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| Park Hang-seo, right, head coach of the Vietnamese national football team, poses with Korea's agriculture minister, Kim Young-rok, after being appointed as a promotions ambassador for Korea's agricultural products, Feb. 27. / Courtesy of Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs |
By Yoon Ja-young
Park Hang-seo, a Korean football manager currently in charge of the Vietnamese national football team, will be promoting Korean agricultural products abroad.
The agriculture ministry appointed Park as a promotions ambassador for exports of agricultural products last week. The former member of Guus Hiddink's coaching staff at the 2002 World Cup when Korea made it to the semifinals has risen as a national hero in Vietnam after leading the national team to the final of the 2018 Asian Football Confederation U23 Championship in January. He was awarded the Labor Medal Third Class from the Vietnamese government, on top of huge support from all levels of society there.
The agriculture ministry noted that Park is a highly creditable celebrity who can connect with all Vietnamese, regardless of age group or gender. He will promote export items such as ginseng and strawberries.
"Just like the miracle in which he pulled up the Vietnamese football team to among the top in Asia, I expect that Park will start a new hallyu for Korean food among Vietnamese, making Vietnam a new growth engine for Korea's agricultural exports," Agriculture Minister Kim Young-rok said. Hallyu refers to the popularity of Korean pop culture abroad.
Park said that Korean foods such as red ginseng and kimchi have been helping him stay healthy amid his busy schedule.
"As a promotions ambassador, I hope to make Korea's agricultural products widely known not only in Vietnam but all over the world as well," he said.
Korea is pursuing the "new southern policy," which aims at expanding trade and bolstering ties with countries in Southeast Asia. Vietnam is rising as a key partner country among them, as the country braces for the "post China" era.
Korea exported $375 million worth agricultural produce to Vietnam in 2017, which makes it Korea's fifth largest export market following Japan, China, the United States and the United Arab Emirates. Among major export items are ginseng, pears, chicken, strawberries and grapes as well as processed foods such as instant noodles and powdered formula.
The outlook for the market is bright as the economy is continuing to grow. The food and beverage consumer market is continuing double digit growth, and Korea's agricultural exports to Vietnam in January this year recording $41 million, surging 49.9 percent from the previous year.
The country's population, totaling 94 million as of 2015, is continuing to grow, with those under 30 making up half of the total. About three million babies are born each year in Vietnam, which compares with Korea where annual births fell to around 350,000 last year.
