TOWARDS THE COMPREHENSIVE FLOURISHMENT OF VIETNAM-KOREA RELATIONS
| Vo Van Sen | |
| |
| Name in Latin Alphabet: | Vo Van Sen |
|---|---|
| Nationality: | Vietnamese |
| Affiliation: | President, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University of Ho Chi Minh City. |
The course of history has witnessed ASEAN-Korea relationship’s considerable contributions to the development of the world. ASEAN and Korea, arising out on international arena, play a crucial role in the joint endeavors to secure East Asian politics and economy. ASEAN Economic Community is a vital linkage for economic cooperation not only within ASEAN, but in East Asia as well. ASEAN and Korea in joining hands can exert full exploitation of the regions’ resources for co-prosperity. Since the establishment of ASEAN-Korea cooperation 1989, this relationship has substantially developed with cooperative activities in a wide range of aspects.
Vietnam is essential to ASEAN-Korea’s cooperative achievements, contributing fully to Southeast Asia’s potentials. Bearing various fascinating similarities of Korean special features, Vietnam plays the crucial role in bridging Southeast Asia and Korea, turning ASEAN into a beckoning and burgeoning region abounding in natural and human resources, which will expand and thrive in myriad directions.
Throughout the course of history, cultural exchanges and cultural acculturation have asserted its integral part in the history of mankind in general, in the development of Vietnam-Korea in particular. The formation of Vietnam-Korea relationships was a thick book of colorful historic pages painted with major events and amazing accomplishments since time immemorial, going on into the bright future with deeply-engraved cultural features of the two peoples. The most original characteristics of Vietnam-Korea relationship may be found in real-life achievements of 23 years of Vietnam-Korea official diplomatic relations.
Since the milestone of 1992, the two peoples of Vietnam and Korea have had close ties, worked together and shared a lot of similarities. In the context of globalization and international economic integration, the two countries also have enormous potentials which can complement each other in the process of cooperation and development. Therefore, only after 23 years of cooperation – just a fraction of time compared to thousands of years of the two countries’ history, Vietnam-Korea relations have grown so dramatically to become a typical example of the bilateral cooperation in the world.
Vietnam and Korea bear great commonalities and similarities in terms of geography, culture, history, customs, ways of living, ways of thinking, etc.[1]
Geographically speaking, Vietnam and Korea border big powers, which turns them into important strategic locations themselves. According to Chinese Feng Shui, Korea is “the Blue Dragon at China’s left”, Vietnam is “the White Tiger at China’s right.” [Lee Kwen Yeup, 2001: 49-50]
Since Vietnam and Korea are located at important strategic positions, they were doomed to struggle against foreign big powers’ aggression for independence and freedom. Vietnam and Korea surround China. Chiao Chih (Giao Chi), Chiu Chao (Cuu Chau), and Jen Nan (Nhat Nam)[2]were invaded and dominated by Chinese feudal dynasties during ten centuries (from 111BC to 938AD). Koguryǒ (a small region of present-day North Korea) [Ki-baik Lee 1984: 19-26] was ruled by the Chinese during about four centuries (from 108BC to 313AD). These were the periods when Sinicization took place in a powerful way. This phenomenon consisted of cultural assimilation and normal cultural exchanges. For instance, both countries adopted Chinese characters directly from China and created their own distinctive cultural identities based on Chinese characters.
In order to struggle against cultural assimilation and at the same time to absorb the positive factors of Chinese culture, Vietnam and Korea carried out De-Sinicization. The history of Vietnamese culture and of Korean culture can be summarized in only two categories Sinicization and De-Sinicization.
To the pre-modern period, both were in the hands of foreign invasion being the victims of imperialism. Korea was under Japanese invaders; Vietnam was under French colonization. Therefore, Vietnamese and Korean people determined to fight for national liberalization. Vietnamese and Korean patriots soon made close contacts to assist each other in the resistance against invaders such as Phan Boi Chau, Nguyen Ai Quoc from Vietnam and Trieu To Ngang (조소앙), Kim Khue Thuc (김규식) from Korea.
