Khôi Phạm in Culture
Home Is Where the Bum Gun Is
In the 2010s, my journey to study abroad took me to Singapore. Being a tiny person in an enormous city was a huge undertaking for a teenager, as I had to adapt to countless changes, from minute to major, at once: living in a different language, academic pressures, foreign customs and cuisines, and being away from my family. Gradually, things fell into place. The public transport worked well; the accent got more familiar; and I didn’t miss bánh mì and cơm tấm nearly as much as I thought I would; but there was one thing I never managed to entirely overcome — the bum gun-shaped void in my heart.
Review: From Czechia, ‘Trường Hè, 2001’ Bridges Family Divides, Both Onscreen and in Real Life
Summer School, 2001, directed by Czech-Vietnamese writer and director Dužan Duong, was first released last year and has received critical acclaim within the Czech Republic and Europe. Now, the film has come to Vietnam, where it is available in Galaxy, Cinestar, and Beta theaters across Saigon, Hanoi and Đà Nẵng.
Family-Friendly Summer Vacations Made Easy at Crowne Plaza Phu Quoc Starbay
The ripening of sweet jackfruit, mangosteen and mangos; hammocks swinging gently in patches of cool shade; and evenings that stretch on with the comfort of knowing there is no alarm clock waiting the next morning: summer arrives as opportunity. When school holidays begin, families scramble to adjust schedules and secure care and activities, creating the potential to carve out some time for a vacation to savor fresh air, explore thrills, and simply bond as a family in a beautiful destination.
This Wedding Is Too Boring to Nhậu, Let's Put on Some Miền Tây Remix
While phasing in and out of sleep on a coach in the Mekong Delta, have you ever been jolted awake by the bouncing beats of a Vinahouse version of ‘Quê em mùa nước lũ’ (Flooding Season in My Hometown)? Or, a mindless TikTok scroll would bring up the catchy tune of ‘Lấy cây kim may đồ’ (Pass Me the Sewing Needle) that’s trending nationwide.
Indie Short Film 'Saigon Kiss' Is a Quintessential Saigon Queer Love Story
Is there a meet-cute more characteristically Saigon than a motorbike breakdown and subsequent friendly assist from a stranger?
Linh Phạm in Trích or Triết
In Xuân Diệu's Tender Poetry, a Reminder to Love Honestly and Courageously
“Tenderly, fondly, Xuân Diệu held on to my wrist, caressing it up and down. Our eyes locked in affection…Xuân Diệu loved me.”
Pete Walls in Travel
For the Freshest Fish of the Day, Head to Hội An's Coast Before Sunrise
The alarm goes off at 3am. By 3:30am, scooters laden with empty crates and baskets are already moving through the dark lanes and sandy passages towards Hội An's coast. Long before the old town wakes, the beaches along the shore are coming alive with engines, head torches, waves, and fishermen preparing to return to land. Thankfully, coffee is readily available almost anywhere.
From the Mind of 'Mekong Review' Comes ‘Yellow,’ a New Lit Mag Focused on SEA
“Cooped up in my apartment-cage in Tân Định, I created, with scissors and glue, dummy after dummy of a cosmopolitan rag positively pumping with scandals and half-truths. I was having a lot of fun dreaming of a magazine that I would never be able to do. And buried somewhere in that detritus on the floor—advertising cutouts and newspaper clippings—was Yellow … Once I knew I had the name, the magazine more or less made itself, as though the name determined the rest, ie, form and content,” writes Minh Bui of the birth of Yellow, his “what-do-I-do-after-Mekong Review magazine.”
Khôi Phạm in Culture
Home Is Where the Bum Gun Is
In the 2010s, my journey to study abroad took me to Singapore. Being a tiny person in an enormous city was a huge undertaking for a teenager, as I had to adapt to countless changes, from minute to maj...
Review: From Czechia, ‘Trường Hè, 2001’ Bridges Family Divides, Both Onscreen and in Real Life
Summer School, 2001, directed by Czech-Vietnamese writer and director Dužan Duong, was first released last year and has received critical acclaim within the Czech Republic and Europe. Now, the film ha...
This Wedding Is Too Boring to Nhậu, Let's Put on Some Miền Tây Remix
While phasing in and out of sleep on a coach in the Mekong Delta, have you ever been jolted awake by the bouncing beats of a Vinahouse version of ‘Quê em mùa nước lũ’ (Flooding Season in My Hometown)?...
Indie Short Film 'Saigon Kiss' Is a Quintessential Saigon Queer Love Story
Is there a meet-cute more characteristically Saigon than a motorbike breakdown and subsequent friendly assist from a stranger?
