Questions/Answers

Korea has suffered from numerous wars and incursions because of its geographic proximity to the world powers. In the wake of the Japanese colonial era (1910 to 1945) and the Korean War (1950 to 1952), it entered the Vietnam War at the request of the U.S. The Tiger Forces of Korea formed in Yongsan-gu, Seoul were sent to Qui Nhon, Vietnam in October 1965, engaging in a total of 175,107 battles. The Forces returned to Yongsan in March 1973, after 7 years and 5 months. The Vietnamese, who were scarred by the war like the Koreans, erected a “monument of hatred” toward the Korean military in Qui Nhon. Qui Nhon is a city, where the Tiger Forces of Korea were stationed, that witnessed an enormous tragedy of war as the most ferocious battlefield. Today’s Vietnam, however, is Korea’s partner seeking to continue the mutually beneficial relations as Korea’s 4th largest trading partner and most popular investment destination. In addition, Vietnamese women account for the largest percentage of foreign brides in Korea, and the annual visitors from the two countries to each other’s amount to a million. It was imperative for the two countries to get rid of the bad feelings through a mutual exchange initiative. Furthermore, Yongsan needed the right partner with whom it can heal scars left by war and move on as it had painful memories from the Mongolian and Japanese militaries. Against this backdrop, after the two countries established relations in 1992, Yongsan-gu accepted the proposal from Vietnam War veterans in the area and sent a delegation to Qui Nhon, which led the signing of a sisterhood agreement in the following year. Then numerous projects as part of a mutual exchange initiatives followed, including financially supporting students from Vietnam with excellent academic performance, treating more than 2,600 people by establishing Cataract Cure Center, and building houses for homeless people and Lai Daihan families. In addition, Yongsan founded the Qui Nhon Sejong Institute that teaches Korean to more than 200 Vietnamese students a year free of charge to meet the increasing demand for Korean language due to the Korean Wave. As a result, the Vietnamese began to let out the leftover bad feelings toward Korean people little by little, which eventually led Qui Nhon to change the name of “the monument of hatred” to “memorial stone.” The initiative is a path that the two countries must take to heal the scars on the two peoples although it requires a very cautious approach.

To get rid of the bad feelings from the Vietnam War, the two local governments, Yongsan-gu and Qui Nhon, signed a sisterhood agreement to maintain their cooperative relationship through mutual exchange. This agreement has led to the establishment of Yongsan International Exchange Office in Qui Nhon, scholarship programs for excellent students, establishment of Cataract Cure Center and training for dispatched medical teams, and House of Love Project for homeless and Lai Daihan families in Vietnam. To ensure the co-prosperity of the two regions through economic and cultural exchanges, the Sejong Institute was founded to teach the Vietnamese the Korean language, and tourist attractions were developed by naming a street after the partner city’s name. Furthermore, the two local governments have contributed to boosting the local economy as well as promoting goodwill by preserving and sharing each country’s tangible and intangible cultural assets, holding tourist information sessions, and providing business people with advice on investment. They have also launched humanitarian assistance projects, involving the public and private sectors, the industry, and academia, and forward-looking exchange projects, which is expected to demonstrate how cooperation between two local governments can lead to both governmental and non-governmental exchange.

