Society

Ho Chi Minh City to host S.Korea-endorsed world culture festival next year

Thursday, September 15, 2016, 19:02 GMT+7

A festival celebrating cultures from around the world is set to take place next year in Ho Chi Minh City, in coordination with the South Korean province of Gyeongsangbuk-do, following a memorandum of understanding inked by two administrations on Tuesday.

A delegation of senior officials from the Ho Chi Minh City administration, led by Party Chief Dinh La Thang, has been in South Korea since last Thursday on a mission to strengthen its cooperative bond with the country.

The officials continued their working agenda on Tuesday in Gyeongsangbuk-do, or North Gyeongsang Province, in eastern South Korea, where they signed a memorandum of understanding calling for joint organization from the two administrations in planning the 2017 World Culture Festival.

Gyeongsangbuk-do is known for its rich traditional and cultural heritage, much of which has gained status as a recognized world heritage by UNESCO.

The World Culture Festival has been held biennially since 1998 with endorsement from the South Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).

The 25-day festival will take place November next year in Ho Chi Minh City and feature art performances, exhibitions, movie screenings, and various trade promotions.

Senior leaders from Vietnam and South Korea who plan to attend the event hope it will be used as a launch pad for the enhancement of bilateral cultural exchange between the two countries on both the national and local levels.

Ho Chi Minh City’s selection as host city for the festival is seen by many, including Party Chief Thang, as proof of the city’s critical role in Vietnam-South Korea relations.

Thang’s sentiments were shared by Gyeongsangbuk-do Governor Kim Kwan-yong, who asserted that joint organization of the festival will create diversity within the fields of cooperation amongst the countries’ localities and serve as a driving factor for improved mutual understanding between the two peoples.

Around 10,000 Vietnamese women live in the province of Gyeongsangbuk-do with their South Korean husbands, according to the governor, who expressed his hope that the medley of the two cultures, countries, and people will be highlighted in the upcoming festival.

Officials are also hoping to use the cultural exchange as a pivot to enhance economic cooperation between Saigon and South Korea, with investment opportunities for South Korean businesses in Ho Chi Minh City’s infrastructure projects, such as metro and monorail systems, anti-flooding plans, and urban renewal initiatives, amongst the agenda topics at Tuesday’s meeting.

The Vietnamese delegation was taken on a tour around Hahoe Folk Village, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that dates back to the 16^th century, after a ceremony to sign the memorandum.

That same day, Party Chief Thang met with Park In-gyu, CEO of Daegu Bank, a large South Korean regional bank headquartered in Daegu Metropolitan City, a principal city in Gyeongsangbuk-do.

In-gyu announced in the meeting that since establishing a representative office in Ho Chi Minh City in December of 2014 it has been working to inaugurate its first branch in the Vietnamese metropolis.

Thang welcomed Daegu Bank’s interest in extending its operations to Ho Chi Minh City, noting the important role a branch of the South Korean bank could play for the large number of South Korean businesses investing or planning to invest in Vietnam and Ho Chi Minh City in the near future.

The Party chief expressed his hope that Daegu Bank’s first branch in the city will open in the near future and serve to enhance economic ties between Ho Chi Minh City and South Korean localities.