Vietnam Welcomes 21m Tourists in 2025, Highest-Ever Figure in History
Last year marked an impressive year for tourism in Vietnam. A record number of 21.17 million international tourists visite...
Viet Thanh Nguyen's New Essay Collection Is Both Theoretically Sharp and Intimately Tender
Last year, acclaimed Vietnamese American writer Viet Thanh Nguyen published To Save and to Destroy: Writing as an Other, a collection of six essays adapted from the prestigious Norton Lectures that he delivered at Harvard in 2023–2024.
Hanoi's Proposal to Stop Train Service Might Spell the End of 'Train Street'
Hanoi’s infamous train street might be going away if a new municipal plan becomes a reality.
In Sa Pa, Learning How to Indigo Dye, One Plant, Vat, and Beeswax Pen at a Time
My first meal in Sa Pa was accidentally earned. After a few hours of uneven rest in a sleeper bus and a short ride from Sa Pa city center to the village, I finally arrived, along with two other indigo enthusiasts, at a small hill in bản Cát Cát. A few modest houses framed a quiet courtyard where indigo vats rested, and long strips of dyed fabric hung on bamboo poles, drying in the morning air.
Khôi Phạm in Quãng 8
Hanoi Indie Duo Limebócx Brings Tried-and-Trù Traditions to Young Ears
A grazing buffalo, frolicking water puppets, mystifying tam cúc cards, an insolent maiden in áo tứ thân, a rustic meal around cái mâm. These are just a few standout visuals that will haunt your brain upon feasting your eyes on Limebócx’ debut music video ‘Yêu Nhau (Qua Cầu Gió Bay).’
In His Research-Driven Artistic Practice, Quang deLam Maps History, Knowledge Together
What if art functions as a visual form for transmitting knowledge and entangled histories, and the artist is a messenger between them and the audience?
Khôi Phạm in Culture
In the Era of AI Slop, I've Learned to Embrace Saigon's Ugly Urban Clutters
To live in Saigon is to coexist with clutter. Chaos is perhaps to be expected, when one’s habitat is a gargantuan crowded compressed narrow concretized megalopolis of over 10 million people, but few cities I’ve been to are as cluttered as Saigon.
Pete Walls in Travel
At Kon Tum's Đăk Đrinh Lake, Life Slows to a Therapeutic Pace
Đăk Đrinh Lake lies in the northern reaches of Kon Tum, where the hills rise in slow, deliberate waves and the pace of life is set by the land. The Ca Dong ethnic communities remain here, maintaining their language, stilt houses, and routines that have shaped this corner of the highlands for generations.
Khôi Phạm in Music & Arts
5 Classic Christmas Songs in Vietnamese for Those Craving Nô-en Wistfulness
Christmas celebration in Vietnam is something else altogether.
Composer Hoàng Việt and a Radical Romance Across the North-South Border
In a country fractured by ideology, Hoàng Việt's love for his wife Ngọc Hạnh persisted like a secret melody carried across closed borders by weak radio signals, and letters that had to circle the glob...
The Cultural Depths in Contemporary Hip-Hop Dance ‘129BPM: Động Phách Tách Kén’
Have you ever witnessed a live performance so powerful that it still lives in your mind weeks later? “129BPM: Động Phách Tách Kén” is not your usual hip-hop breakdance battle, but a contempo...
New 'Số Đỏ' Movie Announced, Directed by Phan Gia Nhật Linh, Starring MONO
Another classic of Vietnamese literature is heading to the big screen in the near future.
Thi Nguyễn in Loạt Soạt
Revisiting the Delicious Satirical Society of 'Số Đỏ' by Vũ Trọng Phụng
Published in 1938, Dumb Luck, or Số Đỏ, remains one of Vietnam's most popular and controversial novels. Vũ Trọng Phụng was fined by the French colonial administration in Hanoi in 1932 for his stark po...
