KOREA FOUNDATION

REVIEW

ACH Summer Program for Youths: Discover Viet Nam

From July 27 through August 5, the ACH held its ACH Summer Program for Youths: Discover Viet Nam, a children’s cultural program. In honor of 2021 being Mekong-ROK Exchange Year, Viet Nam was chosen from among the five Mekong countries to be the subject of a cultural experience for children to overcome the boredom caused by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.

The program was divided into a morning class and an afternoon class, with four sessions held per class. The first session offered a general introduction to ASEAN and the characteristics of Viet Nam. Students learned how to say hello in Vietnamese (“chào”) and made keyrings out of pictures they drew of what first comes to mind when thinking of Viet Nam. The second session offered an experience of Viet Nam’s regional characteristics and cultures through the country’s food. Students were given cookies that are currently popular in Viet Nam to take home and enjoy with their families. For the third session, students tried on traditional clothing and watched a traditional water puppet show, which was performed with wooden dolls dressed in traditional Vietnamese clothing. By discussing the emotions of the characters, students gained an indirect experience of daily life in Viet Nam. After the puppet show, students tried their hand at making puppets themselves out of colored paper and wooden sticks while listening to Vietnamese music.

Viet Nam is visited by many Koreans each year, in part for its wealth of beautiful nature, UNESCO heritage sites, and elaborate festivals. This was the subject of the fourth session, which explored Viet Nam’s tourist attractions and festivals. Inspired by the Hoi An Lantern Festival, students created paper lanterns and made a wish on them. The ACH hopes that this program gave children a welcome alternative to the boredom caused by COVID-19 and a better understanding of ASEAN and Viet Nam. We hope that the students were able to alleviate, albeit to a small degree, their thirst for travel through the various cultural experiences offered, and that their summer vacation was improved through this program.