedly learn making Vietnamese Chung cake

Speaking at the ceremony, Vietnamese Ambassador to Korea Nguyen Vu Tu recalled the impressive growth of the country’s GDP in 2018 (7.08%). It is the highest level in 11 years, noted Tu. This outstanding achievement was largely attributed to Korea, the largest foreign direct investor (FDI), official development aid (ODA) provider and second largest trading partner of Vietnam.

According to Tu, in 2018, Vietnam welcomed nearly 3.5 million tourist arrivals from Korea, a rise of over 44%.

At the same time, two sides’ people exchange has been greatly fostered. At the moment, there are nearly 170,000 Vietnamese people living in Korea, of which 10,000 are working and studying in Busan City.

Understanding the nostalgia of compatriots living abroad, the Spring festival for overseas community held by the Vietnam Exchange Association in Korea aims to strengthen the ties among the community and introducing traditional Vietnamese culture to international friends.

The event was also significant to the Vietnamese businesses since it contributes to laying a solid foundation for the Vietnam-Korea relations in the long term, which will facilitate economic activities.

"I hope that, on the threshold of the new year, our efforts will bring more joys to the people here, soothing their nostalgia. It conveys our warm wishes for everyone, that the coming year will be filled with lucks and all good things.”

“Furthermore, we hope that through the program, the Koreans and international friends will gain more understandings of our Vietnamese Tet tradition. It is the occasion to show our foreign friends the unity, love for peace and the mindset of striving toward the better of the Vietnamese community. That’s how we can enhance the Vietnam-Korea relations in a global-level cultural society.”