For culture and psychology, water rice production was a matter of life for Vietnam and Korea, which heavily depended on nature. Thousands of years of making a living out of agriculture made peoples of both nations somewhat bear similar psychology and way of life; thus, facilitating mutual understanding and sympathy, resulting in frequent contacts and amicable bonds between Korea and Vietnam for centuries.
Thanks to a look back through the history, Vietnam and Korea can be said to have a lot in common – not only cultural tradition, but also history, especially contemporary history full of ups and downs. Virtually no countries in the same region in particular, in the world in general were so close as Vietnam and Korea. The similarities in terms of context, of historical settings and events, as well as sustainable cooperation towards a bright future have transformed Vietnam-Korea relationship into bonds bursting with vitality and constantly on the go.
Based on such a solid foundation of similarities, the relationship history between Vietnam and Korea can be traced back to as early as the 13th century[3]
when Prince Ly Long Tuong of the Ly Dynasty went to the Koryo Dynasty (Goryeo, Koryŏ, 고려, 高麗) (1192–1259) in 1226 AD to settle down. About 100 years earlier, in 1127 AD, Prince Ly Duong Con of the same Ly Dynasty, who first defected to the Chinese Sung Dynasty, came to Koryo when the Northern Sung Dynasty was defeated by the Jin Dynasty and moved its capital to Lin’an in the south. Having settled down successfully on the Korean peninsula, Princes Ly Duong Con and Ly Long Tuong created two separate Lee clans in Korea – the Jeongseon and Hwasan. This laid the first basic vital foundation for the history of Vietnam-Korea relations.
The 16th century to the 19th century witnessed continuous contacts between Vietnam and Korea, notably the event of official meetings of the two dynasties’ envoys in Beijing, China during their tributary mission to the Ming and Qing emperors.
During the 1954-1975 period, under the impacts of the bipolar world order, Vietnam was divided into two parts [Ku Su Jeong, 2006]. The 1954-1975 period saw the Vietnam war which was so cruel and devastating. Korea joined in to the US’s call by sending troops to Vietnam. During over 8 years, the total number of Korean soldiers involved in Vietnam war amounted up to 325 517. This was the most tragic chapter in the history of relations of the two nations. After April 30th, 1975, when the Vietnam War ended, the United States remained hostile to Vietnam. The US implemented siege policy and economic sanctions in retaliation to isolate Vietnam, to block other countries’ relations with Vietnam which had just been unified. Being a close ally of the United States, Korea was severely affected by the hatred of the US policies. Vietnam-Korean relations, therefore, during this period suffered from a temporary interruption. Yet in the early years of the 1980s of the 20th century, Korean traders carried out trade with Vietnam in a quiet way.
In 1986, Vietnam adopted the reform policy to transform itself into the market economy, with the foreign policy bearing the spirit that Vietnam wished to be friends with every country in the world. In this stage, Korea launched its Northern Policy so as to normalize diplomatic relations with socialist countries.
In fact, Korea conducted this foreign policy on the grounds that she would establish diplomatic relations with all non-antagonistic countries though they might be different in political institutions and ideologies.
In addition to the happy crossing of these two diplomacy policies, the previous causes ever impeded the Vietnam-Korea normal relations existed no more: Vietnam-China relations warmed up; Vietnam-US relation gap shortened; and the suspicions of the ASEAN countries to Vietnam were also eased. In light of these good conditions, on December 22, 1992, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Republic of Korea established the formal relations. These big historical events proved that Vietnam and Korea shared similar experiences in their relations with China and the US. The end of the Cold War facilitated rapprochement between the two peoples, who were historically friendly and shared a common cultural heritage of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. Undeniably, bordering China, but Vietnam and Korea maintained relatively peaceful relations with China in the long history of the Confucian tributary system. With unyielding and indomitable spirit, Vietnamese and Korean endured and survived the many challenges from their invaders, succeeding in keeping their national identities.
