South Korea proposes film production partnership with Ho Chi Minh City

On Monday afternoon, Ho Chi Minh City vice-chairman Nguyen Manh Cuong held talks with South Korean Deputy Consul General Kwon Tae Han and his delegation.

Vietnam-South Korea cultural exchange through film

At a meeting with Ho Chi Minh City officials and the city's Department of Culture and Sports, Kwon said the Korean side sees strong potential for cooperation with Vietnam in the creative industries, including filmmaking.

He said that through discussions with South Korean agencies and businesses, the two sides had identified a need to create more opportunities for exchanges and cooperation in creative fields.

The Consulate General of South Korea in Ho Chi Minh City held a roundtable last week with South Korean companies working in film, music and other creative industries.

The companies said the creative industries could make a greater contribution to economic development and workforce training in Ho Chi Minh City.

South Korea's deputy consul general said cooperation between the two countries should go beyond bringing Korean creative products and content to Vietnam. 

Instead, the two sides could jointly create products and bring them to consumers in both markets.

Based on this direction, the Consulate General of South Korea in Ho Chi Minh City plans to hold an economic cooperation forum on the film industry in November, bringing together agencies, associations and businesses from both countries working in film, culture, copyright and content creation.

The forum will provide an opportunity for the two sides to share experience and explore specific areas of cooperation in film and the cultural industries, Kwon said.

He added that Vietnam and South Korea share many cultural similarities, with stories about families, parents, children, siblings and education likely to resonate with audiences in both countries.

"South Korea and Vietnam have many similarities. In the course of cooperation, South Korea has extensive experience in film production and distribution, as well as film promotion," the diplomat said.

He also emphasized the importance of training young people in the film industry and giving them more opportunities to develop careers in the creative industry.

Promoting film co-production

From the city's side, Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy, deputy director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Culture and Sports, said the city and South Korea have carried out various cultural cooperation activities in recent years, particularly in advertising, film, performing arts and music.

Ho Chi Minh City also highly values South Korea's activities related to the Ho Chi Minh City International Film Festival and short-film projects that help train and develop young talent.

The city proposed that the two sides continue exploring high-quality workforce training programs for the cultural industries, including expert exchanges, classes, workshops, short-term courses and in-depth seminars, Thuy said.

The city also proposed promoting a Vietnam-South Korea film co-production mechanism to foster cultural exchange while supporting the promotion and development of the two countries' film markets.

Ho Chi Minh City hopes to expand film exchanges, distribution and screenings to help Vietnamese films reach wider audiences in the South Korean market.

The deputy director also proposed developing a data system to support the film industry.

Ho Chi Minh City already has Vietnamese- and English-language portals providing information on filming locations, film companies, technical services and other production support services.

However, the city said film and cultural industry data remain insufficiently systematized, hoping to receive technology solutions from South Korea to build a scientific, well-structured data system that meets international standards, Thuy said.

Elevating Ho Chi Minh City's cultural industries

Concluding the meeting, vice-chairman Cuong said the city fully supports and strongly endorses proposals to promote cultural development and strengthen exchanges and cooperation between the two sides.

Ho Chi Minh City supports the organization of forums on the creative economy and cultural industries, as well as activities to share experience among localities.

Cuong said the city would work with relevant agencies, particularly cultural and consular authorities, to study the propositions and move quickly to implement areas of cooperation.

"We not only want to promote cooperation in film, but also want to raise the standing of Ho Chi Minh City's cultural industries and connect them with centers and localities that have strengths in this field, thereby creating additional momentum for growth," the vice-chairman said.