http://www.hanvietfoundation.org/







First of all, I would like to thank the co-donors.

1. I am a descendent of Prince Ly Long Tuong of Vietnam’s Ly dynasty. Prince Ly Long Tuong fled a coup d´tat in 13th century and sailed 3,600 km to Korea. As he had done 800 years ago, I too have tried my best, how humble and meager it might be, to contribute to making conditions for Koreans and Vietnamese people to live a better and happier life. Thus the cofounders and I have come to founding HanViet.

2. I led the founding process and donated my property. The initial donation by the co-donors and me is about 3 million USD, quite a humble start as a foundation. I would like to thank all the co-founders including Golden Bridge Financial Group subsidiaries; I would like to thank her shareholders, management, employees and customers who have contributed to Golden Bridge for the last 7 years.
I would like to share the joy of founding HanViet.

Second, I would like to thank the founding officers.

3. The founding chair is Mr. Nak-Whan Paik, the former Ambassador to Vietnam and the architect of the concept “Comprehensive Partnership between Korea and Vietnam for the 21th Century”. He worked as a professional diplomat for 35 years and is now a visiting professor at Hanoi University of Social Sciences and Humanities. After his retirement in 2005, he made it his last occupation to contribute to the consolidation of partnership between Korea and Vietnam and between their peoples, and has stayed in Vietnam as an individual not working for the Korean government. He has worked with HanViet’s co-founders, before the set-up of the legal entity HanViet, to deliver scholarship and relief support.

4. Director Insun Yu is a prominent scholar in the field of Korea and Vietnam history studies. He was a professor of Seoul National University’s Humanities College and widely considered to be one of the most distinguished scholars in East Asia history studies. I hope that the understanding of both countries’ histories will facilitate the mutual understanding and cooperation between our two peoples.

5. Director Hee Yun Ly is the Vice-President of Korea-Vietnam Friendship Association. Hwasan Lees are descendents of Prince Ly Long Tuong; there are about a thousand of them living in Korea. Director Ly had worked for Hyundai, before his retirement. He belongs to the generation who went through the whole history of modern Korea: the Korean War, starvation, bone-breaking hard work, development and democratic reform. That generation created what is now called “the Miracle of Han River”. After retirement, he has fully committed himself to doing the Association’s chores and to developing every possible chance for promoting the goodwill between our two peoples.

6. Director Sun Hyun Kim is a descendent of one of the key figures who fought for the independence of Korea from Japan. Director Kim also devoted her youth to democratic reform and worker’s right. Once starting her own business, though there were bitter failures in Vietnam and China, she finally made it successful and profitable. Now she is working with her father to run the Association for Commemorating the Provisional Government of Korea. Comptroller Moon Sik Park, CEO of Jewon Accounting Corp., is my old friend who has given me the most valuable advice whenever necessary. Comptroller Chan Yu, CEO of GB AMC, has been working very hard to keep Golden Bridge’s operation organized, as it has grown with a dazzling speed.

How we have come to founding HanViet

7. Greed is not satiable and property is valuable to anyone how rich he might be. Property is the opportunity for enjoying something. I have had my version of a rollercoaster and my fill of sins and failures. Still I always tried to view my property more as luck than an achievement. Though my effort has contributed to increasing it, I have thought that my property is not my own joy but somebody else’s pain. By thinking that way, even though I am in the financial services industry which handles money, the ultimate source of greed, I have managed myself more or less free from obsession with money.

8. Since I also have had desires and greed, I always tried to be humble, reminding myself that wealth is like a stem of smoke from a cigarette or like a fistful of sand which always succeeds in slipping away the more casually, the harder I try to grasp. After all, this property of my own might not mean something pertaining to life or death to me; however, if used for somebody else in dire need, it can be a light of life. Thus I have thought for quite a long time about founding HanViet, which can deliver me from my own wealth, before I go to ‘the other world’.

9. Founders, before founding HanViet, have given scholarships and internships of more than 100,000 USD to talented Vietnamese students, for the last 3 years. In 2006, almost all management and employees gathered more than 30,000 USD for a brain-dead Vietnamese visiting worker in Korea, who happens to fail to get the universal work-place injury insurance benefits. We could pay for the hospital expenses and send him back to his hometown, Bac Ninh, Vietnam. In 2006, we gathered 5,000 USD and contribute to the relief fund for the typhoon refugee of Danang area. In 2007, we gathered and donated 3,000 USD to a cultural event held in Seoul, aimed at supporting tens of female Vietnamese immigrants in Korea, who came here through ‘bridal immigration’ arrangements.