Over the past 23 years, the relation between the two countries has steadily strengthened and achieved remarkable outcomes in various areas such as politics and foreign affairs, economic relation and commercial exchanges, cultural and educational exchanges. As such, Vietnam-Korea relationship has rapidly deepened and broadened in all fields, which can be exemplified in: Vietnam and Korea spent 23 years on construction and development for the sake of the two nations’ friendship. The last 23 years have seen frequent exchanges of visits of leaders, including 15 top leaders’ visits and over 100 cabinet minister-level visits. With the visit of Korea by President Tran Duc Luong in August 2001, bilateral relations were enhanced to a Comprehensive Partnership, and eventually upgraded to a Strategic Cooperative Partnership in 2009 during Korean President Lee Myeong-bak’s state visit to Vietnam.
November 2014 saw the upgraded partnership between the two countries when President Truong Tan Sang reciprocated President Lee’s visit: strategic cooperation was consolidated focusing on exchanges in foreign, security and defense, on search and rescue, anti-terrorism, crime prevention, personnel training and defense industries. The two presidents also welcomed “The Overall Joint Proposed Plan,” prepared jointly for the peaceful use of atomic energy in Vietnam, which is expected to result in the construction of two more nuclear power plants in the near future[4]
In 2015, as far as FTA[5]event is concerned, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MTIE) announced the signing of a free trade agreement with Vietnam on May 5, 2015. The Agreement was signed in Hanoi by South Korean Minister Yoon Sang-jik and his Vietnamese counterpart, Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang, with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung observing.
According to MTIE, the FTA with Vietnam marks greater levels of product liberalization than a previous FTA with the ASEAN countries (including Vietnam) that went into effect in June 2007. The Agreement is predicted to lead to a huge rise in exports to Vietnam. The FTA is set to pass through National Assembly ratification before taking effect.
In present reality, the relationship and cooperation between Vietnam and Korea strongly developed in various fields as both nations show high appreciation and determination to bring the bilateral relationship and comprehensive cooperation to a new height with stability and sustainability in the interests of the two peoples and for the sake of peace, stability, cooperation and development. A lot of fast-boosting accomplishments out of 23 years of cooperation and relations between Vietnam and Korea have been widely recognized, which can be generally illustrated in some fields mentioned right below.
Vietnam-Korea relations after only a short period of time, i.e. 23 years, quickly turned from regular partners (1992) into a comprehensive partnership (2001) and leaped to a strategic partner (2009). The establishment of formal diplomatic relations in 1992 was a historic milestone deeply engraved in the soul of the two nations, in line with the general trend of the times and for the sake of the two countries. This milestone brought Vietnam-Korea relations into a new phase towards a bright future full of prospects. For 23 years, Vietnam-Korea bonds have grown at a fast pace rarely seen in most sectors and unparalleled in history.
For investments, Korea has emerged as Vietnam’s number one investor, with $23.5 billion of FDI in more than 3,000 projects, creating over 500,000 jobs for the Vietnamese. Samsung Electronics has had its largest mobile phone manufacturing factory in Bac Ninh Province in the suburbs of Hanoi since 2009. POSCO has invested $2 billion since 2006 to construct steel mills in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province in the south. Bilateral trade reached $13.6 billion in 2011, making Korea the fourth-largest trading partner for Vietnam after China, the US and Japan. For Korea, Vietnam is the 9th-biggest trading partner and the 2nd-largest among ASEAN member countries after only Singapore. As Presidents Lee and Sang agreed in November 2014 to achieve the $20 billion target before the scheduled 2015, and $30 billion beyond that year, bilateral trade is expected to double and triple before 2020.
