Diverse ASEAN culture reflected in traditional costumes

The event is being held by the Vietnamese Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in coordination with the embassies of ASEAN countries in Vietnam to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the ASEAN Community and Vietnam’s holding of the ASEAN Chairmanship 2020.

A performance with ASEAN traditional costumes at the opening ceremony.

On display are some of the traditional costume culture treasures of 10 ASEAN member countries. In addition, there are images of the landscapes, culture, countries and people of ASEAN, providing viewers with a greater understanding of ASEAN, thus enhancing connectivity and friendly solidarity among countries in the region.

Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Ta Quang Dong (far left), Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Quoc Dung and foreign delegates visit the exhibition.

Southeast Asian countries are famous for their unique and rich culture, clearly reflected through the extremely diverse traditional costumes based on the geographical, ethnic, climatic, and traditional cultural characteristics of each country in the region.

Traditional costumes not only express the beauty of costume culture but also honour the cultural traditions and souls of the people of each country in the ASEAN community. Although Western costumes are convenient and have been used more often in daily life, traditional costumes still have their own unique cultural beauty and are chosen by local people to wear during holidays and important events of each country in Southeast Asia.

In addition to traditional costumes, the exhibition also introduces unique cultures and daily life of people of ASEAN member states.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Ta Quang Dong, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said that the exhibition aims to introduce the culture, lives and people of ASEAN member countries through the beauty of their traditional clothes, thereby enhancing mutual understanding among people in the region, contributing to expanding cooperation in other fields.

Delegates survey traditional Vietnamese costumes on display at the exhibition.

“Although the COVID-19 epidemic remains complicated, the 10 ASEAN member states have actively coordinated and sent traditional costumes and photos to participate in this important ASEAN cultural event hosted by Vietnam. This affirms the special attention of ASEAN countries to cultural events organised by Vietnam in 2020, contributing to creating an overall and attractive cultural space so that every ASEAN citizen and international friends can learn more about ASEAN's identity. At the same time, it shows that ASEAN cultural cooperation has an important role in connecting ASEAN member states and creating a synergy for us to overcome difficulties and challenges,” emphasised Deputy Minister Dong.

Appreciating Vietnam's role as the 2020 ASEAN Chair, Indonesian Ambassador to Vietnam Ibnu Hadi expressed his wish that Vietnam and other ASEAN member states would hold further activities to promote the awareness on the ASEAN Community and greater mutual understanding on the bloc to international friends.

Indonesian Ambassador to Vietnam Ibnu Hadi (C) expresses his impression on the traditional Vietnamese Ao Dai for men.

Visiting the exhibition, viewers can enjoy the unique traditional costumes of countries in the region, including the traditional Ngu Than (five-panelled gown) for Vietnamese men, the Raj Pattern costume of Thai men, and the Baju Kurung for women and Baju Melayu for men in Malaysia.

The exhibition will on display at the Vietnam National Museum of History, No. 1 Trang Tien Street, Hanoi, until October 28.