Vietnam's Da Nang Partners with South Korea on AI Future

Da Nang has welcomed over a million Korean tourists each year, but the Vietnamese city wants to be known for something bigger than its beaches.

At the "Meet Korea in Da Nang" conference this August, the coastal city announced ambitious plans to become an AI powerhouse by 2030. Leaders from South Korea's semiconductor belt, including mayors from Yongin and Osan, arrived to share their playbook for building tech hubs that actually serve people.

The partnership makes sense for both sides. Yongin is constructing a massive semiconductor cluster worth nearly $700 billion and has already attracted 94 global tech firms. Mayor Lee Sang-il showed Da Nang how his city uses AI chatbots to help residents access city services, robots to care for elderly citizens, and smart flood monitoring systems that protect neighborhoods. Over 12,000 cameras connect to AI systems that manage everything from traffic to disaster response.

Osan signed a friendship agreement with Da Nang and demonstrated its AI-powered safety network. The city's smart cameras can track missing persons by analyzing clothing patterns and movements, helping reunite families faster.

Da Nang needs this transformation. While tourism brings visitors, serious manufacturing investments have flowed to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City instead. Vice Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Anh Tien announced the city plans to grow its digital economy to 40% of regional output and nurture 100 AI and semiconductor companies with tax breaks that include Vietnam's first income tax exemptions for tech talent.

The Ripple Effect

The collaboration is already producing real solutions. Vietnamese tech giant FPT proposed building a joint Korea-Vietnam data center and launching an AI Talent Academy to train the next generation. Korean company Sphere AX introduced Fire Watcher, an AI system that detects wildfire smoke through cameras, exactly what Da Nang needs for its $1.1 million wildfire prevention project.

Emergency response firm Winitek is finishing Da Nang's Urban Disaster Management Center with support from Korean aid. The system converts emergency calls to text instantly and uses AI to assess what kind of help people need and how urgently.

Vietnam-Korea University is building partnerships between Korean universities and local firms to create a central Vietnam AI hub. South Korea is already Da Nang's second-largest investor with 345 projects underway.

When cities share what works, everyone wins faster.