The Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism (Minister PARK Bo Gyoon, MCST) will unveil a diverse range of cultural exchange events both in Korea and Vietnam to commemorate the 30^th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Korea and Vietnam this year, while shining the spotlight on a new era of prosperity. The Korea-Vietnam Lantern Cultural Festival will light up the first of the events from Sept. 9 (Fri) to 11 (Sun) in Hanoi.

Since opening their diplomatic ties in December 1992, Korea and Vietnam have been partners in their respective epic tales of growth. As a result, their bilateral trade grew by a multiple of 161 until 2021 (US$ 500 million → US$ 80.7 billion), with bilateral visits jumping by about 2,400-fold until 2019 (approximately 2,000 visitors per annum → approximately 4.84 million). Moreover, the popularity of the K-culture in Vietnam, which started at the end of the 1990s, has continued to expand to include Korea dramas, K-pop, and movies, promoting cultural exchanges between the two nations. In Dec 2021, the two Ministers of Culture, Sports, and Tourism signed the 2022 Korea-Vietnam Cultural Exchange Program as part of the upcoming celebration of their 30^th anniversary of diplomatic ties, and promised more vibrant cultural exchanges and promotion for cooperation, including the holding of a flagship anniversary event in the other nation. MCST will be working with the Korea Foundation for International Cultural Exchange (President JUNG Kilhwa, KOFICE) to host the Korea-Vietnam Lantern Cultural Event for three days from Sept 9 (Fri) in Hanoi to proclaim the start of bilateral cultural exchange events.

On Sept 9 (Fri), traditional Cheongsa Chorong lanterns[1] of Korea and Hoi An lanterns of Vietnam will light up to illuminate the lantern street, which symbolizes hope and the future, to wish for a prosperous future that will be created by the partner nations while showcasing entertaining cultural performances on the Sept 10 (Sat) and 11 (Sun). On Sept 10, Korea-Vietnam boys and girls chorus group will perform and K-pop idol Hyolyn and MCND, as well as Hoang Thuy Linh, famous Vietnamese actress and singer with artistic talent, will be showing attractive performances. Other than performances on stages, there will also be events  to experience Korean costume, learning language, and music.

In return, Vietnam plans to host a vibrant performance by a traditional performance group and hold various cultural experience events in Seoul from Oct 14 (Fri) to 16 (Sun) through the New K-Wave Cultural Bridge program, which is driven by MCST to introduce overseas culture to Korea every year.

MCST plans to further expand cultural cooperation between the two nations by staging a rich array of cultural exchange events in celebration of the three decades of diplomatic ties through this coming December. In Korea, opportunities will be provided to experience Vietnamese culture, including the Vietnamese language and traditional clothing during the Asia Culture Week (Oct) and the Asia Traditional Orchestra, consisting of traditional music performers from 11 Korea-ASEAN nations. A new Vietnamese song will also be released online on the occasion of the establishment of diplomatic ties (Dec). MCST also plans to hold consecutive events in Vietnam to share and promote exchanges between the cultures of the two nations, including the Korea-Vietnam Visiting Book Fair (end of Sept), K-Expo (Oct), Korean Cultural Festival (Oct), opening of the Korean Hall and Interactive Experience Center at the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology (Nov), and Korea Culture and Tourism Exhibition (Dec).