KOREA FOUNDATION

ACH REVIEW

The Heat Was On: Looking Back at the 2022 ASEAN Market

From July 2 to 3, the 2022 ASEAN Market was held at the ASEAN Culture House to introduce crafts andcultures of the 10 ASEAN countries.Despitethe scorching heat, which made some joke that even the weather was brought from Southeast Asia, over 16,000 visitors came to enjoy the event.

The market zone featured a Special Viet Nam Pavilion to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Korea-Viet Nam relations. In addition, there were10 booths where ASEAN migrants and residents sold products from their respective native countries; six booths from ASEAN embassies, including those of Lao PDR and Myanmar; and 14 booths by domestic brands that introduce ASEAN culture in Korea. Together, the 30 booths show cased colorful products and various aspects of the 10 ASEAN countries’cultures. The items on sale included rattan baskets, colorful handicrafts, dresses, snacks, and furniture. A side from the market zone, the event also featured a food zone and offered hands-on classes, performances, and talks. In the food zone, participants enjoyed bánh mi sandwiches from VietNam, pad thai from Thailand, and nasigoreng from Indonesia. All proved very popular with the crowd, resulting in customers lining up for over 30 minutes.

A free hands-on class, which taught participants how to fashion the traditional Vietnamese conical hat called nón lá, was also very popular. In addition to the items they bought at the market zone, visitors went home with memories from experiencing the diversity of ASEAN cultures. Even the sizzling heat couldn't stop the traditional Vietnamese dance in full costumes, the beautiful sound of the t'rưng, a traditional Vietnamese bamboo xylophone; and the exciting performance by a children’s cheerleading team. You can watch videos of these performances on the ASEAN Culture House’s official YouTube channel.