A model wears Áo Dài with a Việt Nam-Korea design at a fashion show in Đà Nẵng, The beach city. Photo courtesy of Đà Nẵng City's Foreign Affairs Department

The annual festival is a collaboration organised by the city's Department of Foreign Affairs and the Korea Consul General in Đà Nẵng. It will introduce Vietnamese and Korean culture, cuisine, folk games and souvenirs at 60 pavilions over three days.

Korean artists will host a charity programme with children from Hope Village – a shelter for orphans and children with the disabilities. Together they will play musical instruments, dances and hand over gifts.

A Việt Nam-Korea food contest, a Korean-Vietnamese folk dance, a Hanbok and Áo Dài try-on and free film screenings will also take place.

Taekwondo artists from Seung Ri Club in Korea will also perform to local residents and tourists.

Performers from the city’s classical drama Nguyễn Hiển Dĩnh Theatre will show off the most traditional art of Vietnamese as part of áo dài (long dress) show, play traditional musical instruments and host a Việt Nam-Korea Talent contest.

Biển Đông Park will be decorated with hundreds of lanterns in Vietnamese conical hat style and miniature designs of the Gyeongbok Palace.

A parade of Korean art troupes will prelude the festival on Bạch Đằng street (a section from the Dragon Bridge to the Hàn Market) from 5pm to 6pm on September 6.

The opening ceremony will be taken at the park around 7pm on September 7, while other programmes are organised from 4pm till 10pm.

The festival is a major focus in celebration of the 30th anniversary of the diplomatic ties of the two countries.

According to the South Korea Consulate General in Đà Nẵng, the beach city has been seen as the most favourite destination to Korean tourists since 2014.

The city’s tourist department reported that South Korean tourists account for 55.4 per cent of international tourists in Đà Nẵng, and more than 700,000 Korean tourists have visited the city in the first half of 2023.

Đà Nẵng was a site that film makers, television (SBS and IHQ) and Korean stars filming the beauty landscape and beach for their programmes in 2022.

The city also plans to build tour links between Jeju Island, Incheon, Seoul and other localities, including UNESCO-recognised world heritages Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng, Huế Monuments Complex, Hội An ancient town and Mỹ Sơn Sanctuary in central Việt Nam.

School students from Đà Nẵng City will join a cultural exchange programme in Uiwang City, Gyeonggi, South Korea this October following a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on co-operation and friendship signed between the city’s Hải Châu District and Uiwang City in Korea.

Six universities from Korea have signed agreements with Đà Nẵng’s Đông Á University in education, while five cities – Changwon, Daegu, Hwaseong, Seoul and Jeju officially inked friendship ties with Đà Nẵng.

In the past year, Đà Nẵng and the South Korean city of Gyeongsan also signed an MoU for the cosmetic industry and tourism development.

Korea airlines including Asiana Airlines, Jeju Air, Jin Air, Air Busan, Air Seoul and Tway Air all open their air service from Busan, Seoul, Deagu and Cheong Ju to Đà Nẵng. VNS