Le Nguyen Minh Phuong, a 32-year-old Da Nang native, has become the first Vietnamese citizen to receive Seoul’s Honourary Citizenship in recognition of her great devotion to the South Korean capital over the past years.

Le Nguyen Minh Phuong receiving the Seoul Honourary Citizenship award in Seoul, South Korea, on 13 November (Photo courtesy of Phuong)

The Vietnamese woman was amongst 18 foreign residents who recently received the award from Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon at the Seoul City Hall.

In 2013, Phuong went to South Korea to pursue a master’s degree in Korean education under a fully-funded South Korean government scholarship at the Seoul-based Yonsei University, one of the most prestigious in this East Asian country.

In recent years, the strong-willed woman has taught both Vietnamese and Korean, involved in numerous programmes organised by the overseas Vietnamese community in this country, and worked as a broadcaster for KBS channel, one of the biggest public service broadcasters in South Korea. Furthermore, she has interpreted at several political meetings between the Vietnamese and Korean governments.

Phuong is now learning for a Doctorate degree in this country.

The awardees, selected from the pool of international residents in Seoul, are those who have lived in Seoul for more than 3 consecutive years or have visited Seoul, and have contributed to enhancing the Seoul’s status as a city and have been role models to Seoul’s citizens and other foreign residents.

Since 1958, Seoul has conferred the award to a combined total of 827 foreigners from 97 countries worldwide, including the USA, Japan, Germany, and the UK.