10. I myself spent more than half of my time in Vietnam last year; the founding companies have hired more than 100 Vietnamese resources to provide investment and consultancy for facilitating the rapid development of Vietnam. We have organized 70,000,000 USD funds for investment in Vietnam. The accumulated amount is expected to be more than 100,000,000 USD by the end of this year.

11. I myself invested 100,000 USD in our Vietnam fund and I promised to donate the returns to HanViet. Founders plan to continue their donation, especially using the returns from Vietnam investment. Founders intend to increase the Foundation’s permanent property over to 10,000,000 USD by 2010, which also is the year of Thang Long-Hanoi 1,000th Anniversary.

Hwasan Ly Family in Korea

12. A Ly of Hwasan is a Vietnamese with a Korean face. Dr. Yu, the prominent scholar and our director, clarified the history of Hwasan Ly family in his book “A Rewritten History of Vietnam”. Prince Ly Long Tuong of Ly dynasty of Vietnam fled a coup d´tat and sailed 3,600 km to Hwanghae-Do, Korea and became a Korean aristocrat. Ever since, forty generations of descendents have lived in Korea for 800 years.

13. Since the division of Korean peninsula in 1945, not much is known about Lys of Hwasan living in North Korea. Because Hwanghae-Do, where Prince Ly landed, belongs to Northern part of the peninsular, the hometown of many of today’s older generation of Hwasan Lys living in South Korea is located actually in North Korea. Thus this older generation people tend to live not far from the Armistice Line, desperately hoping to live near their hometown. The total number of Hwasan Lys in Korea is a bit more than 1,000 belonging to a few hundred households. Hwasan Lys suffer from dual separation: one from Vietnam 800 years ago and the other from hometown 62 years ago.

14. I founded Golden Bridge Finance Group and developed it to a set of robust financial services companies. I tried my best to convey Korean experience and know-how to Vietnamese business community and founded the local subsidiary. I did that partly because Vietnam is showing the second highest level of growth potentiality after China and attracting interests from Korean business community and investors; however, I did that mainly because my bloodline has come from Vietnam and because Korean and Vietnamese people showed a very deep interest in my bloodline.

15. Now Hanoi is preparing for the Thang Long- Hanoi 1,000th Anniversary in 2010, which also has a significant meaning for Hwasan Lees. HanViet intends to facilitate substantiated history studies by both countries’ scholars on Korea-Vietnam relationship. These studies will prove that the relationship is very deep, running across almost a millennium and help strengthen the ‘comprehensive partnership’ between our two countries.

Sustainable socially responsible investment

16. I founded Golden Bridge and have sustained prosperous and independent management for the last 7 years, competing against huge financial services companies, both foreign and domestic. My management has something common with Vietnam’s catchphrase “Liberty, Independence and Happiness” or the Korean catchphrase “Dynamic Korea”. Golden Bridge was founded in the midst of the national bankruptcy crisis of Korean economy after the IMF shock in 1997. Golden Bridge grew by participating in the highly meaningful process of revitalizing the industrial basis and financial institutions in crisis and recovering their social values.

17. Our motto is to “make money and do good things”. We consistently applied our motto in every aspect of our operation: relationships with share holders, management, employees, suppliers, customers, local communities and etc.. We are the first to introduce socially responsible investment to Korea, which aims at the sustainable development of government, companies and homes. We are also the first to introduce principle investing and alternative investing in Korea, which distributes financial resources with high level of public characteristics, to those areas suffering from deficiency of resources but having great social and economic impacts. We have always made sure that our business activities as financial services companies meet the social role we are expected to perform.

18. To “make money and do good things” is more difficult than for a camel to go through a needle hole. Nobody else had thought it would be ever possible and made it happen. Still we thought it was the historical mission. Thus we applied our motto to every aspect of our operation. Thankfully, we founders believe that the Korean society has paid for our efforts and given us the springboard for growing into an investment banking services company, which has very few precedents in Korea and into a marvelous financial services group developing at a time-compressed high speed.

19. My second hope is that HanViet, via its non-profit activities, will let known and lead sustainable development in every aspect of Korea and Vietnam. In every country, there is a poverty-stricken sector where nobody’s care and hand reaches. In every society, a certain level of alienation and oppression is inevitable. However there are always people who devote themselves to do good things, without expecting any profit. It is the foundation’s most important job to praise and encourage these walking angels.

