Gangwon Province is hosting a team of Vietnamese government officials on a week - long trip here to study Korea ’ s housing policies for low - income earners . The program , requested by Vietnam ’ s Ministry of Construction , is co - organized by the International Urban Training Center , a state - run training center for policymakers in Gangwon Province and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme in Vietnam . A group of 13 officials from the construction ministry and Vietnam ’ s local municipalities began their site visits , meeting with related institutions in Gangwon Province on Monday to learn about Korea ’ s low - income housing provisions . “ This study tour is significant as it is IUTC ’ s first international training course on improvement of low - income housing , which will be extending to the Asia - Pacific region in collaboration with UN to implement and promote related Korean efforts throughout the world , ” Kim Kwi - gon , director of IUTC said . Moom Nam - soo ( front , center ) , director of Environment Policy bureau in Gangwon Province , and Kim Kwi - gon ( front , second from right ) , director of International Urban Training Center , pose with Vietnamese officials touring Korea to study the country ’ s low - income housing policy . ( Gangwon Province ) The program is designed for policymakers to exchange information , knowledge and experience in building affordable houses and financing them . Vietnamese officials are to bring insights from the trip to better plan their national housing strategy in need of reform to cater for the fast - growing population in urban areas . With an average increase in population of about 1 million people per year , Vietnam has been one of the most densely populated countries in the region and in the world . Population density in the capital of Hanoi reached nearly 1 , 900 people per square km in 2009 and that of Ho Chi Minh City is 3 , 400 people per square km . The Ministry of Construction is mandated to come up with better ways to provide decent social housing for the growing number of workers , migrants , students and disadvantaged groups . “ I believe this ( the study trip ) will bring some insights for the policy makers , and support them to finalize the national housing development strategy for the next two decades , ” Tran Xuan Bach , UN - HABITAT Vietnam project manager said . By Cynthia J . Kim ( cynthiak @ heraldm . com )