South Korean women in áo dài (Vietnamese traditional long dress) at the 2022 Vietnam Tourism and Culture Festival. Photo vietnamplus.vn

SEOUL The 2022 Vietnam Tourism and Culture Festival is taking place in Seoul and Gwangju in the Republic of Korea (RoK) to mark the 30th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic relations. 

It is one of two large-scale festivals organised abroad annually by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to promote the country, people and tourism of Việt Nam to South Koreans.

The main event of the festival was held in Seoul with a wide range of cultural activities and art performances.

The festival also saw the presence of Vietnamese Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyễn Văn Hùng and his RoK counterpart, Park Bo-gyoon. The two ministers held talks on bilateral cooperation in the fields they are in charge of.

Minister Hùng proposed the RoK continue its support for bilateral exchanges in culture, sports and tourism and share experience related to the development of cultural industries - a strength of the RoK.

Việt Nam also wishes to cooperate with the RoK in cinematography and work with famous South Korean filmmakers and bands to produce unique art programmes that help RoK people better their understanding of Việt Nam.

The RoK minister promised to organise many cultural exchange activities and promote bilateral cooperation in sports and tourism.

As part of the festival, a seminar was also held to promote Vietnamese tourism with the participation of companies, travel agencies and airlines from the two countries.

The 2022 Vietnam Tourism and Culture Festival concludes on October 19.

The RoK is one of the most important markets for Việt Nam’s tourism. Before the COVID-19 outbreak, nearly 4.3 million South Korean tourists visited Việt Nam in 2019, making the RoK the second largest market of Vietnamese tourism. Meanwhile, the number of Vietnamese tourists to RoK reached 554,000 in the year. 

After Việt Nam reopened its door to international travel, the number of RoK tourists to the country has increased rapidly, hitting 900,000 in July alone. VNS