Qui Nhon is a city, where the Tiger Forces of Korea were stationed, that witnessed an enormous tragedy of war as the most ferocious battlefield. The initiative between the two local governments was designed to serve as a stepping stone for a future-oriented relationship between the two countries by settling old conflict. This objective led them to sign a sisterhood agreement and launch various projects together. Since 2011, Yongsan has financially supported excellent students from Qui Nhon in cooperation with Sookmyung Women’s University and conducted the House of Love Project for homeless and Lai Daihan families Qui Nhon, Binh Dinh Province. This project led to the construction of 15 houses from 2013 to 2017 in collaboration with Saemaeul Movement Yongsan Branch, businesses in the district, and Yongsan Chamber of Commerce, improving the quality of life for the poor. In addition, Yongsan has treated Qui Nhon residents suffering from cataract, number one cause of blindness in Vietnam, by sending a Korean medical team to Qui Nhon in cooperation with Soon Chun Hyang Seoul Hospital. The number of cataract patients treated by this project had reached 2,600 by December 2017. It also built the Cataract Cure Center in Qui Nhon with medical devices provided by businesses operating in Yongsan-gu. Furthermore, a medical team of Soon Chun Hyang Seoul Hospital has visited Qui Nhon to treat serious cases and provided training sessions for medical personnel of Qui Nhon Hospital twice a year since 2014. Yongsan has also sent medicine and medical supplies for cataract to Qui Nhon on a regular basis. In addition, working with Asan Medical Center, Yongsan has invited the medical personnel of Hospital Quy Nhon City to provide them with the opportunity to build up their professional experience for three months. Yongsan-gu Office also signed an MoU with the Medical Leader Council and Qui Nhon in October 2016 to enhance exchange and cooperation in the area of healthcare between the two local governments. This has contributed to a more solid foundation for the exchange initiative. Yongsan went on to become the first local government to establish an International Exchange Office with the aim of developing practical exchange projects. It also opened Qui Nhon-Sejong Institute Korean School within the International Exchange Office by exchanging officials from each of the two local governments on a regular basis. The Korean School, opened in Yongsan International Exchange Office in Qui Nhon in April 2016, led to the opening of 6 Korean courses, 2 for high school students and 4 for adults, through an MoU with the King Sejong Institute Foundation in September 2016. As a result, more than 200 Vietnamese a year have enjoyed the opportunity to learn the Korean language free of charge, and this School has been in operation as “Qui Nhon Sejong Institute.” As for education exchange, Binh Dinh Province, Yongsan-gu, and Hanyang University signed an MoU to support excellent students from Binh Dinh Province and promote academic exchange between universities of the countries. Yongsan is also contributing to the local economy. Modeling after Seoul’s decision to name one of Gangnam streets Teheran-ro in commemoration of the visit of Teheran mayor of Iran in 1977 in the middle of the construction boom in the Middle East, Yongsan named a street Qui Nhon-gil, and Qui Nhon named a street Yongsan Street. Both streets are lined with sculptures celebrating the bilateral exchange, places to relax, and landscape lightings, serving as a tourist attraction and boosting the local economy. Qui Nhon Sejong Institute,established to meet the increasing demand for Korean language due to the Korean Wave, has benefited more than 1,000 students thus far. This result,in combination of other welfare projects, has helped the Vietnamese to let out the old bad feelings toward Korea, eventually leading Qui Nhon to change the name of “the monument of hatred” to “memorial stone".

The two local governments, namely Yongsan-gu Office of Korea’s Seoul Metropolitan Government and Qui Nhon, Binh Dinh Province, Vietnam, have pursued their active and mutually beneficial exchange and cooperation by dispatching public officials to each other. The two local governments are the main implementer of this initiative maintaining good cooperative relationship with one another. To build on the progresses that have been made on such friendly exchanges and cooperation and to pursue more practical exchanges and cooperation in the education, culture, economy and medicine areas, Yongsan-gu Office established Yongsan International Exchange Office in Qui Nhon, Vietnam, which helps better pursue the exchanges and cooperation between the two local governments by providing administrative supports to humanitarian projects, offering Korean language classes, distributing Korean culture, and put together projects that commemorate the meaningful bilateral exchanges. Yongsan-gu is in charge of all projects of this initiative as the main implementer and closely cooperate with various private organizations, businesses and universities to move this initiative forward. For examples, “House of Love” Project which provides houses to underprivileged families and poor Lai Daihan families with no house is led by Yongsan-gu and sponsored by Saemaeul Movement Yongsan Branch, Najin Industry, International Lions Association’s 354-A Branch and Yongsan-gu Chamber of Commerce. When it comes to the medical support project, the project was made possible thanks to the supports from Soon Chun Hyang Seoul Hospital, Amore Pacific, Woojeong Lions Club, and Western T&D. The project supporting international student from Qui Nhon is supported by Sookmyung Women’s University and Hanyang University, and the Korean language class project was put together by the memorandum of understanding with Korea Sejong Institute Foundation. The size of the population directly affected by this initiative includes 15 families who received houses through the House of Love Project, 7 excellent Qui Nhon students who received support for their education abroad, some 2,600 patients who received cataract treatment support, and some 1,000 students who have attended the Korean language classes. When it comes to the project that dispatches Korean medical professionals to Qui Nhon Hospital, we can say that the size of the population affected by this project is as large as 1.5 million residents of Qui Nhon city and the whole population of Yongsan-gu, considering the benefits gained from this project including advanced professional medical education, provision of medicines without charge, KRW 150 million worth of medical equipment for cataract treatment, local investment advisory services to businesses, and boosted tourism. Looking at the big picture, this initiative can bring about intangible benefits of healing the the Vietnamese people’s scars of war, by pursuing exchanges of humanitarian supports between the two nations and creating friendly feelings and mood towards Korea.