The data provided by the Foreign Investment Department (under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, Vietnam[6]) and by Phu Yen Enterprises and Investment Information Portal[7]said that in 2014, capital from Korea continues to flow into investment projects in Vietnam through 505 new projects and 179 increased capital projects in Vietnam, bringing the total number of newly registered capital and increased capital being 7.32 billion USD, accounting for 36.2% of total investment capital in Vietnam.
2014 Korea projects are deployed on 18 out of 21 sectors. Leading is the industrial manufacturing and processing sectors with 322 new projects and 151 increased-capital projects with the total of newly registered and additional capital to this sector in 2014 was 6.58 billion (representing 89% of total investment). Ranking 2nd is real estate business with 6 new projects and 1 increased-capital project, totaling 363.2 million USD (accounting for 5% of total investment).
To the end of 2014, Korea was the largest investor in Vietnam with total registered capital reaching 36.7 billion USD and 4 063 investment projects still valid.
In January 2015 alone, out of 15 countries and territories having investment projects in Vietnam, Korea continues to rank 2nd with a total investment of newly registered and additional capital being 110.25 million USD, accounting for 16.6% of total investment into Vietnam.
Only after the first two months of 2015, Korea invested the total of investment capital being 222,11 million USD, ranking 2nd in terms of investors. The rise of Korean wave of investment have great influence with committed capital of up to billions of US dollars from Samsung, LG electronics giants, on many Korean parts supplier. Only two Samsung producer groups in Bac Ninh has attracted over 40 Korean parts providers. Samsung estimates to pour billions of US dollars into Vietnam for many other projects including projects for electronics, infrastructure, aviation, shipbuilding, etc. In addition, numerous corporations on trade, services, manufacturing, such as Lotte, CGV movie theater chain, CJ, Kumho etc. constantly expand business and strengthen extensive presence in Vietnam market.
The cooperation in the field of IT-Telecom-Communications between Vietnam and the two Asian powers of technology (Japan and Korea)[8], is subject to obvious changes in quality as having a comprehensive, in-depth and strategy at an new height. Korea is the 3rd largest trading partner and the 2nd largest direct investor in Vietnam. Particularly in the first 6 months of 2015, Korea took the lead with a total registered investment capital, new and additional, being 1,52 billion USD, accounting for 27,7% of total FDI in Vietnam.
The focus of the comprehensive cooperation period will be promoting cooperation, fostering business investment, creating favorable conditions for business telecommunications and information technology of the two countries to further strengthen direct contact with each other, not only to share information and identify business partnership opportunities, but also cooperate in training human resources.
For foreign aid, Korea ranks 2nd among foreign ODA providers for Vietnam with more than $130 million in 35 projects over the last 20 years.
For social ties, over 100 000 Vietnamese, including 65 000 workers, are living in Korea, while about 100 000 Koreans are living in Vietnam. More optimistic still, over 30 municipalities from each country are bound with brotherhood.
For education and vocational training, Korea has built many vocational schools, including an IT college in Da Nang, transfer of know-how in IT and high-tech industry. Korean studies in Vietnam strongly develops with approximately 100 professors at ten universities (about 2,000 students). In Korea, four universities have offered Vietnamese studies. Vietnam learns from Korean models of university system and management. Seoul National University, Chosun University are good examples of higher education modernization.
In the next three years, Vietnam and South Korea will strengthen the exchange of teachers, students and provide scholarships for students.
According to the Cooperation Agreement on education and training signed by the Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Education and Training Pham Vu Luan[9] and the Korean Deputy Minister of Education Kim Young-sik in Seoul on May 30, 2015, the two sides pledged to exchange content of textbooks, to carry out collaborative research, to share experiences between colleges, technical and vocational training institutions. Vietnam students are highly appreciated for their academic and research achievements. Korean universities’ faculties of Vietnamese studies attract a huge number of students thanks to many opportunities available for work after graduation, mostly employed in the Korean companies to invest into Vietnam.
