An Ode to Vũng Tàu, Saigon's Unwavering Summer Crush
I recently took a trip to Vũng Tàu after a long summer of cultural research, which had me traveling up and down Vietnam. It had been seven years since I’d been back to the homeland, and 19 since I’d last seen the beaches of Vũng Tàu, when I was only 16. It felt like returning to a high school crush, and it made me think of the words of Trần Thiện Thanh, who once wrote, “Nhớ lúc xa xưa mười sáu trăng tròn…” I won’t say I wasn’t looking for something familiar, poetic, and possibly even as sappy.
Paul Christiansen in Literature
5 Books by Vietnamese Authors Centered on Strong Female Protagonists
Literature, more than any other art form, allows people an intimate vantage point from which to witness the experiences, emotions, and thoughts of individuals drastically different from themselves. Books thus hold the unparalleled power to inspire, foster empathy, and expand one’s understanding of the human condition.
Women in Post-Đổi Mới Vietnamese Cinema: From Archetypal to Multifaceted
In Vietnamese cinema, the female figure has long been employed to deliver macro-level messages rather than just mundane narratives.
Khôi Phạm in Music & Arts
The Multiverse Behind the 1990s Classic 'Người Tình Mùa Đông' by Như Quỳnh
There is a certain timelessness to the song ‘Người Tình Mùa Đông’ by Như Quỳnh, especially in the visuals of its very first performance. For generations of Vietnamese listeners, ‘Người Tình Mùa Đông’ is an icon in the hall of fame of Vietnamese music, but as I have come to discover, the melody that Vietnamese know as ‘Người Tình Mùa Đông’ has lived a life much richer and more transcendent than it might appear.
Vietnamese Creators Teach Kids to Appreciate Rice in 'Con Ăn Hết Rồi' Book Project
If one day, the grains of rice that you frequently put in your mouth suddenly start to move, talk, and give you a rundown on how they were created on the field, would you believe it? This seemingly absurd scenario is exactly what happened to Minh, a little boy who's the main character of Con ăn hết rồi!, a children's book by author Đỗ Nguyệt Hà and illustrator Lê Phương Quỳnh, also known as Buffy.
Paul Christiansen in Music & Arts
In Hội An, Artist Nguyễn Quốc Dân Breathes New Life Into Scrap Materials
The several dozen family altars that formed a hodgepodge pile had each been abandoned in graveyards. For many, this would make them extremely inauspicious. But to artist Nguyễn Quốc Dân, they are perfect for making art.
Enlightening Misery Under French Rule Explored in 'Light Out and Modern Vietnamese Stories'
Light Out and Modern Vietnamese Stories, 1930–1954 offers the contemporary reader an honest glimpse of a period in Vietnam history characterized by corruption, exploitation, dehumanization, poverty, and starvation. The Vietnamese texts, both a novella and accompanying short stories, not only delineate the immediate influence of French colonization on the sociopolitical functions of Vietnam, an enterprise solely designed for its economic potential, but also expose the extending impact on the quotidian lives of proletarians, particularly the peasantry.
What Shipwrecks Can Teach Us About Vietnam's Centuries-Old Maritime History
Deep beneath the ocean surface, colorful ceramic fragments have been scattered and stacked upon one another for centuries. Some remain whole, others broken, many still covered with corals and ocean dust. Once precious commodities, these pieces have become time capsules, carried into the Vietnamese waters by ships that never reached their destinations. What stories might these centuries-old ceramic artifacts hold about Vietnam’s connection with surrounding kingdoms?
Saigoneer Podcast: 'Things We Lost to the Water' Author Eric Nguyen
We hope you had a good, safe holiday weekend!
Vietnamese Artist Shows Incredible Skills in Hyperrealistic Hảo Hảo Noodles Painting
The much-shared image looks so real that its artist, Lê Đại Phát, was forced to upload a video of him creating it to prove it was in fact a painting.
