Vietnam Phở Festival 2024: Bringing the quintessence of Vietnamese cuisine and agricultural products to the world

Phở (noodle soup) is a typical Vietnamese dish. Not only appearing in all parts of the country in Vietnam, Phở has followed Vietnamese people to all five continents. It has been concluded that "Wherever there are Vietnamese people, there is Phở.".

Not only is Phở a dish imbued with Vietnamese spirit, Phở is also a crystallized product of Vietnam's wet rice civilization. Phở contributes to helping Vietnamese farmers increase their income. From rice grains, Vietnamese people have created many familiar delicacies, such as vermicelli, steamed rice rolls, fine rice vermicelli, and Phở.

Mr. Dao Quyen Truong, Deputy Director representing the Department of Cultural Diplomacy and UNESCO, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that in Vietnam, the Government affirms that cuisine is the tool that we are focusing on and aiming for in cultural diplomacy.

Providing information at the press conference announcing the series of Vietnam Phở Festival 2024 events in South Korea on the afternoon of July 29, Mr. Le The Chu, Editor-in-Chief of Tuoi Tre Newspaper, said that today in Vietnam, it is too easy to find traditional South Korean restaurants. And vice versa, in Korea, it is also too easy to eat Phở, beef vermicelli, or fried spring rolls if wanting. However, not everyone clearly understands the culture behind a traditional dish.

According to Mr. Le The Chu, the first organization of the Vietnam Phở Festival in 2023 in Japan attracted 85,000 people to the festival, creating a spread of the image of Phở as well as Vietnamese cuisine to international friends.

Vietnam Phở Festival 2024 is expected to take place in early October 2024 with the theme "Enjoy Phở, Discover Vietnam," co-organized by Tuoi Tre Newspaper and Saigontourist Group, under the direction of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee. Along with that is the support from the Embassy of Vietnam in Seoul (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency (Ministry of Industry and Trade), Ho Chi Minh City Department of Industry and Trade, Vietnamese Association in South Korea, Vietnamese Business Association in South Korea, etc.

Vietnam Phở Festival 2024 brings together many famous Pho brands from Vietnam, along with some famous Pho brands in Seoul, to serve Korean diners to enjoy. Thereby, helping them understand more about the Vietnamese spirit in famous Vietnamese dishes. It is expected that there will be about 80 Phở stalls and other dishes during the festival.

The organizing committee will arrange spaces for exhibition, cultural experience, tourism, economics, etc., such as Journey of Phở space, Phở Spices space, Phở and Tea space, Phở and Vietnamese Tourism, and Pho and Vietnamese Economy, so that attendees can have a close-up and multi-dimensional view of Vietnam. In addition, there are also performance activities, art exchanges, culinary art exchanges, and folk games on stage and in the festival area.

In particular, there will also be the Business Matching program, creating opportunities to meet and connect economically between businesses of the two countries, focusing on the fields of tourism, agricultural products, spices, etc. It is expected that there will be about 200 businesses from the two countries participating in contact in the program.

"With Vietnam Phở Festival 2024, we hope to introduce to South Korean people unique culinary cultural values and promote the images and economic potential of Vietnam through Phở. Thereby contributing to promoting cultural exchanges and connections as well as economic relations and fostering the friendship between Vietnam and South Korea to become deeper and stronger," said Mr. Le The Chu, Co-Head of the Festival Steering Committee.

Mr. Pham Huy Binh, Chairman of Saigontourist Group and Co-Head of the Festival Steering Committee, said that South Korea is now Vietnam's leading international tourist market and is also a country where a large number of overseas Vietnamese are living and working.

"We hope to bring Phở and other delicious Vietnamese dishes to serve the overseas Vietnamese community and foreigners in South Korea as well as contribute to promoting the quintessence of Vietnamese cuisine to the world, thereby creating a highlight to attract more South Korean tourists to Ho Chi Minh City and Vietnam," said Mr. Pham Huy Binh.

At the bridge point of Seoul Capital (South Korea), Vietnamese Ambassador to South Korea Vu Ho assessed that Phở is a dish that has penetrated deeply into the cultural and social lives of Vietnamese people and that promoting Phở not only stops in Vietnam but also spreads internationally, including South Korea.

According to Ambassador Vu Ho, the Vietnam – South Korea relationship has developed extremely well over the past 30 years. The two countries are comprehensive strategic partners, becoming deeper and broader in all fields, especially economics and culture.

Ambassador Vu Ho hopes that Phở will spread further in South Korea and wishes that every 3 km there will be a Vietnamese Phở restaurant, helping Phở come closer to the lives of South Korean people