As far as cultural exchange is concerned, as mentioned earlier, with historical and cultural background in Confucianism, Koreans and Vietnamese have found no obstacles to promoting cultural exchanges. As for cooperative programs on culture, they are getting diversified in forms and enriched in content. Since the Agreement on cultural cooperation between the two governments was signed in 1993, cultural and education exchanges between Vietnam and Korea have bustlingly taken place under various other agreements of exchanges in the fields of culture, arts, exhibition, art tours etc. In addition to frequent exchanges of traditional and contemporary performances and exhibitions, there is widespread enthusiasm for Korean pop-culture, or Hallyu, among Vietnamese youth. Today, more than 70% of foreign TV programs in Vietnam are from Korea.
For regional and global issues, since Vietnam joined ASEAN in 1995, Vietnam has successfully held the rotating presidency of ASEAN twice and has already hosted important summits of ASEAN, ASEAN+3, APEC, ASEM and EAS. Also during President Truong Tan Sang’s visit to Korea in 2014, the two countries agreed to expand their cooperation on major global issues, such as sustainable development, climate change, nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction, anti-terrorism, the maintenance of peace and stability and the freedom of navigation in the waters in East Asia.
In terms of tourism, Vietnam is also an attractive destination for Korean tourists. Korea ranks fifth in the market of foreign tourists coming to Vietnam. In fact, the number of Korean tourists visiting Vietnam rises by 30% per year on average. In 2014, almost 600,000 Korean tourists visited Vietnam.
Miracle changes have taken place within only 23 years of cooperation, leading to a breakthrough in Vietnam-Korea relations, bearing sweet fruits for the peoples of the two nations. Bilateral economic relations between Korea and Vietnam have attained fast-paced development thanks not only to their geographic proximity, similarities in terms of culture, history, etc., but also to the active efforts and effective support of the Korean government to contribute to the improvements of economic infrastructure and investment environment in Vietnam, to boost a comprehensive strategic partnership to establish a solid foundation for mutually beneficial collaboration.
Practical cooperation in recent years has showed that both Vietnam and Korea are important partners and sincere friends. Both countries have strategic interests in common with lots of potentials. Expansion of cooperation and strengthening of friendship are in line with the fundamental long-term interests of the two peoples, acting as a positive factor for peace, stability and development of the region.
Moreover, 'Korean wave (Hallyu, 한류, 韓流)'[10] has huge impacts, ranging from East to West, Asia to Europe, to Africa, America, but the deepest impacts can be found in Vietnam, China and Japan, for such reasons as:
The cultural similarities abound in Asia. Vietnam, China and Japan bear similar humanities, which leads to easy receptiveness of Korean TV series deeply engraved with humanities and imbued with Asian national identities. The influence of Confucianism (孔教) (or Nho Giáo 儒教) and its values, its morals still exist in these countries, and when Korean TV series successfully exploit these Asian values, they hit right in the feels of Asian audiences. The two Korean typical TV series are melodrama and historic series mainly attached to family stories and everyday life which are so familiar to audience. With happy ending, the good defeating the bad, these TV series’ morals fascinate Asian and East Asian people who share the principles of Confucianism, Southeast Asian people who strongly believe in the concept of karma (karmic cycle), transmigration of souls, reincarnation due to the influence of Buddhism and Hinduism.
Furthermore, Korea had been a small and poor country with a backward agriculture, like Southeast Asian countries before it leaped into a modern industrialized country, a society of high-tech information only within over 4 decades. This mode of “compressed modernity” of Korea is extremely attractive to Southeast Asian region.
In the process of modernizing the country, Korea still preserve the value of its Asian culture, mobilizing these values into dynamics for economic development and political reform. Southeast Asian residents can find these images of Korean modern cities "exotic", but at the same time find traditional ideals greatly familiar. Therefore, the mode of Korean development satisfies both the needs of wealth, material prosperity and of ethical spiritual values [Hien, Phan Thi Thu (2008)].
