ASEAN ambassadors and AKC Secretary General opened the Trade Fair 2025. VNS Photo Mỹ Hà

 SEOUL — The ASEAN Trade Fair 2025 opened in Seoul on 14 November, concluding a series of activities during ASEAN Week that celebrated regional unity and strengthened economic ties between ASEAN member states and Korea.

Ambassador and Secretary General of the ASEAN-Korea Centre, Kim Jae-shun, along with ambassadors from all member states, presented the pavilions at the trade fair.

From right: Trade attaché Phạm Khắc Tuyên, Secretary General Kim and a Fair representative briefing on Vietnamese products in the Korean market. VNS Photo

 “Despite ongoing global economic uncertainties, it is both timely and inspiring to see ten ASEAN member states coming together with strong determination to explore business opportunities in the Korean market,” Kim said as he pressed the button to officially open the fair, which brought together 80 companies from all ten member states.

Trade Attaché Phạm Khắc Tuyên represented Việt Nam, which had the largest number of companies attending the two-day event.

“We are very delighted to see trading volume between Việt Nam and Korea take up to half of the total trade volume of all ten ASEAN countries,” he told Việt Nam News at the opening ceremony. (An exclusive interview on Việt Nam-Korea trade relations will follow soon.)

PRODUCT TEST: Deputy Director of Industry and Trade of Đà Nẵng, Đỗ Thị Quỳnh Trâm, asked Secretary General Kim to test a product. VNS Photo

 Touring the trade stands, Secretary General Kim stopped at each counter. He was briefed by Deputy Director of Industry and Trade in Đà Nẵng Province, Đỗ Thị Quỳnh Trâm, on the products her team had brought to introduce to the Korean market.

At a counter featuring ASEAN products already available in the market, Kim told the Vietnamese Trade Attaché that he really liked Vietnamese bánh mì, the globally popular Vietnamese-style sandwich.

When a representative showed a box of swift nest, the Trade Attaché explained how the birds are raised and their nests collected.

Trade attaché Tuyên describes how the swift nests were collected. VNS Photo

 Although travel companies from Việt Nam did not join the fair this year, the Đà Nẵng team maintained a full schedule with a conference on online marketing for tourism in Đà Nẵng, the city dubbed the most worth-living destination in Việt Nam.

Statistics from the AKC showed that nearly 10 million Korean visitors travelled to ASEAN countries, with the highest number visiting Việt Nam, and within the country, Đà Nẵng topped the list of most popular destinations.

“Last year, more than 700,000 Korean visitors came to Đà Nẵng,” Madam Trâm told Việt Nam News. “This year we hope the number will rise as the new Đà Nẵng has added Quảng Nam Province to its administrative unit,” she said. VNS