HÀ NỘI — The South Korean Culture and Food Festival 2017 will see performances by popular artists of South Korea and Việt Nam from October 27 to 29. 

The ninth annual festival will feature various traditional Korean foods, performances, games and a prize lottery. Nearly 100 food courts from restaurants in Hà Nội and shops from entrepreneurs will introduce their specialties. 

The festival is a chance for the local people, including Vietnamese and Korean expatriates in Hà Nội, to not only enjoy Korean food and agricultural products but to also watch art performances by artistes of both countries. 

An EDM party will open the festival on October 27, featuring Vietnamese Soobin Hoàng Sơn and DJs. On the second day, festival-goers will see performances by Vietnamese singer Noo Phước Thịnh and Korean entertainers Haha and Lee Kwang Soo. The highlight of the second day will be a performance by Haha and the Skull band. 

Haha is an actor, presenter and stand-up comedian. He is best known for his role in the sitcom Nonstop and co-hosting Running Man show. He received the Best Entertainer award in 2011. Lee Kwang Soo is an actor and has won many awards, including the Special Acting Award at the SBS Drama Awards in 2014 and Excellent Actor Award at the Korea Drama Festival Awards 2014

The two artists, Haha and Soo, are the ambassadors for a Korean food and agriculture product company. 

Korean singer, Kim Dong Kyu, will perform on the final day on October 29. Kyu is the most famous and most sought-after baritone in Korea.

He has received many outstanding awards from Korea and across since he entered the Milan Conservatory Music College in 1989. He has also performed numerous concerts in Italy, France and Germany. 

The festival will climax with a cooking contest, which will be held for three days with chef Lee Won Il as a judge. He is an acclaimed chef and television personality. He is currently a part of the cast of the variety show, Please Take Care of My Refrigerator. He is the owner and chef of Dear bread in Seoul. 

Korean food lovers can participate in cooking classes conducted by the chef.

"The festival is aimed at connecting Việt Nam and Korea in the cultural field, thus promoting co-operation between enterprises," said Heo Song Moo, the South Korean embassy’s commercial counsellor, at a press conference. 

The festival is being organised since 2008, drawing many local people. Last year, about 100,000 people attended the festival.

This year’s event is particularly meaningful, as South Korea and Việt Nam will celebrate the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations. The festival is expected to draw over 150,000 visitors.  All proceeds from the event will be donated to the underprivileged people in Việt Nam. — VNS