The so-called Lai Daihans, half Korean and half Vietnamese who were born due to the dispatch of the Korean army in the Vietnam War and Korean workers dispatched to Vietnam, still live in discrimination. However, even the number of such Lai Daihans has not been identified to date. While the Korean government estimated the number to be around 1,500, the number in local Vietnam is assumed to be between minimum 5,000 and maximum 30,000. The ‘House of Love’ project, which is part of the exchange initiatives, is to improve the situations faced by women in Lai Daihan families. Also, the 2,600 Vietnamese cataract patients who received surgery with the help from the university hospital and businesses based in Yongsan, were largely female patients without financial ability. Yongsan-gu has continued to provide medical support to the marginalized population in Vietnam by continuously working on its cataract project, through which the cataract treatment techniques have been passed on, providing support in terms of cataract treatment equipment, as well as establishing the Cataract Cure Center. Yongsan will continue its efforts in providing humanitarian support to the poorest and most vulnerable in Qui Nhon, Vietnam. Such efforts made by Yongsan is contributing to the continuous development of the friendly relationship between the two nations.

Qui Nhon is a city deeply scarred by the Vietnam War. Instead of conducting standardized exchange programs, Yongsan-gu focuses on healing the pain from the history between the two countries and sharing best practices promoting the co-prosperity of the two cities. While it is very challenging to address the strained relations between the two countries at the government level, exchange initiative between local governments could be a reasonable, actionable approach to better bilateral relations and stronger local economies. Cultural exchange is one effective approach given the Korean Wave sweeping Vietnam. A case in point is the Sejong Institute that teaches Korean to more than 200 students a year free of charge. To conduct a variety of projects, Yongsan-gu identified potential beneficiaries of the projects, such as hospitals, welfare organizations, and universities, by visiting Qui Nohn.It also set a good example by employing a public-private cooperation model in the process. While there are many cases where private organizations or individual businesses have carried out reciprocal projects in the poorest or developing countries, what Yongsan is doing now is a completely new form of international exchange as it involves the cooperation between the public and private sectors, the industry, and the academic world to promote administrative, economic, and cultural exchanges, ultimately aiming to heal the scars on the two peoples left by war. It is particularly noteworthy that a local government leads such a pioneering form of international cooperation. The initiative can be classed as official development assistance(ODA) basically. There have been many ODA projects at the government level, but not so many at the local level, which makes it all the more meaningful that Yongsan-gu has been carrying out projects with donations rather than government finances. Specifically, the healthcare project was supported by businesses operating in the district and university hospitals, and the House of Love Project was carried out using donations from local residents.

