HÀ NỘI —  A campaign to support Vietnamese healthcare staff and other frontline forces in the COVID-19 fight has been launched by the Korea Tourism Organisation (KTO).

With the message 'Give love, give strength', the 2021 Korea Love Box campaign shows solidarity with Việt Nam in the current fight against the pandemic.

“As a Korean friend who always accompanies and supports Việt Nam, the Korea Love Box campaign has been launched to send sincere thanks and gratitude to medical staff, as well as other frontline workers, who strive night and day against the pandemic,” said Park Jong Sun, Chief Representative of KTO in Việt Nam.

Park Jong Sun, Chief Representative of KTO in Việt Nam (3rd right), and representatives of the Việt Nam Red Cross Society give gifts to medical staff of the Thanh Nhàn Hospital in Hà Nội.

KTO, in collaboration with Việt Nam Red Cross Society and Hope Foundation, has given out 1,000 gifts worth more than VNĐ1 billion (about US$44,000) to six hospitals in Hà Nội and HCM City. Included in the gifts are Korean specialities such as red ginseng, chicken stewed with ginseng, and other traditional souvenirs. 

In Hà Nội, the gifts were given to doctors and nurses of the Đống Đa General Hospital and the Thanh Nhàn Hospital, while in HCM City, they were delivered to the COVID-19 hospitals No 8 and 13, the HCM City Hospital of Tropical Diseases, and the Hospital of Phạm Ngọc Thạch University of Medicine.

KTO representatives hand over gifts to medical workers at the Hospital of Phạm Ngọc Thạch University of Medicine in HCM City.

KTO has also released a music video called 'Way Back Home', aimed at all Vietnamese people. The song, which was composed and performed by Korean singer Shaun, has become an international hit.

The music video shows KTO preparing for their Korea Love Box campaign. The KTO hopes the music video will provide hope and support as Việt Nam overcomes the pandemic.

Several famous Vietnamese singers and music groups, such as Đông Nhi, Ông Cao Thắng, Han Sara, Uni5, and LipB, also feature in the music video. The Vietnamese lyrics were composed by songwriter Châu Đăng Khoa.

“Through the Korea Love Box campaign, KTO want to encourage the Vietnamese people towards the future and the ‘new normal’. Korea will continue to make efforts to become the first choice of Vietnamese tourists when the tourism market reopened,” Chief Representative of KTO in Việt Nam, Park said.

He also said that next year will be the 30th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between South Korea and Việt Nam. Both KTO and the Korean government hope all the cultural exchange activities and tourism will resume when the time is right. 

On October 13, 1.1 million AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccines arrived in Việt Nam under the courtesy of South Korea. This is the northern Asian country's first direct cross-border sharing of its vaccine stockpiles.

On the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York in September, South Korea President Moon Jae-in said Korea would donate more than one million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to Việt Nam. — VNS