The first Korean Studies Faculty has now been established at a university abroad. Recently, Vietnam National University-Ho Chi Minh City (VNUHCMC, President: Phan Thanh Binh), the nation’s foremost public university, has upgraded the status of its Korean Studies Department, which was an affiliate department of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities (USSH) of VNU-HCMC, into an independent faculty.
 A commemorative event to celebrate this meaningful occasion was held on March 10, 2015. Distinguished guests in attendance included Vo Van Sen, President of the USSH, Hyun-seok Yu, President of the Korea Foundation , Lee Bae-yong, President of the Academy of Korean Studies; and the Deputy Consul-General of Korea in Ho Chi Minh City. Overall more than 400 guests were on hand to mark the launch of the Faculty Korean Studies, including Korea-related faculty members and students. Phan Thi Thu Hien, Dean of the new faculty, emphasized that the undertaking is the first regional studies–related faculty in Vietnam. Following the event, a special lecture on “The Dream of Korea: Toward Unification,” was presented by the KF President Hyun-seok Yu.

 The Korean Studies Faculty at VNU-HCMC started with a Korean language course, which was first offered in 1994 with KF program support. After a process of continuous development, the university opened its new Korean Studies department in 2010 as a distinctive initiative of the Oriental Studies faculty. Since then, this department has flourished into the largest Korean Studies department in the world with about 500 students who are pursuing Korea-related majors or minors. Along with the launch of the Korean Studies Faculty, the university will open the master’s and doctoral degree programs to allow the faculty to further bolster relevant academic research.
 Thus far, the Korean Studies department has produced educators of the Korean language and Korean Studies who now offer courses at eight Korean Studies departments and Korean language educational institutions in southern Vietnam. The department at VNU-HCMC also acts as a Korean Center in the region, which has enabled the staff of this department to contribute greatly to a variety of economic and cultural exchanges between the two countries. In this sense, the opening of this new faculty confirms the high regard for Korean Studies held among the academic community in Vietnam.
 In his congratulatory remarks, KF President Hyun-seok Yu mentioned the close cooperative relations between the KF and VNU-HCMC that have been steadliy maintained since 1994, along with expressing his sincere appreciation for the contributions of the department in nurturing a significant number of Korea-related specialists who are helping to reinforce the friendly relations between Korea and Vietnam. He also said that the KF is prepared to continue its support for the further advancement of the Korean Studies faculty.