This exchange initiative basically corresponds to an ODA. Numerous ODA initiatives are already in play on a national level, but Yongsan-gu’s initiative is all the more meaningful in that it was driven without the support of national resources or budget. Medical projects were carried out, sponsored by businesses and university hospitals based in Yongsan, while the ‘House of Love’ project was implemented based on the donation made by local citizens of Yongsan. Nevertheless, all sustainable development requires cooperative partnership amongst all stakeholders. This is precisely why Yongsan-gu does not aim for a single party to receive all the benefits. Through medical support and opportunities to learn the Korean language, the bilateral relationship becomes stronger, through which tourists may be attracted and may lead to the revitalization of the local economies. Strengthening of the bilateral relationship helps Korean companies advance into the Vietnamese market and the tourist industry grows further with more Vietnamese people visiting Korea. Yongsan is making sure that based on such social capital generated through the virtuous circle, the benefit is shared with the people of Vietnam. Other local governments or countries can fully learn and adapt such outstanding exchange initiatives. If entities, each with different resources, can carry out exchanges, the benefit from such exchange may reach those whom the public services have not yet been made available. Furthermore, the Supporting Education Abroad project allows talented youths to leave a positive impression to each other’s countries, which in turn may serve as a cornerstone to further solidifying the bilateral relationship. This is a case in point where countries with different social and economic environment can still enjoy a mutually beneficial relationship based on exchange and cooperation.

First, House of Love Project that supports the underprivileged without house. This project targets underprivileged Qui Nhon families and Lai Daihan families living in the Phuoc My Commune region of Qui Nhon, Binh Dinh Province, Vietnam. Under this project, Qui Nhon take care of the land and infrastructure for the project and Yongsan-gu Office builds the houses. The expenses for the construction of houses are covered by the revenues gained from and donation provided to Itaewon Global Village Festival. As for the construction works, Saemaeul Movement Yongsan Branch, International Lions Association’s 354-A Branch, Yongsan-gu Chamber of Commerce, and Najin Industry provide support in terms of manpower and cooperation. The House of Love Project has built and donated a total of 15 houses so far, including two houses in 2013, four in 2014, two in 2015, four in 2016 and three in 2017. Second, medical support project. With a goal to treat the leading cause of blindness in Vietnam, cataract, Yongsan-gu Office’s official business partners, Amore Pacific, Soon Chun Hyang Seoul Hospital, Woojeong Lions Club, and Western T&D have provided their support and finally established Cataract Cure Center in 2013. KRW 150 million worth of medical equipment was purchased as part of the support, and starting from 2014, Korean medical professionals have paid a visit twice a year to Qui Nhon to treat patients in critical conditions and to train medical personnel there. Thanks to the medical support project, a total of some 2,600 cataract patients in Qui Nhon, Vietnam have so far received treatment as of June 2017. In addition, in October 2016, the medical leader council, Yongsan-gu Office and Qui Nhon signed a memorandum of understanding for friendly exchanges to establish a mutual exchange system. Third, the Korean language class project through Yongsan International Exchange Office. Under the memorandum of understanding for exchange and cooperation between Yongsan-gu Office and Qui Nhon in 2016 (on November 11, 2016), Yongsan International Exchange Office was established and was the first time for a basic-level local government to do so. This office helped pursue exchange and cooperation projects in various areas such as education, culture, economy and medicine. The expenses to operate the office and accompanying facilities were supported by Qui Nhon City, and through this office, the Korean language classes were opened, sharing and disseminating the Korean culture to Vietnam. Specifically, Korean language class began in 2016 under the name of “Qui Nhon Sejong class” pursuant to the memorandum of understanding with Korea Sejong Institute Foundation. The class educated not only Korean language but also Korean culture. There are a total of 6 classes: 2 classes for high school students and 4 classes for adults. It is estimated that some 200 people receive benefits of Korean language learning from this project every year. Fourth, support project for excellent international students from Qui Nhon and other education cooperation between the two local governments. Since 2011 this support project has selected one Qui Nhon student with excellent competency every year and provided financial supports for tuition, dormitory, etc. so that the selected student can study at Sookmyung Women's University. A total of 6 students of Qui Nhon have received the supports, and one graduate among them joined a Korean company and currently works in Vietnam, serving as a quasi-diplomat between Korea and Vietnam. Furthermore, Binh Dinh Province, Yongsan-gu Office, and Hanyang University signed an MOU to push ahead with 2016 international student support and academic exchange program between universities of the two countries in terms of scholarship and education cooperation, and for this, events promoting and explaining scholarship to international student has been held from 2016.

