South Korean celebs have been flocking to Vietnam over the past few months, a trend likely sparked in July when BlackPink – arguably one of K-pop's most famous girl groups – staged two shows in the Southeast Asian country.

Vietnam is set to host a K-pop music festival in October featuring some of the genre’s biggest names. 

The festival, named Wow K-music Festival 2023, will bring big names such as Super Junior – L.S.S., Chanyeol from Exo, and Yugyeom from Got7 to Ho Chi Minh City.

A-list South Korean actor Lee Yong Suk is also scheduled to attend a fan meet-and-greet in October and Korean hip-hop group Epik High has promised to make a stop in Vietnam next year following the success of their performance at HAY Fest 2023 – a music and arts festival held in Hanoi in September by The Bros Entertainment Company.

The influx of Korean stars making stops in Vietnam is big news for fans, many of whom spend millions of Vietnamese dong on 'idol chasing' – a term coined to describe superfans who travel the world to see their favorite celebs perform live.

“Lee Jong Suk’s fans in Vietnam will no longer be jealous of other international fan clubs [because he is visiting the country]. Vietnam is becoming a promising entertainment and media market,” an administrator from the Lee Jong Suk Vietnam Facebook fan page posted for the group’s 320,000 followers.

According to an analysis by the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency last year, Vietnam ranked 8th in the world and 3rd among Southeast Asian countries in terms of monthly spending on K-pop, with the average fan spending US$9.3 per month on K-pop products.

Vietnam also ranks 9th in YouTube viewing on K-entertainment videos, most of which are related to music. 

This trend is no secret for Vietnamese entertainers, many of whom are hoping to cash in by allowing K-pop to heavily influence their own styles.

Tough road ahead for Vietnam’s entertainment industry 

“We are no longer outside the coverage area for world tours by international stars, including those of Koreans,” said Hoang Linh, co-founder of The Bros Entertainment Company, adding that this phenomenon is having a positive impact on Vietnam’s trade, economy, and tourism.

Still, the trend also poses several challenges, particularly in terms of balancing the preservation of Vietnam’s cultural identity with the country’s desire to globally integrate.  

The fact that Vietnam’s modern entertainment industry is still in its infancy is also a significant challenge.

“Domestic [event] organizers must learn to run their businesses more professionally in order to move the entire industry forward,” Linh said.

At a workshop titled 'Developing Vietnam's Cultural and Creative Industries in the Digital Era,' held jointly by the Vietnam Department of International Cooperation and Netflix in Hanoi, Choi Seung Jin, director of the Korean Cultural Center, said that Vietnam and South Korea share many cultural similarities.

“I believe Vietnam can learn from the development of the Korean cultural industry,” Choi noted.

In addition to founding 30 Korean centers worldwide to promote Korean culture abroad, the South Korean government also established the Korea Creative Content Agency to develop and spread their cultural content. 

It has also played a role in enacting policies relevant to cultural development, particularly in relation to fostering the development of human resources with advanced expertise and cultural exports.

Additionally, South Korea has built a cooperation mechanism between schools and businesses to support and train its culture industry workforce. 

"Schools and businesses have built combined training programs that offer internships, with the government subsidizing salaries during those years,” Choi said, adding that Vietnam’s large talent pool and its rich history are promising keys to the development of its cultural industry.

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