From June 16 to 25, a delegation of 30 Vietnamese public officers visited Korea as part of the 2024 KF Korea-Vietnam Youth Leaders Exchange.

The Vietnamese delegation to Korea, led by Director General Hoang Quoc Long of the Department of Youth Affairs at the Vietnamese Ministry of Home Affairs (MOHA), was comprised of 30 public officers affiliated with various MOHA departments, including Youth Affairs and International Cooperation. They participated in a fruitful itinerary that covered various topics, such as bilateral relationships, the youth, startups, smart cities, agriculture, the environment, and education.

Their itinerary included visits to the National Youth Support Center (affiliated with the Office for Government Policy Coordination), Seoul Metropolitan Youth Center, and Seoul Startup Hub Gongdeok, where they learned about Korean youth and startup policies. They also visited Seoul Metropolitan Agricultural Technology Center and the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation to review plans to promote rural and local agricultural products. Additionally, they visited Sejong City Hall and the Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements, which offered a better understanding of smart cities and the current policies and situation regarding the balanced development of regions.

Viet Nam is strengthening its environmental politics regarding waste sorting and mandatory recycling now. In line with these efforts, the KF arranged for the delegation to additionally visit several destinations in Busan where they could learn about Korean resource recycling practices. Sites including the Busan Metropolitan Carbon Neutral Support Center, the Resource Recycling Cooperation Center (affiliated with the Busan Environment Corporation), and Saenggok Landfill. Of course, as delegates of an ASEAN member state, they couldn’t miss a visit to the KF ASEAN Cultural House. Finally, they attended a briefing on Korean language education at Busan University of Foreign Studies.

The KF Korea-Vietnam Youth Leaders Exchange first began in 2014, based on an MOU signed between the KF and Viet Nam’s MOHA. From 2014 to 2018, young public officers were invited to from Viet Nam to Korea in order to share advanced Korean technologies and experiences in economic development, thereby enhancing understanding of Korea and strengthening the network of relevant organizations in both countries. In 2019, the exchange program was further expanded through reciprocal visits between Korea and Viet Nam, and the agreement was extended. Today, it is implemented as a two-way exchange program.

This means that, following the visit of the Vietnamese delegation to Korea in June, a Korean delegation will be visiting Viet Nam in September.

We hope that the 2024 KF Korea-Vietnam Youth Leaders Exchange, as a representative example of mutual interchange among future generations, will foster closer cooperation between both countries. We kindly ask for your attention to this program, and wish a wonderful journey to the upcoming Korean delegation to Viet Nam.