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This exchange initiative basically corresponds to an ODA. Numerous ODA initiatives are already in play on a national level, but Yongsan-gu’s initiative is all the more meaningful in that it was driven without the support of national resources or budget. Medical projects were carried out, sponsored by businesses and university hospitals based in Yongsan, while the ‘House of Love’ project was implemented based on the donation made by local citizens of Yongsan. Nevertheless, all sustainable development requires cooperative partnership amongst all stakeholders. This is precisely why Yongsan-gu does not aim for a single party to receive all the benefits. Through medical support and opportunities to learn the Korean language, the bilateral relationship becomes stronger, through which tourists may be attracted and may lead to the revitalization of the local economies. Strengthening of the bilateral relationship helps Korean companies advance into the Vietnamese market and the tourist industry grows further with more Vietnamese people visiting Korea. Yongsan is making sure that based on such social capital generated through the virtuous circle, the benefit is shared with the people of Vietnam. Other local governments or countries can fully learn and adapt such outstanding exchange initiatives. If entities, each with different resources, can carry out exchanges, the benefit from such exchange may reach those whom the public services have not yet been made available. Furthermore, the Supporting Education Abroad project allows talented youths to leave a positive impression to each other’s countries, which in turn may serve as a cornerstone to further solidifying the bilateral relationship. This is a case in point where countries with different social and economic environment can still enjoy a mutually beneficial relationship based on exchange and cooperation.

Sustainable development requires all stakeholders to come together and forge partnership in order for the goals to be met. The most important factor in a successful and sustainable development would be that all stakeholders need to work hand-in-hand. This initiative, by nature, is a welfare initiative and not a project aimed at generating profit. As such, all of the projects are the outcome of cooperation from the sponsors, all of which were directed towards providing humanitarian support to Qui Nhon in Vietnam. Tremendous amount of work and effort went into groundwork and planning, necessary in facilitating cooperation from businesses, university, and hospitals located within the Yongsan-gu. Moreover, separate meetings were arranged with businesses and other sponsors who were willing to participate in the initiative. To this end, promotional activities were carried out on an on-going basis. The final decision for such businesses and sponsors to take part in the initiative was only made after continued attempts to persuade them. Also, given the conditions surrounding Yongsan-gu, a local government, time and efforts were invested in having the local citizens and the local council understand the objective and importance of such welfare projects. In addition, due to different legal and institutional systems in the two countries, some of the processes for support required more attention and at times were impossible to be processed immediately. However, thanks to the active support expressed by Qui Nhon and the strong cooperative ties between the two local governments, Yongsan-gu was able to launch these humanitarian projects without disruption.

The exchange initiative jointly undertaken by Yongsan-gu of Korea and Qui Nhon of Vietnam is one that provides medical and housing aid to the poorest and the most vulnerable, with the support flowing from a country with the capacity to provide support. Now the two local governments are not merely providing services to each other, but have become cooperating partners that share values through such exchange of services. Moving forward, the challenge that remains is to improve and innovate the overall process of service provision so as to embed the values and stories of the citizens onto the public service. If we work to spread these sustainable best practices around the world, we would be able to open up a new chapter of the global era free from conflict and antagonism.

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The exchange initiative between Yongsan-gu of Korea and Qui Nhon of Vietnam, based on the efforts to activate the administrative aspect of the local government, won the 2017 local government administrative award (hosted by the Ministry of Interior and Safety and Korea Research Institute for Local Administration). In 2016, Yongsan-gu was selected as an ‘exemplary district’ in Seoul Special Metropolitan City’s assessment of ‘Seoul, A City to Walk In’ and was awarded a grant of KRW 50 million. This award was given out by the Seoul Special Metropolitan City to an autonomous district. Yongsan won the award for its contribution to solidifying the bilateral ties and promoting tourism in the Itaewon Special Tourist Zone, where it set up a Qui Nhon-themed road. In addition, major newspapers and media have covered the humanitarian aid and exchange initiatives carried out by Yongsan-gu. As a result of this project, a friendly atmosphere toward Korea was established among the Qui Nhon officials and the local citizens. Moreover, Vietnamese students who received financial support through the study abroad program have entered to work for Korean conglomerates and are actively leading the efforts in various exchanges between the two countries.