Mầm in Quãng 8
The Marriage of Electronic and Folk Instruments in DJ Teddy Chilla's Music
DJ and producer Teddy Chilla is among a few artists in the current music scene who are known to experiment with Vietnamese traditional music in their electronic works.
[Video] The Absurdist 'Sài Gòn Đẹp Lắm' Music Video That Makes You Question Reality
What in the world is going on here?
Saigoneer Podcast: Vietnam's Contemporary Coffee Culture and a Street Food Update
A new Saigoneer Podcast episode is now available!
A Lotus 'Startup' in Hanoi Goes Back to Its Roots
For Lã Quang Khanh, a resident of Me Linh District, the term khởi nghiệp, or startup, has nothing to do with technology.
Inside the Extravaganza Using Literature to Highlight Hoi An History
Directed by writer Nguyễn Quang Vinh, “Hội An Show – Gratitude” was launched last month in the central Vietnam town. It featured 150 artists portraying the history of the ancient town via stories of H...
Sold for $3.1m, Mai Trung Thứ Portrait Becomes Highest-Valued Vietnamese Artwork
Artworks by Vietnamese artists have been sold at record-breaking amounts in recent years.
Saigoneer Podcast: Domestic Tourism Amid the Pandemic with Urbanist Travel's Chau Nguyen
A new podcast episode is out now!
Elise Luong in Music & Arts
Ahead of the Hanoi Return of 'Les Misérables,' a Talk With Director Trần Ly Ly
Directing the Vietnam National Opera and Ballet with a tender iron fist since 2018, Tran Ly Ly pushes her artists and the company towards a daring new image by revisiting classic works and promot...
Elise Luong in Ton-sur-Ton
Kilomet109's Thảo Vũ: 'Clothing Is a Language That You Can Write With'
In October last year, eco-fashion label Kilomet109 launched its latest collection “Miên.” Designer Thảo Vũ sat down with us to share the label’s awkward beginnings and what the label means to her...
Paul Christiansen in In Plain Sight
A Case for the Coexistence of Convenience Stores and Tạp Hóa
What is VND1,000 worth? t’s not enough to buy a piece of gum, boiled egg or phone call. You can’t even park your bike in most places for that pittance. I imagine many people step over a dropped 1K note on the street rather than make the effort to stoop down to pick it up. And yet, a few days ago, 1,000 đồng meant the world to me.
8 the Theatre Refreshes Jazz With Music by Young People for Young People
What are you doing at 8pm?
Linh Pham in Culture
Bình Dân Học Vụ, Vietnam's Revolution Against the Enemy of Illiteracy
O tròn như quả trứng gà / ô thì đội mũ, ơ là thêm râu.
Mỹ Anh's Journey to Carve Her Own Space in the Music Scene Is Just Starting
You can feel Mỹ Anh’s eccentric bubbly energy right away; her free-spirited character is expressed through not only her music, but her '80s-inspired style and aura. Wearing her trademarked checkered t...
Saigoneer Podcast: Vietnam's Modernist Architecture With Book Author Phạm Phú Vinh
A new Saigoneer Podcast episode is out now!
Paul Christiansen in Music & Arts
The Unquenchable Spirit of Artist Lê Triều Điển
“Điển is like a flower; there is no question of growing or not growing.”
Elise Luong in Music & Arts
The Unwavering Creative Gusto of Artist Mộng Bích
As she approaches her 90th spring, artist Mộng Bích continues to paint with insatiable gusto and infectious calm in preparation for her solo show at the French Institute of Hanoi opening on ...
'The Humanimal' Exhibition Celebrates Artist Daos501's 15-Year Journey in Graffiti
The set of artworks titled "The Humanimal" by Daos501 — an established name in Vietnam's graffiti scene — brought the harmony between nature and humans to Interlink’s art event.
After Decades Under the Bed, a 1974 Vietnamese Film Finds an Audience Online
It's 2009 and I'm running a workshop for a large group of unemployed jobseekers in Sydney, Australia.