To look forward ahead, some measures to consolidate and boost Vietnam-Korea comprehensive cooperation must be taken into serious consideration of the entire nations
Vietnam and Korea focus their resources to implement action programs that will boost cooperation in all fields, ranging from economics, trade and investment, education, culture to non-traditional security issues and adaptation to challenges such as climate change, disaster management, trans-national crimes and maritime security and safety, including piracy. Among measures on:
1. Cooperating on political and security issues 2. Strengthening the Foundation of Comprehensive Economic Cooperation 3. Bridging the Development Gap among ASEAN Member Countries and Supporting ASEAN's Efforts for Regional Integration 4. Strengthening ASEAN Competitiveness 5. Enhancing Mutual Understandings through Social and Cultural Exchange 6. Expanding Cooperation in Addressing Global Issues 7. Fostering regional and international cooperation 8. Fostering East Asia Cooperation
concrete actions and initiatives in cultural exchange, education in general, higher education in particular should be given high importance.
To ensure the effective and timely implementation of cooperation programs, all educational institutions are suggested to a) promote the efficiency and coherence of educational cooperation policies regarding ASEAN-Korea network, strengthen the network within ASEAN and the ASEAN-Korea network, and examine the possibility of establishing a channel for regular dialogue with the participation of ASEAN leaders; university leaders; leaders from the Academy of Korean Studies, from the Korean Research Institute; etc. b) create an educational environment that fosters the improvement of IT capacity in ASEAN nations, to assist students of ASEAN nations so that they can complete their undergraduate programs, as well as pursue master's/post-graduate studies; c) promote ASEAN and Korean Studies:
+ expanding Korean research programs in ASEAN universities, holding training programs by Korean language experts in ASEAN nations and supporting the development of Korean language teaching materials; + providing scholarship for ASEAN teachers to study Korean language and fellowship opportunities for ASEAN students majoring in Korean Studies; + providing necessary support in the establishment, operation, and activities of the centers for Korean Studies in each of ASEAN nations; + promoting mutual understanding between ASEAN and Korea: enhancing opportunities for the participation of Korean students in the ASEAN Studies Program; + carry out workshops, joint research and training, and exchange of fellowships with the ASEAN University Network (AUN); + among many others.
For culture, educational institutions need to actively and continuously strengthen people-to-people exchanges in the fields of culture, media, education, arts and so on; especially intensifying regional links and connectivity as well as narrowing the development gap through the deepening of knowledge on both nations’ rich cultural heritage, encourage mutual understanding and awareness among the peoples of Vietnam and Korea by introducing Korean culture and the Korean language to Vietnamese people and by supporting the cultural and public relations activities of Vietnam. Concrete activities should include a) reciprocal holding of exhibitions and cultural performances; b) exchanges of experiences and information by holding workshops and networking the professionals in this area; c) exchanges of popular culture through instruments such as films, TV programmes and print media; and d) preservation of cultural heritage: strengthen joint research on the preservation and conservation of cultural heritage; support for capacity building of ASEAN experts in the field of cultural heritage preservation.
The risk forecast, analysis and consultant division under the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) – an affiliated institution of The Economist (UK) on June 1st said Vietnam-Korea bilateral relations is heading towards a brighter promising outlook, especially in the period 2015-2019[11]
In the next 23 years, Vietnam-Korean Relations will not continue to grow as the past 23 years. The future development will be in fact not the double of all the development of the past 23 years, not kind of addition of 23 to 23, but rather, it will develop exponentially, i.e. not the 23 plus 23, but the 23 multiplied by 23. Twenty three years from now, with the momentum of this fast-paced relationship, according to the strong will of both nations’ leaders and to the aspirations of the two peoples, Vietnam and Korea will definitely be twin brothers, joining hands to become powerful nations in the world.
With positive outlooks and outcomes, with the gained cooperation achievements, ASEAN and Korea in general, Vietnam and Korea in particular, with hands tightly joint, will certainly become a strong impetus of the multilateral ties where our commitment today will be the solid foundation to further develop collaboration among the members of the ASEAN-Korea Community.