First, the establishment of Cataract Cure Center for treatment of cataract which is the no.1 cause of blindness in Vietnam. With strong UV rays, Vietnam has a significant number of cataract patients. In March 2012, Yongsan-gu together with Soon Chun Hyang Seoul Hospital visited Qui Nhon to discuss cooperation project on medical and healthcare. At the time, local hospitals in Qui Nhon suffered from a chronic shortage of beds – with a capacity of only 300 beds, they had to accommodate 550 patients. There were only 80 doctors and nurses to deal with almost 700 outpatients a day on average. After coming back to Korea, the Yongsan delegation with relevant medical professionals began to come up with measures to fix the troubled medical situation of Qui Nhon. For the project, Yongsan-gu received the KRW 200 million sponsor from Amore Pacific headquartered in Yongsan-gu and ophthalmology equipment companies also located in Yongsan-gu also provided their helps, thanks to which Yonsan-gu could reduce the budget from KRW 300 million to KRW 200 million for buying telescopes, artificial lenses, surgical instruments, etc, for cataract treatment. Since March 2013, the center have treated around 2,600 cataract patients by receiving supports from Yongsan-gu’s partner businesses. Via hosting visits from Soon Chun Hyang Seoul Hospital twice a year, this project also shares advanced medical knowledge and provide medicines to Qui Nhon hospitals. Yonsan-gu also built a sustainable system to make sure that this project doesn’t end as a one-time event. By signing MoU among Medical Leader Council, Yongsan-gu, and Qui Non in October 2016, a system for mutual exchange was established. Regular workshops and meetings are also serving as a ground for sustainable development of the project. Second, building a ‘House of Love’ and supporting the Lai Daihan households and families without houses. With land and infrastructure provided by Qui Nhon, houses are built by Yongsan-gu with support from Saemaeul Movement Yongsan Branch, International Lions Association’s 354-A Branch, Yongsan Chamber of Commerce and Najin Industry. Budget for the construction was covered by profits and donation came from Itaewon Global Village Festival, which is a representative festival of Seoul. Since the festival is an annual event supported by voluntary work of the residents of Yongsan-gu, this way of contribution is considered meaningful and sustainable at the same time. Third, running Yongsan International Exchange Office for administrative assistance. Yongsan-gu established the branch office for the first time as a local government in order for a successful execution of the initiative. The branch office thoroughly manages the exchange initiative of the two local governments with two public officials dispatched and stationed. It carries out the work on education, healthcare, and tourism, operates Korean language classes, shares Korean culture as well as supports Korean companies and entrepreneurs to expand their business into Vietnam. We can say that Yongsan International Exchange Office has successfully increased the sustainability of the initiative. Lastly, fostering global talent through educational, cultural and administrative exchanges. Despite the rapid growth of its economy, Vietnam lacks talent nurturing system to keep pace with such rapid development. Yongsan-gu in collaboration with Sookmyung Women's University has helped students in Qui Nhon to study abroad. Yongsan-gu also has run Korean language classes and held university promotion fairs at local high schools, leading the nurturing of good talents who will bridge Korea and Vietnam going forward and make our friendly exchanges sustainable.

