Vietnam has granted a friendship medal to a South Korean construction firm in recognition of its years of support for Vietnamese students.

Hanshin has been the main sponsor of many activities for Vietnamese students at the Republic of Korea’s Kookmin University, Chungnam National University and Sungkyunkwan University for the past five years.

Hanshin helped create the Vietnam Students’ Association in 2007, which it also lends financial support to every month.

The association now counts more than 1,500 Vietnamese students in Korea as members.

Hanshin also stays in touch with graduates who have returned to Vietnam.

Speaking at the medal ceremony, Vietnamese Ambassador to the Republic of Korea Pham Tien Van said “the medal is a way for the Vietnamese government to recognize what Hanshin has done to develop the friendship between Vietnam and Korea.”

He also said the medal was in praise of Hanshin general director Choi Yong-sun’s efforts to train and develop Vietnamese talent.

Choi told Vietnam News Agency that several visits to Vietnam had shown him the many similarities between the two countries.

He said Vietnam had all the right elements to develop successfully and thus needed talented people to put those elements into use.

The nearly 60-year-old Hanshin has recorded around US$650 in annual turnover for the past ten years.

Present in Vietnam since 2004, Hanshin has helped improve water supplies in the southern province of Binh Duong while also designing the HH4 My Dinh Tower in Hanoi and helping clean up the Red River.

Source: VNA