Linh Phạm in Trích or Triết
In Xuân Diệu's Tender Poetry, a Reminder to Love Honestly and Courageously
“Tenderly, fondly, Xuân Diệu held on to my wrist, caressing it up and down. Our eyes locked in affection…Xuân Diệu loved me.”
From the Mind of 'Mekong Review' Comes ‘Yellow,’ a New Lit Mag Focused on SEA
“Cooped up in my apartment-cage in Tân Định, I created, with scissors and glue, dummy after dummy of a cosmopolitan rag positively pumping with scandals and half-truths. I was having a lot of fun drea...
On Reading Ocean Vuong and Thinking About the Sniff Kisses of My Family
Having always been a little brother, I had to learn to be a big one when I was 10 years old. In the midst of the confusion of this new role, I found myself pressing my nose to this newborn’s head and ...
Paul Christiansen in Music & Arts
Meet Th.ink Room, the Tattoo Collective Bringing New Life to Old Artworks and Onto Skin
Tattoo Therapist, dr.99hz, cd.cadao, goc.viet, Solarist and Baby Nepotism: listing the artists that call Th.ink Room home feels like shouting out the members of a rap clique. Indeed, tattoo artists, m...
Khôi Phạm in Film & TV
A (Literally) Brief History of Vietnamese Representation in 'Mean Girls' (2004)
Written by Saturday Night Live alum Tina Fey and premiered in 2004, Mean Girls is often heralded as a sharp, self-aware comedy that was ahead of its time, yet still holds up surprisingly well today. A...
On Shooting an Entire Movie on 35mm Film: The Curious Case of 'Quán Kỳ Nam'
“Let’s go to Vietnam!” declared Sabrina Baracetti, president of the Far East Film Festival (FEFF) in Udine, Italy, as she wrapped up her introduction for Leon Lê's Quán Kỳ Nam (Kỳ Nam Inn). ...
Tracing the History of 'Hello Vietnam,' the Overnight Sensation From Europe
Most people who have flown with VietJet are probably familiar with the song ‘Hello Vietnam’ or its Vietnamese version ‘Xin chào Việt Nam.’ As it's often played during landing, tourists might mistake t...
Khôi Phạm in Music & Arts
The Little Moments of Stillness on Hanoi Streets via Artist Hoàng Hiền's Illustrations
Whether they're from Saigon, Hanoi or Đà Nẵng, urbanites in Vietnam have all grown up amid the chaos of local street culture, where the pulses of civic life churn with every vendor, family business, a...
Dispatch From Udine: Vietnam's Cinema Reaches the World Stage While Rooted in Local Culture
Vietnamese cinema experienced a watershed moment at the 28th Far East Film Festival in Udine, Italy.
Short Story Collection 'Gills' Pieces Together a Raw and Complex Portrait of Saigon
Saigon’s landscape looks dramatically different from how it did three or even two decades ago. As the country’s economic powerhouse, Saigon has seen rapid urban development: new highrises like Landmar...
Paul Christiansen in Culture
Whale Worship: Exploring the Role of Whales in Vietnam's Coastal Lore
In 1799, the ferocious Tây Sơn army forced the first Nguyễn Emperor, Nguyễn Ánh, and his troops to flee to the sea. While making their escape, a great storm engulfed the retreating army. As their ship...
Paul Christiansen in Arts & Culture
Exploring Vietnam’s Dynamic, Diverse Artist Residencies [Part Three: Hanoi]
When you mention puppets to someone in Vietnam, they will immediately think of water puppets. And if not this traditional art form, frequently relegated to tourism activities, then they will think of ...
Paul Christiansen in In Plain Sight
An Ode to Saigon’s Chò Nâu Trees
It’s too cold for chò nâu to grow where I’m from, but we still gave it an English name: dipterocarp.
Mầm in Music & Arts
Vietnamese Painter Một Quả Tắc Creates an Intimate and Gentle World on Silk
Silk is an inherently finicky, demanding medium. Yet from the very first encounter, Quế Hương had chose to embrace its temperament and has devoted herself to it for nearly a decade.
Paul Christiansen in Arts & Culture
Exploring Vietnam’s Dynamic, Diverse Artist Residencies [Part Two: Huế, Hội An and Đà Nẵng]
A subtle shimmer inherent to the seashells encrusted around its eyes makes Lân Sư Hồ shiver with life and appear as if it will leap out of the warehouse and prance into the ocean where its coral skin ...
Mầm in Ton-sur-Ton
Into the Earthy, Quirky World of Kramahan's Accessories and Clothing
We paid Nhật, the founder of Kramahan.Clothing, a visit on a windy day in Saigon. This room in the heart of the city has many functions: a living space, a working studio, and also a showroom displayin...