Let us all share

20. HanViet should make social investments for ever-enlarged reproduction of a brighter future. To achieve this, HanViet requires a superb management for the survival and growth as a sustainable non-profit organization. My third hope is that HanViet provides an open horizon for those organizations and people who share the vision and who make donations. I hope that HanViet management can receive such donations and enrich its financial sources and activities, enhancing people’s perception of HanViet, and thus satisfy the expectation of the donors.

21. Founders are born entrepreneurs and adventurers; we, as the founders, made donations to found HanViet. We will continue our efforts so that more and more people who share the vision can contribute as business sponsors, donors or volunteers.

Tasks and issues

22. I would like to end my message by reminding the fact that there are many latent issues between Korea and Vietnam. Our two countries share the history of Chinese interventions and tough struggle for independence. In modernity, our two countries struggled fiercely against Western and Japanese imperialism. Division by super powers and wars and ideological struggle and provincialism are also examples of striking similarities between our two countries. However, Vietnam was able to achieve reunification because she had one of the greatest leaders in the 20th century, Ho Chi Minh; this has much implication on Korea, which still is divided. Also there is the tragic legacy of Korea’s participation in Vietnam War, under President Park’s leadership. Vietnam succeeded in defeating superpowers one after another and gained reunification; yet she needs to achieve economic development. On the other hand, Korea achieved economic development and democratic reform; yet she needs to gain reunification.

23. Today there are over 50,000 Vietnamese people living in Korea and vice versa. In 2006 alone, over 300,000 Korean tourists visited Ha Long Bay. Over 1,000 Korean companies, small and large, invested over 6,000,000,000 USD in Vietnam, making Korea the #1 foreign direct investment country. The number of Vietnamese ladies married to Korean men goes up to tens of thousands, only next to that of Korean-Chinese ladies from Manchu area. There are more than 20,000 Vietnamese visiting workers in Korea; the money they are sending back is becoming one of the most important foreign currency sources and used for economic development. I firmly believe that the exchange and mutual understanding between our two countries will deepen; they will become partners who can provide each other with the most wanted resources. However there must be tasks and issues to be dealt; governments are not capable of addressing all these tasks and issues. And this is HanViet’s raison d’etre.

Thank you again

24. I would like to pay my sincerest acknowledgement to ‘hidden’ contributors who played vital roles in founding HanViet. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam, Mr. Nguyen Phu Binh, who had studied in University of Pyongyang, North Korea, and later served as Ambassador of Vietnam to South Korea, ‘digged out’ Hwasan Lee’s root. He is one of the most important figures who clarified that the relationship between our two countries has a lot deeper background than had been presumed.

25. Mr. Lee Chang Keun, who is also a Hwasan Lee and immigrated to Vietnam about 10 years ago, had let known the relationship widely. His ‘grassroot’ awareness campaign made it much easier for us to found HanViet. The Korean Ambassador Kim Eui-Ki and the former Vietnamese Ambassador Pham Tien Van helped the founding process even though they are extremely busy with developing the comprehensive partnership between our two countries. And officials of both governments’ Foreign Affairs Ministries gave us hearty helps.

26. I pray that HanViet might become a golden bridge between our two peoples, which enhances the comprehensive partnership.


July 1, 2007

Relations between Korea and Vietnam


The first contact by wandering seafarers or drifters happened in 1226 by Prince Ly Long Tuong; he sailed 3,000 km to Ongjin, Hwang-Hae Province, Korea. Soon the fierce Mongols invaded Korea and this foreign prince and his subordinates fought against them very bravely, shoulder-to-shoulder with Korean forces. And Korea won against Mongols. The Korean king knighted this foreign prince and he became a Korean. The family clan, Lees of Hwasan, are descendants of this Prince.

The second contact by seafarers or drifters happened in 1612. A group of Vietnamese and Chinese merchants drifted to Cheju island, as recorded in The Annals of the Choson Dynasty. Not many details of the incidents are known but all of them are believed to have been killed by local government officers and employees who coveted their goods.

