Experts from the Republic of Korea (RoK) have helped Vietnam to restore Hue ’s royal musical instruments from the early 20 th century.

To mark the 20 th anniversary of Vietnam-RoK diplomatic ties and the Year of Vietnam-RoK Friendship, the RoK has handed over a set of bac chung (large bronze bells ) and dac khanh (large musical stones) used in the Hue Royal Court to the Hue Centre for Monument Conservation on the occasion of Hue Festival 2012.

Previously, the centre also cooperated with RoK experts in collecting and studying materials and in staff training, in order to support the restoration of royal musical instruments in the Nguyen Dynasty, including bien chung (sets of 12 small bronze bells) and bien khanh (sets of 12 small musical stones) used in Hue Royal Court.

According to Phan Thanh Hai, Centre Director , the successful restoration of these musical instruments contributes to conserving and promoting the value of Hue Royal Court Music, which has been recognised as a world Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO.