Culture Expo in Vietnam

[Anchor Lead]

A cultural expo has opened in the southern Vietnamese city of Ho Chi Minh to help introduce Korean culture to the Southeast Asian country. The expo is expected to serve as an occasion to promote cultural exchanges with Vietnam where Korean pop music and dramas are popular.

[Pkg]

Traditional folk performances of Korea and Vietnam were held at a plaza in front of Ho Chi Minh City Hall. This is the opening ceremony for the Ho Chi Minh-Gyeongju World Culture Expo. Vietnam celebrated the opening of the expo with a splendid traditional dance and the cheerful "Song of Ho Chi Minh." The audience was fascinated by a Korean performance re-enacting a military band and a parade dressed in beautiful and elegant garments of the ancient Shilla Kingdom.

[Soundbite] Vietnamese Visitor : "Traditional Korean dances are very beautiful and dazzling."

[Soundbite] German Visitor : "The expo was held at various locations across the city, including the city hall plaza and 923 Park, introducing Korean culture. Cultural exchanges between the two countries will be boosted, as they co-host a film festival, a music concert, a fashion show and an art exhibition."

[Soundbite] Lee Dong-woo(Secretary General, Gyeongju Expo Organizing Committee) : "This is a symbol demonstrating that relations between South Korea and Vietnam are being upgraded from an economic one to a cultural one."

This is the third time the Gyeongju World Culture Expo has been held overseas, following Angkor Wat in Cambodia in 2006 and the Turkish city of Istanbul in 2013. The event will run until December third in the Vietnamese city.