The third contact was in 1687 by a Korean seafarer, Ko Sang Young. He drifted to Hoi An, Central Vietnam. A Korean scholar, Chung Dong You (1744-1808) recorded Ko’s adventure in his book Record for Eternity (晝永編). Chua Nguyen, the ruler of the Southern Vietnam, interviewed Ko and asked him whether Koreans were aware of the murder of the crown prince of Vietnam.

While the contacts by seafarers of drifters were rather dramatic but very rare events, unofficial, haphazard contacts between diplomats visiting Peking were more frequent ones. If we hold on to recorded incidents of such contacts, the first was in 15th century between a Korean diplomat and Le Thi Cu of Vietnam’s Le dynasty. This contact is recorded in Unorganized Journal of a Folk Story Collector.

Another diplomats’ contact in 1597 between Lee Su Kwang and Phung Khac Khoan shows intellectual friendship between two “globalized” elites. They were both visiting Peking to commemorate the Chinese emperor. Lee wrote a preface to the commemoration poem by Phung Khac Khoan. This friendship is recorded in The Annuls of Vietnam. Lee Su Kwang, by writing classic Chinese, discussed with Phung Khac Khoan on the climate, traditions, history, the examination system for recruiting state bureaucrats of Vietnam. Lee recorded this discussion in his Collected Works.

In the 18th Century, the diplomats’ contacts happened more frequently. One example is that between Hong Kye Hee and Le Quy Don in 1761. Another example is between Seo Ho Su Phan Huy Ich in 1789. Le Quy Don recorded his friendship in his Bac Su Thong Luc and Kien Van Tieu Luc; thus this contact has been well known in Vietnam. On the other hand, Seo recorded his contact with Phan in A Travel to Peking, which Seo wrote afterwards.

Unofficial contacts continued through into the early 20th Century. Phan Boi Chau, who was the leader of Vietnamese independence movement at that time, wrote The Loss of Viet Nam in 1905: this book got immediate attention from Korean intellectuals and three translated versions were published soon. In his Memoirs, Phan Boi Chau also referred to Cho So Ang, one of the key figures in Korean independence movement, as a member of The Alliance of East Asia, a political organization led by leftist intellectuals of China and Japan; Phan Boi Chau was a member. And we can comfortably assume that Phan personally knew Cho.


Official diplomatic relationship began only in the latter half of the last century. However, because of the radical change of Vietnam, two totally different relationships had to be opened.

Vietnam was divided by the Geneva Conventions concluded in July 1954. The 17th parallel created two countries: North Vietnam and South. In the South, the first government led by Ngo Dinh Diem was set up in October 1956; the Korean government made a treaty of amity with the South immediately, that is, in October 1956. It was a product of the white-hot Cold War, focused on international politics and military alliance. In fact it was a friendly relationship with the Southern half and implies enmity against the Northern half. Korea’s entry into the Vietnam War in the 1960s was only a natural conclusion of this political-military pact. This abnormal relationship ended when the Southern regime collapsed in April 1975.

The second diplomatic relationship opened only after 17 years. Korea and the unified Socialist Republic of Vietnam got into formal relationship in December 1992. This time two countries are focused on economic cooperation, shunning away from political-military aspects.


The present relation is unthinkable if the economic cooperation is ruled out. There are some deeply-rooted backgrounds for the rapid development of economic cooperation. First is Vietnam’s drive for economic opening and growth, as is clearly manifested in the principle of Doi Moi, adopted in 1986. Second, Korean economy gears up overseas investment and needs natural resources.

Also, the rapid increase of Korean sightseers visiting Vietnam is also worth our attention. A Korean airline recently invested millions of dollars to introduce Ha Long Bay’s beautiful scenery to Korean people. More and more Vietnamese people are visiting Korea as well.

http://english.vietnamnet.vn/social/2007/08/732594/

Ly Tinh Thien = 12th century
Ly Long Tuong = 13th century



Two Vietnamese princes gain fame in Korea
16:14' 22/08/2007 (GMT+7)

Professor Kim Yong Deok
VietNamNet Bridge – Scientists have discovered the truth about two Vietnamese princes who achieved fame in the Republic of Korea (RoK), said Kim Yong Deok, Chairman of the Northeast Asia History Fund.



According to the Korean professor, Vietnamese prince Ly Long Tuong went to Korea in the 13th century when this country was struggling against Mongolian invaders. This prince was conferred a high title in the Korean court by the Korean King.



The Korean King also granted land to the Vietnamese prince in Hoa Son and the Ly Hoa Son family was formed. This family was always loyal to Korean kings.



