Da Nang, South Korean province? Why this coastal city is a hit with East Asian tourists

At the bustling Han Market in central Da Nang, two Vietnamese vendors tease a middle-aged South Korean tourist by calling him harabeoji, or “grandfather” in Korean.“I’m offended!” he jokes.The women grab his arms and laugh. “It’s OK, it’s OK.”The man had returned to their stall after buying 200,000 dong (US$7.60) worth of macadamia nuts the day before. It is a small moment of banter, repeated dozens of times a day in a city that many people from South Korea jokingly call their own unofficial seaside province.Outside the market, storefronts display Korean-language signs. K-pop drifts from restaurants and massage parlours. South Korean tourists crowd the streets in the city centre.South Korean tourists shop at Da Nang’s popular Han Market in Vietnam. Photo: David D. LeeIn recent years, visitors have nicknamed the city “Gyeonggi province of Da Nang”, a tongue-in-cheek reference to the densely populated region surrounding Seoul.