Hanoi, 4 Dec. 2002
Speeches by TRAN Kl M LAN, Ass. Professor, Ph. D Deputy Head of the International Relations Department of Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam (MOET)
Since the diplomatic relations between Vietnam and South Korea was established, the bilateral cooperation in education and culture has been step by step improved and especially strengthened in recent years. The two governments are concerned about the promotion of the cooperation in these field since the two people are prouc of their history, culture and fond of learning.
Similar to the tmdition of"respect for your teachers" in Vietnam, South Korea is a nation with a up and down history, that is why South Korea has its own high consciousness, solidarity, responsibility and national identity as well as national superiority complex. Though there have been many changes in the education system and other fields in South Korea, many good traditions have been deserved and maintained up to now.
Dr. Chung Kim, the South Korean Minister for Education wrote:
"Education reform is being carried out a !I over the world and in each country it was practiced in its own way.
However, they are all similar in the way that education reform is one of the basic strategy and most effectiveness for the preparation for the 2lst century.
If a nation did not care about its people in the next century, other property of the country would not mean anything. Learning this, South Korean Ministry for Education has been actively realizing its education reform for a society basing on the foundation of intellectuality for the 21st century. In September 1999, the Guideline and Content of the South Korean Education Reform were presented in the meeting of OECD and earned the support from all OECD country members." {Extracted from the 1999-2000 South Korean Education, Ministry for Education of South Korea)
So, in South Korea, education has been extremely concerned and the fond of learning by nature made certain contribution for the changes in the education system development. That is why South Korea has a potential human resources with high skills for the national economic development
Vietnam should cooperate more with South Korea to learn from South Korea experiences and progress that have been achieved in this country as well as the assistance Vietnam may earn from.
Vietnamã South Korea education cooperation since the diplomatic tie:
Before 1992, there was bilateral cooperation between Vietnam and South Korea in education only among few Universities such as the former Hanoi University, the former Hochiminh University with some other South Korean Universities such as the Hankuk Foreign Languages Univ., Seoul University and the cooperation was not much. After the formal diplomatic tie was established {22 Dec. 1992), the Education and Culture Agreement was signed in 1994. Over the recent years, on the basic of this agreement, the bilateral relation
between Vietnam and South Korea in education and culture has been well improved. However, the relation does not really show the true potentiality and also wishes of the two countries and it needs to be strengthened and widened in the coming years. With wishes to strengthen further the cooperation between the two countries in education and training, Ministry of Education and Training Vietnam and Ministry of Education South Korea did sign a cooperation agreement for the period 2000-2002 in March 2000.
• Achievement in education and training cooperation between the two countries up to present:
Facilities:
Through Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), Korean government helped Vietnam with 5 million USD for the project to upgrade two vocational schools of Vietnam: Hanoi Industrial College and Quy Nhon Mechanic- Electronic Technology for workers' training. This project has been carried out for 5 years
since 1994. .
Besides, KOICAalso finished its enforce to carry out the other two projects of two schools building in Dien Chau, NgheAn, and Bui Thi Xuan School in Quy Nhon.
Korean-Vietnam Youth Association (KOVEX) is a charity NGO pf South Korea, aiding Vietnam to found and equip as well as arrange activities for Vietnam- South Korea Vocational Center for Korean Vietnamese in Thu Due, Hochiminh City. This center receives donations of facilities and equipment from South Korea every year as well as other training assistance. The target learners in this center are Korean Vietnamese. The total amount of assistance so far reached over 1 million USD.
Jung Hae Welfare Foundation and Thu Due Technical Vocational Training provides this center cooperative programs for b.uilding, upgrading facilities and vocational training, thus helping Korean Vietnamese learners and homeless children in the locality. Total amount of assistance from this Foundation was about 1 million USD. In Feb. 2000, MOET Vietnam offered medal for the cause of Education to Mr. Mr. Lee Chung Bum, Lawyer, Chairman of the Jung Hae Welfare Association for his and his association's contribution for the founding and running of the Vocational training branch of the Vietnam- South Korea Humanity Vocational training center which is affiliated to Thu Due Technical Vocational Training.
This year, for the anniversary of the 10 year diplomatic tie establishment, South Korea Embassy and MOET Vietnam cooperatively held a contest for Korean Languages for students in all Universities and completed the project of 40 primary schools building in 5 central provinces : Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, Khanh Hoa, donated by Korean Government with total amount of 2 million USD.
Scholarship
Since 1994, Korean Foundation has granted scholarshipd for Vietnamese students for their language learning and researching but normally directly granted some training centers such as Hanoi National University, Hochiminh National University and Social Science and Humanitarian Center. This foundation also granted scholarships for poor students with high school results in their Universities in Vietnam. In addition, the Foundation cooperated to hold Korean Language Contest and Culture Seminar with Hanoi National
University. _
To help Vietnamese teachers in Vocational training Centers to improve their teaching skills, teaching rnethodo!ogy and management experience from 1993-96, through Ministry of Investment and Planning, Korean Government granted ã120 scholarships for Vietnamese teachers for their practices in Korea for 1-3 months period. However, up to 1997, this scholarship program ended.
In 1994, MOFAKorea granted 2 M.Ascholarships for Vietnamese students in fields chosen by Vietnam.
From 1995-97, each year, the Korean Government granted Vietnam 5 scholarships for Post graduate education, fields chosen by Vietnam. Since 1998, due to the Financial Crisis South Korea faced with, South Korea temporaryly came to a stop of grating this program, and only until the end of 1999, this scholarship program was recovered with 3 scholarships for postgraduate education and in the early 2000, other 4
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scholarships were granted by South Korea.