A Dialogue Between Humanity and Nature Through the Duo Exhibition “Biophilia and Naturalis”
Amid the chaos of modern life and urban development, where humans are in constant, fast motion, nature is an important element to remind ourselves of and return to. In this duo exhibition by Patricia ...
Severine Phương Trần's Debut Exhibition in Saigon Celebrates a World of Colors
Step into Severine Phương Trần’s first-ever exhibition in Saigon, where you can explore the artist’s inner world of vibrant colors and different emotions. To fully enjoy this exhibition, it is best to...
Mầm in Quãng 8
From Germany to 'King of Rap' Runner-up: How Tuimi Becomes a Hip-Hop Breakout Star
Tuimi, a Vietnamese German singer and rapper, has become one of the most notable female voices in the local hip-hop scene and been making big waves since her return in 2019.
What Will Become of Chợ Quê in the Era of Widespread Online Shopping?
Firmly taking root in everyday life, our hometown markets — chợ quê — are not simply a place to trade, but also puzzle pieces that make up childhood memories, holiday excitement, and even tales of har...
The Sound of Revolution: How Socialist Realism Shaped Vietnam's Musical Identity
In the depths of my childhood memories lies a peculiar ritual: my grandfather feeding me baby powder while Vietnamese revolutionary songs, or “nhạc đỏ” (red music), played in the background. Without t...
From Cheap Flicks to Local Identity: A Brief History of Vietnamese Horror Films
Horror films have been a part of Vietnamese cinema for a long time, since the heyday of the country’s film industry. But the genre's journey has been challenging. For one, its track record includes ma...
Paul Christiansen in In Plain Sight
To Appreciate Tao Đàn More, Study the Park's Past, Present, and Future
Shallow shrub and fern roots tussle to send shoots, tendrils and stalks up and outwards, sprawling across uneven ground and grasping at patches of light. A musky, funky, fetid soil stink emanates from...
Resilience, Resistance Reflected in Propaganda Art Exhibition ‘Crafting a Message’
How did daily life on the battlefield look from the perspective of first-generation Vietnamese photojournalists? Why did colorful stamps and propaganda posters play such a significant role in the war ...
Paul Christiansen in Culture
An Argument for Why Võng Should Be a Staple Amenity in Every Home
Everyone should have a võng in their home.
Khôi Phạm in Music & Arts
5 Albums to Put on While Driving Home at 12am Pretending You're in an MV
It’s 12:03am in Saigon. You've just finished a movie at the last screening of the day. The asphalt in the parking lot is coated in a layer of golden light from the streetlight. You walk gingerly to yo...
Paul Christiansen in Loạt Soạt
Examining the Role of Shame in Building a National Identity via Vietnam's Thinkers
“Shame, rather than pride, can be the basis for national identity… individuals may be motivated to move their country in a desirable direction when national shame outweighs pride.”
Xuân Phương in Culture
In Nam Định, a Village Goes All out in Festivities to Honor Their Holy Ancestor
Comprising a range of ceremonies and traditional activities reflective of Vietnam’s rice-growing culture, Keo Hành Thiện Pagoda’s annual festival is a momentous occasion for locals to pay respect to t...
Synths, Dreams, and French Culture: Inside Vietnamese Duo Coïncidence's 1st EP
“When we finally finished the project, I was just like ‘Yay, we’re done!’ Then I went to sleep to go to work tomorrow. I guess life just goes by like that,” recalled Thông, a member of Coïncidence, re...
Group Exhibition ‘In Absence, Presence’ Awakens Multi-Sensory Experience
Looking upward, downward, left and right, we follow an invisible yet powerful flow of energy in the dark, then carefully gaze at the artworks as if they are living entities. To enjoy this multi-sensor...
Văn Tân in Music & Arts
Tử Mộc Trà Nurtures Her Family Bond With Textile Into Installation Artworks
Tử Mộc Trà, whose real name is Phạm Thùy Dương, is a young artist born and raised in Hanoi. Her artistic pursuit was nurtured by an innate sense of creativity, family traditions, and her time spent on...
