The Seoul government has earmarked 35 million dollars for the construction and management of a large hospital in a central province of Vietnam. The hospital is set to be a tangible sign of new ties between the two countries, which came apart in the war with the United States.
Hanoi (AsiaNews) The South Korean government will build and manage a hospital in a central province in Vietnam in a bid to heal "not only physical ills but to the wounds of history" too.
On 7 November, Seoul signed a pact with the Vietnamese government for the allocation of 35 million US dollars to construct a general hospital, deliver medical equipment and materials, and transfer medical skills and management know-how. Completion is slated for 2009.
The project is sponsored by the Korea International Cooperation Agency affiliated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Seoul. "With the aid program, we hope to give new generations a positive point of view about South Korean-Vietnamese relations," said Kim Seung-beom, chief of the agency's Vietnam office.
Throughout the Vietnam war, South Korea dispatched troops to operate in the country alongside the US Marines: the Korean contribution left an indelible mark on the people, who thereafter considered Seoul as an enemy.
At the end of the Cold War, Hanoi asked for and obtained official apologies from the Korean government for their participation in the conflict.
In 2004, during the Asia-Europe meeting, Tran Duc Long, then president of Vietnam, asked Seoul for a "new hospital". Kim said the agency "has already given support to a dozen local hospitals in Vietnam. This project, which symbolizes the special friendship between the two countries, will give new impetus to mutual cooperation."