Paul Christiansen in Literature
Meet Dạ Ngân, the Author of the Most Important Vietnamese Novel You've Never Read
When the wind strafes Dạ Ngân’s window, seedpods shake and rattle like spent bullet casings in the tamarind tree that Americans planted decades ago. They also built the large apartment complex where she now lives. It’s an ironic place to call home, considering Dạ Ngân was a resistance fighter in the south during the American War.
Khôi Phạm in Culture
What Can Vietnamese License Plates Tell You About the Vehicles and Who Drives Them?
There was a game I used to play with my dad whenever we would stop at a traffic light. He would point to a random license plate in front of us and quiz me on where it came from.
Mũi Né Among Top 10 Trending Travel Destinations Globally in 2026, Booking Says
Travel site Booking.com dubbed Mũi Né “one of 2026’s trending travel spots,” reflective of the international attention and domestic emphasis the beach city is currently receiving.
Euphoria, Ruin, Nostalgia: Tracing Hanoi's Changing Skyline by Its Soundtrack
From loudspeakers broadcasting construction anthems during wartime to melancholic ballads mourning vanished street corners, Hanoi's soundtrack reveals a city that has never quite learned to live in its present tense.
Paul Christiansen in Rewind
In 'Cú Và Chim Se Sẻ,' a Director's Radical Empathy for Saigon's Less Fortunate
“They can do what they want. The city owns the zoo. They could sell all the animals here. They could turn it into a golf course. We’re just little people — you and me.”
In 'No Man River,' Dương Hướng Highlights the Raw Pain of Postwar Survival
Dương Hướng’s No Man River (Bến không chồng) was first published in 1991 and won the Vietnam Writers' Association Prize for Fiction. Translated into English by Quan Manh Ha and Charles Waugh, it captures the brutal reality of conflict in Vietnam from 1945 to 1979.
Nguyễn Đức Tín Weaves Spirituality, Faith, Everyday Life Altogether in His Paintings
Can a painting reflect who we are, even if we can’t see ourselves thoroughly? And how does faith guide us forward in life?
Liên Bỉnh Phát Makes History as 1st Vietnamese to Win Best Male Lead in Taiwan
Vietnamese actor Liên Bỉnh Phát recently made history at one of Taiwan’s most prestigious national award ceremonies.
Khô Mực Studio Releases Surreal Calendar Featuring Art From 12 Local Artists
For the 2023 calendar, 'Robots vs. Flowers,' twelve young Vietnamese artists were each given a month and tasked with creating an image responding to the question: "Can technology and nature survive to...
Learning About Life and Death From the Stories of Funeral Directors in Vietnam
Sitting down with Hương Thủy and Đức Thịnh, I was able to listen to a plethora of fascinating anecdotes about Vietnam’s funerary practices.
Léo-Paul Guyot in In Plain Sight
Amid Phố Cổ, the Unassuming Cultural Exchange Center Tells Stories of Hanoi's Heartland
In the heart of the Old Quarter, the Hanoi Cultural Exchange Center carries a rich repertoire of knowledge and stories of the city’s architecture and history.
'Tro Tàn Rực Rỡ' Wins Top Prize at Film Festival in France
Recently, Tro Tàn Rực Rỡ (Glorious Ashes), a Vietnamese film directed by Bùi Thạc Chuyên, was awarded the highest honor at the Nantes Festival of Three Continents.
Khôi Phạm in Music & Arts
Two Decades of Women's Vintage Fashion in Saigon, as Illustrated by a Young Hanoian
In conversations surrounding Vietnam’s fashion history, it’s impossible not to discuss áo dài and its many iterations across the eras as symbols of Vietnamese femininity, but it would be amiss to leav...
Rắn Cạp Đuôi Collective's Only Rule in Music Is Having No Rule
To write any music interview, my formula is quite simple: start with the story of how they got into music, followed by their critical opinions on the field. There will always be a narrative that the m...
Vintage Music Compilation 'Saigon Supersound' Releases 3rd and Final Volume
Since Saigon Supersound presented its first volume back in 2017, the anthology of vintage Vietnamese music has become a household name for fans, both in and out of Vietnam, with a penchant for tunes f...
Paul Christiansen in Loạt Soạt
The Fraught Human-Earth Dynamics in 'Revenge of Gaia,' a Collection of Vietnamese Eco-Fiction
Stories focusing on the natural world and humanity’s relationships with the environment existed before the term eco-literature became popular in the west in the 1970s, but since its coinage, writers a...
How Young Artists Are Bringing Mural Arts to Schools in Rural Vietnam
On their fifth journey off the beaten paths, Tô Đậm is heading to the highland of Ma Bó, Lâm Đồng Province for a new season of lessons, stories, and adventures previously unfolded.
HBO Adaptation of 'The Sympathizer' Casts Kiều Chinh, MC Kỳ Duyên, Sandra Oh
Hollywood stars Sandra Oh and Robert Downey Jr. are joined by a number of diasporic Vietnamese actors for the anticipated HBO adaptation of Viet Thanh Nguyen's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Sy...
Linh Phạm in In Plain Sight
Hanoi's Literature Museum Is Not Neglected, but It's Not Thriving Either
From the side road of Âu Cơ Street, I turned into ngõ 275.
Khôi Phạm in Quãng 8
Hồ Trâm Anh Writes Music for Those Who Walk City Streets Yearning for the Open Sky
When I begin my interview with Hồ Trâm Anh, a light shower starts sprinkling over Saigon’s overcast maudlin sky. I apologize if any errant pitter-patter might distract our call, but Trâm Anh brushes i...
Elise Luong in Music & Arts
Q&A: Nguyễn Quí Đức on Tadioto, Zone 9, and How He Fell for Hanoi's Charms
Countless are the number of hours Hanoi creatives have spent sipping whisky and contemplating the world at the famous drinking hole that is Tadioto.
Adrien Jean in Culture
In Ninh Thuận's Chăm Community, a Joyous Celebration of Katê, the Year's Most Important Festival
The Katê festival is the oldest and most unique festival of the Chăm ethnic minority and has been recognized as a national intangible cultural heritage by Vietnam's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tou...
Mầm in Quãng 8
From Rapper to Singer-Songwriter: Minh Đinh and the Trials to Find Himself
Minh Đinh's journey of self-discovery is one that represents the effort of the multi-talented artists in the Vietnamese indie community.
The Hanoian Artisan Carving Intricate Reliefs From Leather to Make Book Covers
The enduring pages in our history deserve book covers that match their significance.
Paul Christiansen in Culture
Need a Sign From the Universe? Lương Hữu Khánh Street Has Every Color, Shape, and Size.
Saigon is filled with addresses you aren’t looking for, announcements not aimed at you and signs for businesses you have no plans to frequent. Sign street demands delving into the oft-ignored.
A Brief History of Paris by Night, the Anchor of Vietnamese Culture Abroad
If home cuisine could satiate exilic tongues that resist strange flavors, art might condole with nostalgic hearts. Paris by Night is one such therapeutic art, or the hallmark of performing arts for Vi...
Paul Christiansen in Culture
In Đà Nẵng, a Vintage Money Aficionado Forgoes Professorship for Life in the Night Market
What gives one’s life meaning? For some, it’s faith, family or art. For Trần Văn Nam, it’s money, but not in the way you probably imagine.
'Đông Nam Bộ' Project Invites 14 Young Artists to Draw the History of Their Hometowns
“Đông Nam Bộ” is a collection of illustrations reflecting the culture, history and local charms of provinces in the Southeast Region of Vietnam. The artworks were all created by artists who live or gr...
