Khôi Phạm in Culture
US Presidents, Russian Mascot, and Tintin: The Surprising History Behind Vietnam's Dog Names
As Vietnamese society progresses, dogs and cats’ role in our families have gradually elevated to worthy life companions instead of mere animal help in previous generations. While the archive of pet names today seems endless and every day you can easily bump into pets bearing hilariously human names, tasty food dishes, or glorious adjectives, the naming conventions of Vietnamese domestic animals in the past had recurring themes that directly correspond to the cultural and historical atmosphere of when they were coined.
Paul Christiansen in Literature
5 Quixotic Books About Vietnam for When You're Craving a Little Quirky Read
There are too many good Vietnamese books to recommend, let alone read.
Far From Vietnam: A 1967 French Anti-War Film Grapples With Its Own Contradictions
French cinema experienced a creative renaissance in the 1960s with arguably the most influential movement in its history...
'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.
[Video] A Poetic Look at Cho Lon
Some people have a knack for seeing things differently. Just like the backpacker who managed to make Pham Ngu Lao seem like a bastion of authentic local culture, so have Huy Tran and the Only in Saigo...
[Photos] Photographer Captures Slum Life on the Banks of Hanoi’s Red River
From north to south, urban Vietnam is full of contrasts. Skyscrapers go up next to shophouses. Food carts rub shoulders with five-star hotels. And sometimes, amid the changing cityscapes of this fast-...
Sweden Just Held Its Largest Ever Exhibition of Contemporary Vietnamese Art
Mien Meo Mieng / Contemporary Art from Vietnam – the most comprehensive exhibition of contemporary Vietnamese art ever presented in Sweden – features installations, drawings, paintings, videos and scu...
Stunning Vietnamese Children's Book Wins Asia-Wide Prize
When it comes to reading materials for kids, Vietnam is full of small, inexpensive paperbacks, but seldom does the country produce a colorful, high-quality storybook like The First Journey.
Dana Filek-Gibson in Music & Arts
The Music Man: Mark Gergis' Old-School Saigon Soul
When he was young, Mark Gergis – like most American teenagers – spent a lot of time sifting through records (or cassettes or CDs or iTunes...whatever your generation did). It was the 1980s, and there ...
Vietnamese Film Submitted to 2016 Oscars
For the first time in two years, a Vietnamese film is in the running for an Academy Award.
Islands, Archipelagos and Other Liquid Territories: Exploring the High Seas with Map Office
Acclaimed Hong Kong-based artists Laurent Gutierrez and Valerie Portefaix of Map Office bring to Dia Projects their first solo show in Saigon, titled Islands, Archipelagos and Other Liquid Territories...
[Photos] 15 Old Photos to Celebrate Vietnamese Women's Day
Today marks the 85th Vietnamese Women's Day. A nationally observed holiday since 1930, October 20 commemorates the day upon which the country's Women's Union was officially established and recognized ...
Saigon Student Creates Vietnam-Themed Alphabet
When Luu Trong Nhan first came across Around the World with Type, a project by Indian design students Rigved Sathe and Payal Jagwani, the 23-year-old student knew he could create an equally stunning V...
[Video] Insane Buon Ma Thuot Floods Sweep Away Motorbikes
In Vietnam's latest installment of flood-related news, yet another deluge has struck the country, this time in the Central Highlands city of Buon Ma Thuot.
Phnom Penh to Transform Abandoned Ship Into Floating Arts Center
Phnom Penh is about to get a new attraction in an old, deteriorating boat.
[Video] Downtown Saigon Is at Its Best in This Drone Video
Sometimes, when you're trapped in a gridlock of rush hour traffic, struck by an especially foul scent or awoken by the ear-splitting noise of roosters, construction projects and chatty next-door neigh...
Event Rewind: Beer Fest @ Saigon Outcast
Last Saturday, crowds of thirsty Saigoneers flocked to Saigon Outcast for its first-ever Beer Fest, which celebrated the city's growing number of craft beer producers.
[Video] Saigon Ad Agency Portrays Romance With a Good, Old-Fashioned Cavity Search
Most Vietnamese TV commercials are pretty much the same: there's a bit of dancing, a few graphics and a handful of attractive young people parading across the screen. Everything is glossy, well-produc...
Saigoneer's September Art Picks
After the city's gallery scene took a summer hiatus, Saigoneer is back with our art picks for the month. September was off to a good start with a variety of exhibitions, employing everything from urba...
New Edition Of Standpoint Theories Will Hit Saigon This Month
Multi-disciplinary production company Standpoint Theories returns to Saigon with three performances of Legends of Vietnam: Remix, an evolution of last year's Legends of Vietnam. The new and improved p...
Thai Binh Businessman Builds Made-in-Vietnam Mini Submarine
We all have our hobbies: for some it's tennis, for others it's golf, and for one guy in northern Thai Binh province, it's building military-grade submarines.
October Movies At Saigon’s Alternative Film Venues
It is not Halloween without a dose of horror. Check out which spooky films made the list this year at Saigon's alternative movie-viewing venues. If zombies, ghosts and paranormal activity are not your...
New Victor Vu Film Wins at International Festival
Last week, Vietnamese film Tôi Thấy Hoa Vàng Trên Cỏ Xanh (Yellow Flowers on the Green Grass) took home the Feature Films of 2015 award at China's Silk Road International Film Festival, held in Fujian...
Zelda Goes To The Gallery: Khói Sóng
Khói Sóng, Ha Manh Thang’s new exhibition and his second at Galerie Quynh, is part of the artist's ongoing Vietnam Landscapes (2010 – present) project, in which his reflections on Vietnamese...