To date, cataract operation was performed for 2,600 Vietnamese patients, with the help from the university hospital and companies based in Yongsan. Also, various medical support have been provided to the marginalized patients in Vietnam through means such as the transfer of cataract treatment techniques, provision of equipment for cataract treatment, and the opening of the Cataract Cure Center. With the support from organizations and companies located in Yongsan, the ‘House of Love’ project continued every year for homeless families in Qui Nhon and other Lai Daihan families. Continued efforts have been made to provide humanitarian support to the super-poor and the vulnerable in Qui Nhon. The Yongsan International Exchange Office served as a venue to teach the Korean culture and Hangeul, and spread the Korean wave, which are highly popular in Vietnam. This in turn strengthened the friendly relations between the two countries and served as a foundation for the bilateral relationship to develop further, from being the biggest investor and trading partner to one that is more future-oriented. The Yongsan-gu has not pursued a simple and standardized exchange initiative across all of its sister cities. Instead, Yongsan successfully pursued a friendly exchange, fostered talent, and worked on the revitalization of the local economy through internationalization of the cities, which helped both cities to experience mutual growth. As a result of such efforts and activities, the bitter feelings towards Korea for taking part in the Vietnam War slowly faded, which led to the changing of the name of the “monument of hatred” toward the Korean military in Qui Nhon to be called the “Memorial stone.”

Since the establishment of the diplomatic ties with Vietnam in 1992, Korea’s Yongsan-gu established an MOU for sisterhood relationship with Qui Nhon in 1996 which was first suggested by Vietnam war veterans living in Yongsan-gu. Ever since, the two local governments have continued the bilateral exchanges and in 2011, Yongsan-gu Office started to expand the local government level exchanges with Qui Nhon, pursuing the international student support project, House of Love Project (building a total of 15 houses) targeting the poor and Lai Daihan households without house, Korean medical professional dispatch project treating a total of some 2,600 patients (as of December 2017) with cataract (no. 1 cause of blindness in Vietnam), and establishing of Cataract Cure Center in Qui Nhon receiving medical equipment supports from Yongsan-gu partner businesses. It is very meaningful that it was Vietnam war veterans living in Yongsan-gu who first recommended that Korea should start exchanges with Vietnam. These projects could be made possible thanks to the strong will of the mayor of Yongsan-gu Office for humanitarian support, efforts made by public officials dispatched to Vietnam, support and sponsors provided by Yongsan-gu’s hospitals, universities, Yongsan Branch of Saemaeul Leaders’ Council, Yongsan Chamber of Commerce, Lions Club, Najin Industry, Amore Pacific, and other Yongsan-gu partnersbus, and active assistance provided by Yongsan residents who took care of the international students from Qui Nhon.

Sustainable development requires all stakeholders to come together and forge partnership in order for the goals to be met. The most important factor in a successful and sustainable development would be that all stakeholders need to work hand-in-hand. This initiative, by nature, is a welfare initiative and not a project aimed at generating profit. As such, all of the projects are the outcome of cooperation from the sponsors, all of which were directed towards providing humanitarian support to Qui Nhon in Vietnam. Tremendous amount of work and effort went into groundwork and planning, necessary in facilitating cooperation from businesses, university, and hospitals located within the Yongsan-gu. Moreover, separate meetings were arranged with businesses and other sponsors who were willing to participate in the initiative. To this end, promotional activities were carried out on an on-going basis. The final decision for such businesses and sponsors to take part in the initiative was only made after continued attempts to persuade them. Also, given the conditions surrounding Yongsan-gu, a local government, time and efforts were invested in having the local citizens and the local council understand the objective and importance of such welfare projects. In addition, due to different legal and institutional systems in the two countries, some of the processes for support required more attention and at times were impossible to be processed immediately. However, thanks to the active support expressed by Qui Nhon and the strong cooperative ties between the two local governments, Yongsan-gu was able to launch these humanitarian projects without disruption. The exchange initiative jointly undertaken by Yongsan-gu of Korea and Qui Nhon of Vietnam is one that provides medical and housing aid to the poorest and the most vulnerable, with the support flowing from a country with the capacity to provide support. Now the two local governments are not merely providing services to each other, but have become cooperating partners that share values through such exchange of services. Moving forward, the challenge that remains is to improve and innovate the overall process of service provision so as to embed the values and stories of the citizens onto the public service. If we work to spread these sustainable best practices around the world, we would be able to open up a new chapter of the global era free from conflict and antagonism.