Korean guests attend a funeral in Vietnam for the first time and are surprised by the scene at the party.

Ori Kim (from Korea) first came to Vietnam for tourism in 2017 and immediately had a special love for this land.

“The weather in Vietnam is very good, lots of sunshine, and there is a variety of delicious food, so I really like it,” Ori shared.

After that trip, the Korean female tourist decided to visit Vietnam many more times, both to experience the landscape and cuisine , to learn about the local culture and to improve her ability to communicate in a new language.

Ori's unexpected reaction when invited to attend a death anniversary in Vietnam for the first time

In a video posted on his personal YouTube channel with more than 80,000 followers, Ori excitedly shared about a particularly interesting experience he had in Vietnam: attending a funeral.

Ori was invited by a Vietnamese friend to attend a family memorial service in Can Tho. This was also the first time the Korean female tourist experienced the unique culture of worshiping and remembering the deceased in another country.

Young girl buys fresh fruit to bring to the funeral

Before going to the funeral, she stopped by an import store to buy some fruit to burn incense, showing her thoughtfulness and understanding of the local culture.

Ori commented that the death anniversary in Vietnam is very interesting. The number of participants is quite large, personal vehicles line up from outside to inside, filling the place.

Around the party area, people were bustling about, talking, laughing, and singing. “I can’t believe it. This is so cool, it’s like a festival,” Ori kept exclaiming.

Korean female tourist was delighted to feel the different atmosphere of the death anniversary in Vietnam compared to her home country.

According to the young girl, death anniversaries in Korea and Vietnam are different. In the land of kimchi, usually only family members are allowed to attend the death anniversary. After that, everyone bows and eats the death anniversary in silence.

“In Vietnam, people celebrate death anniversaries like parties. I think this is a breakthrough, because death anniversaries are not only a way to remember the deceased, but also an opportunity for family members to gather, strengthen their bonds, and enjoy delicious food. That’s very good,” Ori shared.

The Korean female tourist also revealed that her parents had expressed their wish that their children and grandchildren would happily hold their death anniversary.

“Today is the first time I've attended a funeral in Vietnam and it made me think a lot,” she added.

Some familiar dishes that appear in death anniversaries in Vietnam that Ori first learned about are sticky rice, grilled chicken...

At the death anniversary, Ori and everyone happily chatted and enjoyed rustic but equally delicious dishes such as grilled chicken, sticky rice, roast meat, bread with red wine sauce, and steamed fish.

Besides, she also got to taste the delicious dessert of Banh Da Lon - one of the famous gifts of the people in the South.

Ori said that even though the people at the funeral were strangers and they had just met for the first time, everyone was happy to talk and enthusiastically invited her to eat and drink.

They even continuously invited her to drink beer, cheered together and sent meaningful wishes.

Young girl enjoys food and beer with people at a death anniversary in Can Tho

At the end of the meal, after attending the funeral party for about 2 hours, Ori admitted that his voice was hoarse from shouting and talking a lot during the meal.

She expressed her enjoyment of the funeral atmosphere and the local culture of inviting people to drink beer, finishing glasses, and toasting each other.

"I shouted and happily chatted, shouting 1-2-3 during the whole meal," the female tourist humorously said.

Ori also felt full after experiencing many delicious and unique dishes during her first time attending a death anniversary in Vietnam.

“I am very happy about today's experience and really thank my kind friend for inviting me to attend the memorial service.

I will try to learn and study more about Vietnamese culture," she said.

Photo: Ori Kim & Ame Kim

Hai Phong specialty looks like sand, but customers look at it cautiously but eat it and praise it as delicious . Although it looks unattractive and requires a lot of effort and time to prepare, river shrimp is still considered a specialty that attracts customers in Hai Phong and some neighboring localities.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/khach-han-lan-dau-di-dam-gio-o-viet-nam-bat-ngo-thay-canh-o-bua-tiec-2354029.html