The opening ceremony of the HCM City- Gyeongsangbuk-do Culture and Tourism Festival on Monday. The three-day event features a range of cultural, cuisine, tourism, and music programmes and hopes to promote cultural and tourism co-operation between the city and the province. VNA/VNS Photo

HCM CITY — HCM City and the Republic of Korea (RoK)'s Gyeongsangbuk-do Province are organising a festival featuring a range of cultural, cuisine, tourism, and music programmes.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the HCM City-Gyeongsangbuk-do Culture and Tourism Festival on Monday, Dương Anh Đức, deputy chairman of the city People’s Committee, said the event would help bolster the image of the province, promote cultural and tourism relations between the two sides and further intensify the comprehensive strategic partnership between Việt Nam and the RoK.

It would shine a light on Korean culture, food and arts for locals, he said.

The HCM City- Gyeongsangbuk-do World Culture Expo that ran in the city for nearly three months in 2017 attracted more than three million visitors, he said.

Lee Cheol Woo, governor of Gyeongsangbuk-do Province, said Việt Nam-Korea relations have seen great progress, and hoped the festival would expand cultural exchanges between the two localities and popularise Korean culture in the city.

Việt Nam is the third biggest trade partner for the RoK and more than 9,000 Korean firms have a presence in Việt Nam.

The event being held at the September 23 Park in the downtown area will run until November 29. —VNS