South Korea Vietnam Welfare Association helped District 3 of Hochiminh City to build up a Humanitarian Vocational Training Center. In Jan. 2000, before ending his term in Vietnam, the Third Secretary of the South Korea Embassy had a good will to Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam in granting 50 million VND from his own saving account to found a learning promotion scholarship fund for Vietnamese students and pupils. This is not a big amount of money but this is a nice behavior of a South Korean who has been studying and working in Vietnam. He wished that in the future he and his South Korean colleagues would continue to develop this scholarship program, thus helping more and more outstanding poor Vietnamese students.
Ministry of Education and Training Vietnam encouraged the initiative and hoped to receive similar assistance.
Since 2000, the South Korea Embassy in Vietnam holds annually Korean Language Contest for Vietnamese students in Hanoi and Hochiminh City. This contest has fairly good impacts on encouraging Vietnamese students in Korean Language learning and Korean Studies.
The education and training centers in Vietnam have strengthen bilateral cooperation with the education and training centers in South Korea. The cooperation includes information exchanging; Some Vietnamese professors, lecturers, training managers went to South Korea for researching, experience exchanging, lectuiing, seminar attendance; Vietnam also received students from South Korea to Vietnam for language and culture learning (about 50 South Korean students per year). However, these activities only concentrated in big education centers in Vietnam like Hanoi or Hochiminh City.
Volunteer teachers to Vietnam:
f<O!CA sends 6-10 volunteer specialists to Vietnam as required by Vietnamese training centers annually.
Most of these came to Vietnam for ianguage and culture teaching. These specialists worked actively and were proposed to extend their terms of working in Vietnam.
Other activities withinAPEC framework
After Vietnam fully joined APEC, in 1998 and 1999, Ministry of Education and Training Vietnam was granted 4 scholarships for Vocational teachers to study in South Korea for 2 months. Until2000, this program was increased by 8 scholarship but the teachers are supposed to pay return tickets.
In the framework of APEC cooperation, 1999, Ministry of Education and Training Vietnam was also granted 2 scholarships for Post Ph.D. research in South Korea from 6-12 months under the assistance of the South Korea Science and Technology Foundation.
• Cooperation through the South Korea International Foundation and Samsung- Vietnam Schoiarship Exchange Foundation:
Korea Foundation was founded in 1994 for South Korea promotion through scholar exchange and culture exchange programs to other countries worldwide. With Vietnam, Korea Foundation has had relations since 1994, and grants annually scholarships for Vietnamese students, teachers to go to South Korea for study, research in higher education of Korean studies and also grants scholarships for University students of Korean studies in Vietnam.
In Dec. 1995, Sam sung, a South Korean Company granted this foundation one million USD to promote scholar exchange relations with Vie~nam. This granting was sent to a special account by the South Korean International Exchange Foundation and its interest was used to implement Samsung-Vietnam Exchange Scholar Exchange Program. The program has had 3 following activities:
• Granting Vietnamese students of Korean studies, of technology in Universities in Vietnam (200 USD/
head/ year) .
• Arranging a delegation of 16-20 Vietnamese junior officials of Government and lpcalities, teachers, students, to visit South Korea for strengthening understanding and cooperation for 10 days.
• In addition, this program gave financial assistance to hold seminars co-held by Vietnamese and South
Korean scholars.
After getting the permission from Vietnamese Government, Ministry of Education and Training Vietnam received and worked as coordinator for the Samsung-Vietnam Scholar Exchange Foundation program, the South Korea International Exchange Foundation and the South Korea Embassy in Hanoi; other Vietnamese concerned institutions co-operated with the National Center for Social Science and Humanity, and IIR-Ministry of Foreign Affairs Vietnam. In the period from 1997 2001, the program did grant 524 Sam sung Scholarships worth 108.000 USD for Vietnamese students, holding 5 Vietnamese delegations to South Korea for 10 days and giving assistance to 3 seminars co-held by Vietnamese and South Korean scholars.
For the 2002 program. the Foundation sent 15 delegates to South Korea for study tour and cultural exchanges, granting 112 scholarships for 14 Universities in Vietnam.
Prospect cooperation in the coming time
Though over the past time, the relations between Vietnam and South Korea developed well, the relations has not matched with the potentiality the twos have. The relations need to be further consolidated and strengthened.ln the coming time, it is necessary to pay more attention to the fields of:
Post University education: the cooperation has had some limitation. South Korea should grant more scholarships for Vietnamese students.
South Korean studies in Vietnam: South Korea should continue to assist Vietnam in Korean Language teaching and South Korea studies in training centers in Vietnam.
Further developing the bilateral relations and the assi~tance from the South Korean NGOs, training centers, business cooperation and individuals for education and training centers in Vietnam.
Strengthening cooperation scholarship for development from the South Korea Government through KOICAfor Korean Language learning, seminar participating, short courses in South Korea.
At present, Ministry of Education and Training Vietnam is preparing a project and signing an agreement with Keimyang University, a well known University in South Korea in exchanging graduate and post graduate scholarships. The signing will help Vietnamese students with more opportunities to study in South Korea.
It is necessary to promote further bilateral cooperation between South Korea and Vietnam Universities:
sending more pupils and students to join courses for graduate and post graduate in fields which South Korea is strong in s1..1ch as Informatics, and science; receiving South Korean students to Vietnam for Vietnamese language learning to develop the bilateral relations between Vietnam and South Korea in the coming time.
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