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It has been an incredible experience visiting Asia over the past two weeks. My trip began with a visit to South Korea, where I spent some time in beautiful Seoul. I then headed to Busan to check out the bid site for the 2030 World Expo! I took a bullet train there to see where the exposition would be, and it would make for a perfect location. The city has 3.5 million residents and is located on the southeastern tip of the Korean peninsula with beaches, mountains, rivers, seas, and hot springs. Sin Chae-Hyun, Ambassador for International Relations, World Expo 2030, led a great presentation of the site for the Korean bid.

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I enjoyed my time traveling around the country and immersing myself in the local culture. I had the chance to visit Samsung and the SK Ecoengineering Team and have some great conversations with colleagues about the innovative practices in South Korean business models.

I also made sure to stop in Seoul at the famous Maple Tree House with colleagues to sample some delicious dishes! And I visited the 123-story skyscraper Lotte World Tower, the tallest building in South Korea and the sixth tallest in the world, which was another highlight of the trip.

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My trip then continued on to Hanoi, Vietnam, where I met officials from the Vietnamese Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and our colleagues at VinFast.

Madame Nguyen Phuong Hoa, Director General of International Cooperation Department, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and I met in Hanoi and had a great discussion about culture and international relations.

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One of the highlights of my time in Hanoi was a meal at the famous Bún chả Hương Liên restaurant, where President Obama and Anthony Bourdain dined in 2016! The food was fantastic and I highly recommend it if you are visiting Hanoi in the future.

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I ended my time in Vietnam with an impressive tour of the amazing VinFast automotive manufacturing plant, accompanied by Hoang Hai Pham, Head of Commercial & Strategic Partnerships at Vingroup and Michael Johnson, Deputy CEO, Global Manufacturing at VinFast.

I’m already looking forward to my next trip to Asia!