ASEAN Week 2026 Opens in South Korea

ASEAN Week 2026 opened in Seoul, South Korea, on the afternoon of November 13. The ASEAN–Korea Centre also unveiled a new permanent exhibition area at the Seoul ASEAN Hall. Running through November 15, the event features cultural, culinary and youth exchanges in Seoul and Jeonju. South Korean Foreign Ministry officials, Vietnam’s ambassador to South Korea and the ambassadors of ASEAN member states to South Korea attended the opening ceremony.

South Korean Foreign Ministry officials, leaders of the ASEAN–Korea Centre and ambassadors of ASEAN countries to South Korea pose for a photograph at the opening ceremony.（VietVance）

The new exhibition, titled “Gyeotda: A Contemporary Heritage Landscape,” combines exhibits, artificial intelligence and 3D media art to introduce Southeast Asia through traditional crafts, urban and natural landscapes, scents and sounds. ASEAN–Korea Centre Secretary-General Kim Jae Shin said he hoped the exhibition and events in both cities would deepen the South Korean public’s understanding of ASEAN.

ASEAN–Korea Centre Secretary-General Kim Jae Shin speaks at the opening of the new permanent exhibition area.（VietVance）

The ASEAN Food Festival also opened to the public in the square outside the Korea Press Center in Seoul. It showcases food from all 11 ASEAN member states, including Vietnamese bún chả and bánh mì, Malaysian nasi lemak, Singaporean laksa and coffee from Timor-Leste. It also has an area where visitors can experience traditional Korean rice cakes.

The activities will extend to Jeonju on November 14 and 15. About 80 ASEAN undergraduate and graduate students in South Korea will attend a youth forum to discuss entrepreneurship, local employment policies and development opportunities in the age of artificial intelligence. At the opening ceremony, a South Korean vice foreign minister said people-to-people exchanges help deepen familiarity and cultural understanding between the two sides.

Source: VietVance