Two young people come from two different countries but they together share their love with Da Nang. Finally, they decide to build a new life together in the seaside city.

Filali Hiba (left) and Park Jae Hong

When studying at a university in the Kingdom of Morocco, South Korean national Park Jae Hong, 30, met the love of his life Filali Hiba, a Moroccan girl.

However, their happy days stopped temporarily because Hong had to leave Morocco for Spain to attend a master's degree course.

Hong and Hiba were in a long distance relationship for 2 years. During that period, they often shared about good things each other through text messages, emails, Skype, and FaceTime.

Most notably, the South Korean man often told his girlfriend about his amazing trip to Da Nang with his family in January 2018.

Hong recalled his memories of visiting Viet Nam for the first time. He said “Four years ago, I visited Ha Noi and Lao Cai Province’s Sapa Town with my best friends, and I was very impressed with the country and people of Viet Nam. Most notably, I immediately fell in love with Da Nang the first time I visited because of the friendliness and hospitality of the local people. Perhaps, because of my great love for this beautiful city, I often told Hiba about Viet Nam, especially Da Nang.”

After hearing exciting stories of Viet Nam from her boyfriend, Hiba searched for the S-shaped country-related information on the internet.

From that moment, the love for Viet Nam also gradually grows in the heart of the 23-year-old Moroccan girl.

Therefore, Hiba said to Hong cheerfully that she wanted to live with him in Viet Nam. After quick exchange, the couple arrived in Ho Chi Minh City in June 2018.

“We wanted to live in a quiet space, so we decided to move to Da Nang after that. As soon as I set foot in the seaside city, I immediately fell in love with this place. I love sea, mountains, imposing natural landscapes and friendly locals”, Hiba said excitedly.

At present, Hiba is a teacher at the American Pacific University (APU) in Ngu Hanh Son District. Meanwhile, Hong has recently completed his Master’s thesis, and is working online for an electronic equipment company in Finland.

After the first 6 months of living in Da Nang, the couple’s love for the central coastal city has gradually grown in their hearts.

“We have had a great time together. We have usually driven a motorbike to visit popular attractions in the city in free time” Hong noted.

The foreign couple prefers to go to the market and cook by themselves.

Hiba emphasised “We often visit the Bac My An Market in Ngu Hanh Son District due to the friendliness of small traders and a variety of fresh products at very reasonable prices”.

Most specifically, the Moroccan girl was extremely impressed with Vietnamese Teachers' Day (20 November).

“Our country does not have a private day to honour teachers and all they do, so I a very surprised by gifts and wishes I was given from my pupils and their parents on that day. This is really an interesting experience for me and I feel relation between teachers and pupils are closer”, she added.

Currently, this couple is very eager to welcome in their first traditional Vietnamese Tet festival in the city.

In order to prepare for Tet, the Moroccan girl has read books about the traditional Tet customs of Viet Nam, and participated in Vietnamese Tet experiencing courses.

“We are interested in learning more about Vietnamese culture and its people in the coming time” Hong and Hiba said.