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| Korea Food Festival in Vietnam Attracts Crowds |
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| Some 80 Products Exhibited by KOFTA Members |
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On November 3 and 4 'Korea Food Festival in Vietnam 2012' was held by KOFTA in Hanoi, and at the event 30 KOFTA members exhibited some 80 kinds of products. The products exhibited attracted keen interest among local consumers.
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At the beginning of October Vietnamese had a chance to experience a large range of Korean food products. On the 3rd and the 4th of the month a sales promotion event, called "Korea Food Festival in Vietnam 2012," was held jointly by KOFTA (the Korea Food Trade Association) and Minsao Co. Ltd. at the following 3 venues in Hanoi: Gyeongnam Landmark, Uni-Mart, and K-Mart. At this event 30 KOFTA members and trainees of international food trade courses administered by AFTN (the Agriculture & Fishery News), exhibited 80 or so kinds of products. And among the products exhibited were included the following: apples, pears, mandarin oranges, ready-prepared samgyetang (chicken stew with ginseng), citron tea, mushrooms, sikhye (rice punch), heukmaneul (steamed garlic with a black color), jeon (pan-fried foods in batter), omijacha (tea made from the fruit of the Maximowiczia chinensis), ready-prepared rice cake soup, red ginseng, and makkeolli (traditional Korean cloudy rice wine).
The sales promotion events attracted keen interest among local consumers. At the event held at Gyeongnam Landmark, there was a large crowd of visitors all the time during the event period. It is assumed that the number of visitors totalled about 70,000 people.
With regard to the sales promotion events, Mr. Seo Sang-wook, the director of Taesan Agricultural Cooperative in Pohang, Gyeongbuk Province, said: "Our organization conducted a market survey in Ho Chi Minh City first, and then at the events in Hanoi we exhibited apples, and also arranged a sampling event. Through these experiences in the two cities we noticed that Vietnamese were very interested in Korean foods. The country's economy is developing by 10% or so each year and it is emerging as a large market. With these facts in mind, we are planning to explore the Vietnamese market more enthusiastically."
Concerning the events, a staff member of Osaengdam from Mungyeong, Gyeongnam Province, commented that many Vietnamese liked the company's omijacha (tea made from the fruit of the Maximowiczia chinensis). The company is also very determined to develop a Vietnamese market.
Apart from the exhibition of products, the participants arranged many side events, including the following: a sampling event, a fashion show of traditional Korean clothes, a music performance, and a dance performance demonstrating 'Gangnam Style.' These side events contributed considerably to developing the interest of the local people in Korean food and culture.
A visitor to the events named Dang Thuy Linh made comments as follows: "I already knew about Korean kimchi and red ginseng. But these events gave me a chance to experience all kinds of different foods. I particularly liked kimchi pancakes and tteokbokki (rice cake fingers grilled with spices)". Another visitor, named Dao Gia Long, also commented as follows: "Through the events I could taste Korean apples, pears, kimchi pancakes, citron tea, sikhye, and omijacha. These foods are not easy to find in Vietnam." And he expressed his desire to be able to purchase various Korean foods conveniently in his country.
According to a spokesperson of the KOFTA, the sales promotion events were very successful. By the end of this year altogether 0.1 mil dollars' worth of apples, citron tea, omijacha, and red ginseng will be exported to Vietnam,
Meanwhile, the trainees on international food trade courses administered by AFTN, had a discussion meeting with staff members of Lotte Mart in Ho Chi Minh City about possible ways to develop Vietnamese markets for Korean foods. They also conducted a market survey in cooperation with Uni-Mart and K-mart.
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11 . 30 . 2012
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