Strengthening friendly relationship between Khanh Hoa Province and Ulsan City

Nha Trang City has recently given the delegation from Ulsan City (South Korea) a warm reception. During the visit to Nha Trang City, Ulsan artists introduced and performed many traditional and modern music performances of South Korea. 

Cultural Bridge

The auditorium of Khanh Hoa Provincial Conference Center (46 Tran Phu, Nha Trang City) was packed with audiences see Vietnam-South Korea art exchange program organized by Khanh Hoa Provincial People's Committee and Ulsan City authority. For over 120 minutes of the program, the artists from Ulsan City performed folk songs, traditional musical instruments and traditional dances of South Korea, and many famous K-Pop songs.

Nguyen Tan Tuan, Deputy Secretary of Khanh Hoa Provincial Party Committee and Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, posing for photo with artists from Ulsan City

Hai Dang Song and Dance Troupe of Khanh Hoa Province also performed special songs and dances of Vietnam music. Especially, they performed a performance of famous Korean folk song "Arirang," which has been inscribed by UNESCO on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, with Vietnamese traditional musical instruments such as T’rung, two-chord fiddle, and bamboo flute. South Korean traditional dancer Yoon Hyeonjeong performed two favorite traditional dances to pray for good harvests which are often performed in important festivals of South Korea.  Yoon Hyeonjeong was impressed at the quality performances of Nha Trang artists. Through the performances, Yoon Hyeonjeong and other South Korean artists knew more about Vietnam’s traditional cultural and artistic beauties.  

Taepyeong dance to pray for peace of South Korean people

The cultural exchange program between Vietnam and South Korea, attracting an audience of more than 1,500, was regarded as a cultural bridge enhancing the relations established and developing over the past 22 years between Khanh Hoa Province and Ulsan City. “I am studying Korean language, so this cultural exchange program provides me an opportunity to learn more interesting things. I hope that more international cultural exchange programs, not only with South Korea but with other countries, will be organized,” said Nguyen Thuc Uyen, student at Thai Binh Duong University.

Fostering people-to-people exchange

Ulsan is a large industrial city in South Korea with large factories such as Hyundai Motor, Hyundai Chosun and Hyundai Mipo Chosun. The city has a population of over 1.1 million and beautiful landscape. Currently, the authorities and citizen of Ulsan City are working hard to build and turn the city into a good place to live. Along with economic growth, the authorities of Ulsan City also pay much attention and make investment in cultural and artistic activities. "Ulsan City Federation of Culture and Art is an artistic organization operating in various fields such as literature, art, music, Korean traditional music, dance, theater, architecture, and cinema. The artists of the federation had carefully prepared for this cultural exchange program. We prepared many popular K-Pop songs to serve young audience. The program was well received by the audience in Nha Trang, which is a tremendous encouragement for the artists. Through this visit and cultural exchange program, we have felt the good endearment of the people of Nha Trang-Khanh Hoa for the artists and the people of Ulsan City," said Lee Hee Seok, President of the Ulsan City Federation of Culture and Art.

Traditional dance of South Korea

The artists of Hai Dang Song and Dance Troupe and Ulsan City performing together

As said by Deputy Secretary of Khanh Hoa Provincial Party Committee and Chairman of Khanh Hoa Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Tan Tuan at the cultural exchange program, implementing the memorandums of understanding between Khanh Hoa Province and Ulsan City, Khanh Hoa Povince has organized many cultural and art exchange events and called for investment in the province. The aforementioned cultural exchange program between Vietnam and South Korea continued to show the close bond between the artists and people of the two localities as well as further strengthened the relations and cooperation for mutual development between Khanh Hoa Province and Ulsan City. Khanh Hoa will send Hai Dang Song and Dance Troupe and the Provincial Traditional Art Theater to perform in Ulsan City in 2025. The leader of Khanh Hoa Province hopes that organizations and associations will continue to perform people-to-people work well in order to make Nha Trang-Khanh Hoa an attractive and favorite destination for visitors from South Korea and other countries.

Giang Dinh
Translated by H.N