'Making a Whore' Is Both Less and More Revealing Than Its Reputation Suggests
For the first time, Vũ Trọng Phụng’s novel Làm đĩ is available in English. Originally published in 1936, the novel has been translated by Đinh Ngọc Mai under the title Making a Whore and was released last year by Major Books, an independent publishing house dedicated to making Vietnamese literature more available for the English-speaking world.
Uyên Đỗ in Culture
The Surprisingly Global History of Monobloc, the Chair Vietnam Loves and the West Despises
In 2024, The New York Times published a list of the 25 most iconic pieces of furniture from the past century, selected by a panel of designers, artists, and curators from the world's leading museums. Unexpectedly, the Monobloc, a plastic chair found in almost every corner of Vietnam and across the globe, had somehow secured a seat.
How Richie Fawcett's Saigon Sketches Illuminate a Decade of Change
It’s been hidden right there in the heart of Saigon for over half a decade.
Water as a Metaphor for Trauma, Memories and Unspoken Histories in Quế’s Art
Through installations and animated films, Quế traces the flow of water as they move through personal memories and collective histories, carrying generational trauma amidst urbanization, and even natural disaster.
Insights, Polished History Lessons Await in Hanoi's Massive, Brutalist Military Museum
When I pitched a review of Hanoi’s massive new Vietnam Military History Museum to the Saigoneer editorial staff, I expected to find the museum somewhat boring. After all, although I am a historian, I am not really that interested in military stuff, and I’d been to the original location on Điện Biên Phủ Street several times — how could this new museum improve on the old one? What could this new museum say that the old one didn’t? What could I learn here that I haven’t already learned at Saigon’s War Remnants Museum and Hồ Chí Minh Campaign Museum, at Điện Biên Phủ’s war museum, at Hải Phòng’s naval museum, and at the countless other shrines to Vietnamese martial prowess across the country? Quite a lot, it turns out.
Tourists Generate Up to 3 Times More Plastic Waste Than Locals, UNDP Finds
A recent report by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) warns that plastic waste pollution poses increasing pro...
Thi Nguyễn in Music & Arts
The Facetious Gender Politics of Gỗ Lim, Hanoi's Feminist Post-Punk Quintet
In an example of cruel irony, October 20 is when we celebrate annual Vietnam Women's Day, and also the anniversary of the passing of Mai Nga (commonly known as Nga Nhí), the lead singer of Gỗ Lim — a Hanoi-based female post-punk band that, albeit short-lived, struck a blow for women’s representation in rock and metal music in Vietnam in 2011 and 2012.
Paul Christiansen in Travel
'Chuyện Của Pao' Turned a Historic H'Mông Home in Hà Giang Into a Tourist Attraction
The photos don’t do it justice. That’s what you’ll often hear from people who visit Hà Giang to cruise its famed highway loop.
Paul Christiansen in Literature
A Vietnamese-American Poet's First Return to Vietnam After Half a Century
The barking of a nearby dog forced Hoa Nguyen to pause mid-stanza. It was as if the canine was attempting to collaborate with her poem, a fitting start to the Year of the Dog. This young year saw the ...
Tam Le in Arts & Culture
[Photos] In Saigon's Labyrinth of Alleys, Textures and Typographies Galore
Saigon, like New York or Tokyo, is a city renowned for its crowds—the chaotic jostling of people pressing past other people that occurs whenever millions of lives inhabit the same few square meters. T...
Thich Nhat Hanh Documentary to Open in Vietnam Theaters This March
The documentary about the life and work of Vietnamese Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh will open in his home country in March.
In Vietnam's Contemporary Horror Flicks Lives a Specter of Past Hauntings
About half-way through The Housemaid (Co Hau Gai) I felt an odd sensation. It wasn’t from the gore and panic on display in this horror film but from the fact that not once had there been an overt ment...
Khoi Pham in Culture
The Legends of Tam Nương: Why You Shouldn't Start a Business on the 7th Day of Tet
There’s little doubt that superstition is still deeply rooted in Vietnamese culture. These silvery threads of mysticism are woven into a plethora of aspects of locals’ daily lives, ranging from rather...
Khoi Pham in Culture
[Illustrations] How Tet Traditions in Saigon and Hanoi Differ, From Booze to Bánh
How one’s family celebrates Tet can reveal a lot about where they hail from.
Paul Christiansen in Arts & Culture
Local Illustrator Breathes New Life Into Vietnam's Classic Folk Paintings
Illustrator Nguyen Xuan Lam’s project revamps 20 Vietnamese folk paintings through modern graphic design techniques.
Paul Christiansen in Film & TV
Oscar-Winning Screenwriter to Adapt Horror Flick 'Co Hau Gai' for Hollywood
Geoffrey Fletcher, whose screenplay for the Lee Daniels-directed movie Precious won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay in 2010, will adopt Vietnam's 2016 horror flick Co Hau Gai (The Hous...
Other Intimacies: Photography Display Highlights Reflections on Living With Autism
For one week in late January, the group exhibition “Encounters: Reflections into the spaces surrounding families living with autism" transformed the top floor of the Vietnamese Women's Museum in Hanoi...
[Video] Crafting Altar Brassware in Saigon's Storied Lư Đồng Village
As Tet nears, families all over Vietnam are rushing to decorate their homes and check-off the last few items on their spring cleaning list, such as curtains, glassware, and most importantly, brass hom...
Saigoneer Podcast: U-23 Pride, Bubble Tea Madness, and the Saigon Heat
The Saigoneer Podcast is officially one month old!
Khoi Pham in Arts & Culture
Ve Ve Hat Boi: Saving Vietnam’s Age-Old Art With Youthful Passion
Obsolescence is not a problem unique to Vietnam’s traditional art forms. All over the world – in Cambodia, Bangladesh, and India, for example – ancient crafts are going out of fashion faster than they...
Introducing Nổi, a Live Music Project by Saigoneer and Digipost
There’s little doubt that here at Saigoneer, we’re big fans of Vietnam’s indie acts; just see how we geeked out over Ca Hoi Hoang almost a year ago.
Almost Noble: A Review of 'Punji Trap'
The Sympathizer, Viet Thanh Nguyen’s breakthrough 2015 novel, is a fictional tale of a North Vietnamese spy working inside the South Vietnamese army during the last legs of the American War. Duality a...
Saigoneer Podcast: Grab & Uber, Indie Music and Modernist Architecture
The third episode of the Saigoneer Podcast is available now!
Khoi Pham in Arts & Culture
Kato Sakae and 34 Years of Translating Vietnamese Literature Into Japanese
There’s little doubt that Vietnam is enchanted by Japanese culture. From sushi restaurants to anime to the works of Japanese novelists like Haruki Murakami and Kenzaburo Oe, cultural imports are welco...
This Thai Makeover of the 2018 Honda Super Cub Is the Dream
Honda recently released the newest model of its iconic Super Cub bike.
Vietnamese-American Poet Ocean Vuong Wins Prestigious Literary Award
On January 15, it was announced that Vietnamese-American poet and essayist Ocean Vuong’s debut poetry collection Night Sky With Exit Wounds has won the prestigious 2017 T.S. Eliot Prize.
After LGBT Content, China Now Bans Tattoos, Hip-Hop From National Media
On January 18th, famous Chinese rapper GAI (real name: 周延 Zhōu Yán) was abruptly removed from the reality TV show 歌手 (The Singer).
Saigoneer Podcast: 2017 Recap, Record Tourism Year and Coffee
The Saigoneer Podcast's second episode is online now!
