MOCST’s Deputy Minister Ta Quang Dong and Mr. Suh Byung-soo (Photo: MOCST)

MOCST’s Deputy Minister Ta Quang Dong stated, since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1992, the cooperation relationship between Vietnam and the Republic of Korea has been continuously consolidated and elevated to a comprehensive strategic partnership; remarkably, the Culture, Sports and Tourism cooperation between the two countries.

Accordingly, every year, Vietnam has successfully organised many activities in Korea with the support of Korean agencies and organisations such as: Vietnam Tourism - Culture Festival in Korea, art shows of traditional music and dance combined with contemporary and Vietnamese Ao dai performance in Korea…

Additionally, Vietnam actively participates in international cultural activities organised by Korea such as Busan Film Festival, international art festivals, international exhibitions in Korea; coordinates and supports Korea to implement several cultural exchange activities in Vietnam such as Korean Culture Day in Vietnam, film weeks…

Lately, in December 2022, the two sides signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cultural cooperation between the Vietnamese Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Regarding the tourism field, the two countries have signed many Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation based on the Tourism Cooperation Agreement between the two countries (2002), including the MOU signing ceremony on tourism cooperation period of 2023 - 2024. The exchange of visitors recorded great impressive numbers. Visitor exchange between the two countries recovered quickly post the Covid-19 pandemic.

In 2022, Vietnam welcomed about 965,000 Korean visitor arrivals. Korea welcomed about 185,000 Vietnamese visitor arrivals. In the first 4 months of 2023, Vietnam welcomed 1,070,295 Korean visitor arrivals, a recovery of about 74% compared to the same period in 2019, before the pandemic. Korea welcomed about 105,000 Vietnamese visitor arrivals.

MOCST’s Deputy Minister Ta Quang Dong gifting souvenir to Mr. Suh Byung-soo (Photo: MOCST)

In order to elevate the comprehensive strategic partnership to a new height and promote the cooperative relationship between the two countries, MOCST’s Deputy Minister Ta Quang Dong suggested that the two sides need to coordinate and strengthen cultural promotion in many different localities through exchanging artist groups, organising photo exhibitions, film weeks, etc.

MOCST’s Deputy Minister Ta Quang Dong hopes that Korea will actively share experiences in developing the entertainment industry, especially cinema, music...; appoint experts to help Vietnam effectively implement the Strategy for the development of cultural industries.

Mr. Suh Byung-soo affirms that Korea is willing to share experiences and support Vietnam in developing culture, sports, and tourism. The Vietnamese and Korean governments are developing many policies to promote friendly cooperation, especially in the field of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

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