To ensure all-round and profound participation, today’s Symposium displays a forum for mutual understanding and sharing among the elite worlds for the development of the ASEAN-Korea community, especially emphasizing the crucial role of Vietnam-Korea relationship. In this globalized, cross-cultural world, today’s Symposium indeed serves as a bridge for the peace-loving scholars to be incorporated into a global extraordinary phenomenon – ASEAN-Korea action breakthrough. In this light, our University commits itself to be one of the global research powers in Korean Studies and important partners in the effort to bridge and cement the ASEAN-Korea block. I hope, with our potentials and capacities, all of the academicians present here today can enhance our joint position as world leaders to contribute to the development and co-prosperity of the ASEAN-Korean Community.
references(TOWARDS THE COMPREHENSIVE FLOURISHMENT OF VIETNAM-KOREA RELATIONS)
각주
- ↑ Trang, Bach Thi Ngoc (2014). Similarities of Vietnam and South Korea – Linking to the Strategy Cooperation Partnership and Its Future Direction. International Journal of Social Sciences and Management, ISSN 2091-2986, Published by SEM-Biotech Publishing. Retrieved from the worldwide web: http://nepjol.info/index.php/IJSSM/issue/archive
- ↑ Chiao Chih (Giao Chi), Chiu Chao (Cuu Chau), and Jen Nan (Nhat Nam) are present-day Northern Central region and North Vietnam.
- ↑ Joon-woo Park, (2012). Korea and Vietnam: the Bilateral Relations. Keynote speech at the 4th Annual Koret Conference on Korea and Vietnam: The National experiences and foreign Policies of Middle Powers. Stanford University.
- ↑ Joon-woo Park, (2012). Korea and Vietnam: the Bilateral Relations. Keynote speech at the 4th Annual Koret Conference on Korea and Vietnam: The National experiences and foreign Policies of Middle Powers. Stanford University.
- ↑ South Korea and Vietnam sign free Trade Agreement. Posted on: May 6,2015. Retrieved August 2015, from the World Wide Web: http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_business/690002.html, Song Kyung-hwa (staff reporter)
- ↑ Korea’s Investments into Vietnam in 2015 (Hàn Quốc đầu tư vào Việt Nam trong năm 2015). Retrieved August 2015, from the World Wide Web: http://www.korea.info.vn/2015/03/han-quoc-dau-tu-vao-viet-nam-trong-nam.html
- ↑ VKFTA (Vietnam Korea bilateral Free trade agreement) attracting Korean capital to Vietnam. Retrieved August 2015 from the World Wide Web: http://www.ipcphuyen.gov.vn/Tin-tuc/Tin-chi-tiet/tabid/134/newid/G68T26161812166221/topic/H68T11211091871596/language/en-US/Default.aspx
- ↑ Vietnam’s special attraction to investments from Korea, Japan (Việt Nam đặc biệt hấp dẫn đầu tư từ Hàn Quốc, Nhật Bản). Posted on: July 12, 2015. Retrieved August 2015, from the World Wide Web: http://www.korea.info.vn/2015/03/han-quoc-dau-tu-vao-viet-nam-trong-nam.html
- ↑ Vietnam and Korea signed the Cooperation Agreement on Education (Việt Nam - Hàn Quốc ký Hiệp định Hợp tác Giáo dục và Đào tạo). Posted on: August 5, 2015. Retrieved August 2015 from the World Wide Web: http://asean.mofa.gov.vn/vi/vnemb.vn/tinkhac/ns050601145139.
- ↑ The causes leading to Korean Wave. Published September 2013. Retrieved August 2015, from the World Wide Web: http://cks.inas.gov.vn/index.php?newsid=351
- ↑ Vietnam-Korea relations with promising future. Retrieved August 2015, from the World Wide Web: http://nguyentandung.org/quan-he-viet-nam-han-quoc-co-tuong-lai-phat-trien-day-hua-hen.html.