The offspring of Vietnamese prince Ly Long Tuong were also put in important positions. A member of this family was appointed to be Mayor of Seoul, but he refused.



At present, many members of the Ly Hoa Son family are living in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and some others in the RoK. Some of them are famous in the RoK, for example Ly Thuong Tuan, Chairman of the Golden Bridge group, Lee Hee Boem, former Deputy Minister of Industry, and Lee Chang Kem, Chairman of a big group.



Another Ly family from Vietnam has been found in Korea. Another Vietnamese prince named Ly Tinh Thien settled in Korea around 100 years before prince Ly Long Tuong. Historical documents show that offspring of this prince were mandarins in Korean dynasties, according to the Korean professor.



(Source: Tien Phong)

wtf does this Cambo money tryta do?
i think hes trying to link us with the Korean
Vietnam is Vietnam, Vietnamese are Vietnamese
why cant you accept it?
fuk the historical genetic BS

You are repeating yourself, penis breath. This is not a dating service., so go and find some other d!cks to suck on some other forum.

These are historical facts. So have the dignity to behave yourself.

WTF you think we want to be linked with you?? We are different races altogether! And I remember that our marines went to war with your country and defeated you guys big time back in the Vietnam war with a huge kill ratio.

Don't trust his guy, he's not even Korean.

Come over again so we can witness with our eyes.

I cannot wait to see NKorea turn you Corean into ashes.

Corean is not necessarily a Korean, so lets not be so quick to judge on his ethnicity.

STFU traitors. when other people insult Coreans you just sit back and take it?? And besides, Vietnamese are southeast asians, we are definitely not related. I don't really care what they think about us.

I hope not! We need less commies in the world...

Speaking of commies, a Chinese guy (probably a commie or a PRC sympathizer)chases and punches 'Free Tibet' banner holding man



Some Chinese doesn't like free speech, even the ones that live in the west. This video is better than the Olympic.

crazy commies...

Loud mouth without shame. You guys still need the US to protect you guys. How come you don't have the balls when the US are raping Corean on Corean soils.

Do you take the time to read this thread or you let your emotions take the best of you?



Furthermore, Vietnam is working with North Korea and South Korea to improve the relations betwwen North and South Korea.


A few years ago, Vietnam arranged a meeting of North Korea and South Korea in Hanoi so the two sides can talk with each other and improve the relations. Unfortunately, it did not go as planned.

I would agree w/ Maskim's judgment. This guy is trying to distract us from more juicy threads.....

this "Corean" poster is chinese.

I have found the story of the Ly branch in Korea fascinating! It's truely a beautiful story of both nations. I wonder if anyone having a picture of the statue of general Ly sitting on his white horse? It would be great if you would post it here.

cut it out. this guy isn't even korean.

Are you korean. i love korean.

you know who i am.

Man STFU. You're so ignorant!! Corea is taking control of wartime management from the Americans, so we will fight under Corean command if war happens. It means we are independent! The US doesn't dare to piss of Coreans because the public will not stand for it.

And also, I didn't start this crap. You can go talk about your commie or vietnamese topics all you want, I don't care. Don't bring us Coreans into this stuff, we don't care.

Then I find it hard to love you.

Nice of you to come in here to let me know you don't care. People who don't know think you do care.

http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/index.php?...0&start=120

read that. it's a chinaman fooling around under a korean disguise.

We in here are usually nice and kind to visitors. Now, you need to grow up and stop acting so irrationally.

Nice article, SoCal. I didn't know something like this existed, that's pretty cool to see.

Wow, you're dumb. I came here because you were insulting Coreans. Get it??



LOL?? OK so now I am a Chinese commie LOL. Man, you commies are so funny.



OK, stop talking trash about Corea then. I already said I don't care about Vietnam. I don't feel very close to that country anyway so I don't care.

Everyone, don't be an idiot by taking the bait like asean.asia. Ignore Corean and report him to the mods. I find him annoying as hell and would love to see him get banned or something of the sort.

You are welcome, Kaosq. Let's work together.

Then punish those who talked trash about Corea first. And SantaKlaws, why don't you shut up?? Most Coreans are fed up with your traitor allegiances.

Please don't feed the troll claiming to be Korean.

Indeed, my good man.

Ignore Corean, he is a troll.

Props to Korean-Vietnamese relationship. We have similar interests and have great potential to foster an excellent partnership.