Tempest – the first Korean band having one member from Vietnam – performs at Dream Concert 2023 in Busan (Photo: VietnamPlus) Hanoi (VNA) – Cultural cooperation and exchanges will contribute to consolidating the relationship between the Republic of Korea (RoK) and Vietnam, Director of the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) Vietnam Hong Jeong Yong has said.
In 2020, KOCCA under the RoK’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism set up its office in Vietnam with the mission to strengthen cultural cooperation between the two countries.
Coming to Vietnam when the whole world was fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, KOCCA Vietnam carried out research and surveys to connect the cultural industries of the two countries. KOCCA Vietnam is promoting plans, contributing to the close relationship between the two countries based on cultural similarities.
Reporter: After the COVID-19 pandemic, what achievements has KOCCA Vietnam had in promoting Vietnam-RoK cultural cooperation?
Mr. Hong Jeong Yong: Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we stayed in Vietnam, we organised online activities to connect businesses, conducted market surveys, and organised animation contests.
Once things returned to normal in 2022, we promoted cultural exchange activities such as a K-Pop performance competition, a Hallyu Expo, and recently the Vietnam International Culture and Character Week 2023 in Binh Duong province in September.
Director of the KOCCA Vietnam Office Hong Jeong Yong shares about the mission of developing Korean culture in Vietnam. (Photo: VietnamPlus) KOCCA Vietnam is a key office in the Korean Government's New Southern policy, with the role of promoting friendship and cooperation between the two countries by expanding the Hallyu market in Vietnam and supporting the export of Hallyu content and related industries.
We provide the latest information and trends about the Vietnamese market, and actively support Korean content businesses to enter the Vietnamese market.
Personally, I am very happy that Vietnamese youths are increasingly interested in the Korean culture. Vietnam's cultural industry is very developed and the Vietnamese Government also has specific strategies and goals for this industry. Therefore, there are many opportunities for cooperation between the two sides.
Reporter: KOCCA Vietnam has just organised a conference connecting Korean, Cambodian and Vietnamese businesses in the field of content creation (October 30-31). Why is KOCCA Vietnam aiming for tripartite connectivity at this time?
Mr. Hong Jeong Yong: In the coming time, the development of the Korean creative content and cultural industry will not only be promoted in the Vietnamese market, but we will connect and promote tripartite cooperation through many events and programmes.
The reason is that Cambodia's content creation market is also growing very strongly, like that of Vietnam.
Cambodia and Vietnam have many similarities in geography, history, and culture. Both governments have paid attention to international cooperation and the development of cultural industries and tourism. Additionally, both countries share an interest in Korean culture. That is why we are connecting the three countries at this time, hoping that in the near future, we will have tripartite cultural cooperation projects.
At the conference, businesses exchanged experiences in different issues such as copyright, licensing, animation movie production, and investment in film remakes.
Reporter: Vietnam's cultural industry development strategy focuses on 12 sectors: advertising, architecture, software, entertainment games, crafts, design, film, publishing, fashion, performing arts, fine arts, photography, television and radio, and cultural tourism. In what areas do you see that the Republic of Korea can cooperate with Vietnam?
Mr Hong Jeong Yong: To date, KOCCA Vietnam has focused on television series, feature films, cartoons, fashion, games and human resources training for the creative industry.
Currently, we are implementing activities aimed at a new field in Vietnam: character.
Character and related products are a very popular field in the RoK, contributing to demonstrating the unique identities of individuals, businesses and countries.
A KOCCA Vietnam booth at a cultural exchange event. (Photo: VietnamPlus) We have cooperated with Binh Duong province to organise the Vietnam International Culture and Character Week. The event will be held annually, becoming a unique cultural and commercial activity of Binh Duong province. I believe that Binh Duong will be an iconic market for the character segment in Vietnam and Southeast Asia.
Reporter: With your experience in Vietnam, what barriers are facing Vietnam’s development of the cultural industry?
Mr Hong Jeong Yong: As a representative of KOCCA Vietnam, I have not encountered any difficulties. On the contrary, I have received support from State management agencies.
However, when I first started working in Vietnam, I realised that the biggest obstacle was that people were very vague about the concepts of the content creation industry. Therefore, raising people's awareness about this issue is very important.
The focus of the cultural industry is content. This is the core element, a field with endless potential, like an "ocean of creativity and innovation."
Reporter: Thank you very much./.
