Gyeongbuk Governor Lee Cheol-woo Meets Party Secretary in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam to Discuss Mutual Cooperation Plans

Received Myungbak at Ho Chi Minh University

Exchange and Cooperation Agreement with Bac Ninh Province

Lee Cheol-woo, Governor of Gyeongbuk Province, will visit Vietnam from the 26th to the 30th to promote Gyeongbuk-style cultural tourism, sell Gyeongbuk products, and attract outstanding international students.

On the 26th, Gyeongbuk Province also announced that it will sign a friendship exchange agreement with Bac Ninh Province, the birthplace of the Hwasan Lee clan, which has emerged as a symbol of Korea-Vietnam friendship.

Lee Cheol-woo, Governor of Gyeongbuk Province.

On the 27th, Governor Lee will meet with Nguyen Van Nen, Party Secretary of Ho Chi Minh City, to discuss mutual cooperation plans between Gyeongbuk and Ho Chi Minh City.

Ho Chi Minh City is the economic capital of Vietnam and has a special connection with Gyeongbuk, having co-hosted the Ho Chi Minh-Gyeongju World Culture Expo in 2017. Since signing a friendship exchange agreement that same year, steady exchanges have continued.

From the 27th to the 30th, Governor Lee will hold the Ho Chi Minh-Gyeongbuk Cultural Tourism Festival at 9.23 Park in Ho Chi Minh City. Along with tourism promotion booths, experience centers, and K-Food exhibitions, cultural performances will be held to spark a Gyeongbuk-style Korean Wave.

On the 28th, Governor Lee will receive an honorary doctorate from Ho Chi Minh University, the largest national university in Vietnam, in recognition of his contributions to humanity’s common prosperity through the Saemaul Undong movement and friendly cooperation projects with Vietnam that have contributed to Vietnam’s development.

He will also give a special lecture to Ho Chi Minh University students. In Vietnamese, he will present the K-Dream, encouraging students to prepare for their future dreams with passion and effort and to realize those dreams in Gyeongbuk.

Governor Lee has proposed solutions to open a definite era of local revitalization by attracting outstanding international students overseas as a remedy for local universities and businesses struggling due to population decline and avoidance of rural areas this year, aiming to find new vitality for Gyeongbuk.

Gyeongbuk Provincial Government Office

On the 29th, along with signing the friendship exchange MOU with Bac Ninh Province, a friendship exchange monument unveiling ceremony will be held at Bac Ninh City International Friendship Park. Bac Ninh Province is the birthplace of the Hwasan Lee clan, descendants of the Ly Hoang lineage in Vietnam who settled in Korea, and especially the related historic sites in Bonghwa are regarded as symbols of Korea-Vietnam friendship.

At the Korea-Vietnam summit in June, the Hwasan Lee clan was mentioned, and the K-Vietnam Valley development project is being carried out as a national government-funded project in Bonghwa County.

Governor Lee Cheol-woo emphasized, “Through this visit, we will expand exchange and cooperation between Gyeongbuk and Vietnam and make it an opportunity to promote Gyeongbuk’s cultural tourism and excellent products’ entry into Vietnam,” adding, “Starting with the MOU signing between Gyeongbuk and Bac Ninh Province, we will work to develop both regions as symbols of Korea-Vietnam friendship.”