Korean pears at Big C super market (Photo: Tran Viet/VNA)

 According to the Korea Small Business Institute (KOSBI), the Southeast Asian country was the second-largest overseas market for SMEs, with outbound shipment growth surging 33.4 percent over 2016.

Vietnam was the second-largest destination for products made by medium and small local companies, coming in second only to China. In the previous year, Vietnam was the fourth-largest overseas market.

KOSBI said wireless telecommunications equipment, knitted textiles, and plastics were the main export items to Vietnam.

The think tank, which works to facilitate the sustainable development of SMEs, said Vietnam is attractive as it has a population of over 90 million with annual economic growth reaching 6-7 percent.

The institute added that because of the popularity of Korean Wave or "hallyu" and the strong presence of companies like LG, Samsung and Hyundai Motor, Vietnamese consumers have favorable impressions of South Korean products.