in Quãng 8

Ly Mí Cường Takes the Sounds of Sáo H'Mông From Hà Giang to International Stages

Born in 2005, Ly Mí Cường has taken sáo Mèo to international music competitions twice in his life — and he managed to take home the first prize both times. Cường’s anchor is always H’Mông culture, the wellspring that has nurtured his soul ever since he first took up the flute of his people, sáo H’Mông.

Paul Christiansen

in Loạt Soạt

'The Colors of April' Invites Numerous Generations of Vietnamese to Reflect on War

“If the rain could wash away everything, maybe we could all find peace. For the third generation after the war, what was left behind wasn’t anger or bitterness, but an enduring sorrow that echoed from the heart.”

Thi Nguyễn

in Culture

In Vietnam, Joss Papers Link Life and Death, Modernity and Tradition

Joss papers and effigies consumed my experiences before I began to even question their meaning. On the anniversary of my grandfather’s death (giỗ), my grandmother routinely set up a large pot in our tiny front yard and burned a stack of replica paper money. It is quite a scene to watch — the fire turned the paper to smoke and ash, and within minutes it was as if the paper never existed.

in Culture

Every Mùng Một, My Family Organizes Our Own Temple Run to Visit 10 Temples

According to Vietnamese traditions, the first, second, and third days of Tết are reserved for one’s paternal family, maternal family, and teacher’s family, respectively.

in Culture

On Hội Xuân, the Harbinger of Tết for High School Students

When I was a high school student, Lunar New Year brought with it a lot of excitement. Not only did we get a week-long break, we also got plenty of fun school activities leading up to the holidays. For me, one of my most anticipated events during this period of time was the high school Tết concerts. 

in Culture

The Tết Board Games That Help Foster (and Destroy) Family Relations

There’s nothing quite as satisfying as beating all your siblings and cousins in a heated game of cờ cá ngựa. 

Paul Christiansen

in Culture

Bored of the Traditional Zodiac? A Case for the Shipworm as a New Con Giáp.

From games to sweet treats to flowers to traditional attire, the nostalgic elements of Tết often tug people to the past. Saig...

in Music & Arts

Between Victory and Sorrow: The Complex Realities Behind Văn Cao's 'Mùa Xuân Đầu Tiên'

Composer Trịnh Công Sơn once wrote: “In music, Văn Cao is as noble as a king. In the field of song composition, I am like a child dreaming that the sun is a paper kite to play with. Brother Văn's music is the music of soaring fairies. I wander among the human realm. He keeps flying and I keep sinking. Flying and sinking in our private destinies...”

Back Arts & Culture

in Music & Arts

Vy Trịnh Takes Us 'On Da Dream' via Her Solo Exhibition at Galerie Quynh

Tough-looking, yet elegant metal ribbons spark, spill, move and occupy all corners of the empty space: up and down, left and right, and in countless directions. Through a new series of sculpture works...

Paul Christiansen

in Culture

Via Webcomics About Sơn Đoòng, Hai Bà Trưng, a Link to Vietnam Across the Ocean

An enormous chim Lạc snatches Mai from her school library in the present day and lifts her high above Sa Pa more than 2,000 years ago.

in Music & Arts

On Grappling With the Problematic Legacy of 'Miss Saigon' in 2024

Having been abroad for more than a year, I was excited at the mere mention of Vietnam anywhere, so I was even more delighted when I learned of the popular musical Miss Saigon. Posters of it were plast...

in Trích or Triết

Nam Cao's Radical Sympathy and Pursuit of Happiness Are Still Relevant Even Today

What messages would a young writer living in colonial times want to impart to the youth of the 21st century? 

in Music & Arts

A World in Turmoil via Mahdi Abdullah’s Exhibition 'Memory and Body Mythology'

How does an artist turn haunting memories into powerful artworks that speak for himself and on behalf of countless lives? Mahdi Abdullah’s paintings serve as social commentary on the realities that th...

in Music & Arts

New Exhibition on Painter Lưu Công Nhân Is a Trip Through Time

The solo exhibition allows the audience to time travel to the world of the late painter Lưu Công Nhân. From watercolor sketches to large-scale paintings, old documents, and even a typewriter on displa...

in Music & Arts

Minh Thúy, Muse of 'Em Thúy' by Famed Painter Trần Văn Cẩn, Passes Away

Even though both the painting’s creator and muse have left us behind, a part of their life will live on with us in an important relic of Vietnam’s 20th century history.

in Music & Arts

Traces of Movement, Memory and Heritage in Duo Exhibition 'Entrusting to Emptiness'

An exhibition that brings the audience through the transition between day and night, and movements between dream and memories. There is no beginning and no end, and all elements above somehow reflect ...

in Music & Arts

In 'Vietnam Retropunk,' a Young Illustrator Dreams of a Cyberpunk Hanoi

To Đặng Thái Tuấn, the talent behind illustration project “Vietnam Retropunk,” whimsical depictions of robots and animatronics sprouting out from everyday objects and activities embody the space in be...

Paul Christiansen

in Ton-sur-Ton

Easybadwork's Free Spirits Are Rooted in Nature and the Underground

A sparrow swooping across a special-edition can of Coca-Cola, the illustrations featured in the artworks of Ngọt's Grammy-nominated album boxset, or perhaps even the tattoo on a stranger you pass on t...

Khôi Phạm

in Music & Arts

The 1st Vietnamese Song With 1bn Views on YouTube Is About Ducks

It’s not Hoàng Thùy Linh’s catchy dance track ‘See Tình’ or the crossover Mekong Delta hit ‘Con gái miền Tây,’ the first Vietnamese song to amass one billion — or bill-ion, if you will — on YouTube is...

Paul Christiansen

in Music & Arts

Get to Know the Dynamic Local Art Scene Alongside 'Saigon Art Journey'

“This is not a tour, remove that word from your minds. This is an interacting and exploring journey,” explained Angeline Gong, an experienced art host known by Saigon’s artists and galleries as Z-Gong...

Paul Christiansen

in Literature

These 5 Vietnamese Poems Pay Homage to the Complexities of Local Fruits

Fruit and poetry: the two things I love most.

Khôi Phạm

in Culture

Xe Trái Cây: If You Can't Find Lovingly Sliced Fruit at Home, Cart-Bought Is Fine

Nature has numerous ways to make itself known: male peacocks fan out their glorious tail made up of iridescent eye-patterned feathers to attract peafowls; blue-ringed octopuses don’t need to invent an...

in Music & Arts

A Visit to Vụn Art, Where Disabled Artisans Turn Fabric Scraps Into Artworks

Fabric scraps, often considered industrial waste, are “revived” by members of Vụn Art cooperative by turning them into intricate silk artworks.

Paul Christiansen

in Loạt Soạt

'Longings' Brings 22 Stories by Vietnamese Female Writers to the World

Where are all the female writers?

in Film & TV

Monotonous Viet-Dubbed K-Dramas Were the Soundtrack of My Childhood

When I was growing up, my family owned a broken TV whose screen would unexpectedly go black while the audio continued to play. Turning it off and on again a couple of times would fix the problem, but ...

in Film & TV

On Returning to K-Drama, the Glue Bringing My Mom and Me Close Together

Before Squid Game became an international phenomenon and put K-dramas on the world map, audiences in Asian countries including Vietnam were enthralled by Boys Over Flowers, The Medical Brothers, ...

Khôi Phạm

in Rewind

For a Horror Film About an Ageless Portrait, 'Mười' Hasn't Aged Well

It’s undeniable that Mười: The Legend of a Portrait has left a lasting impression in the minds of a generation of Vietnamese, as the first collaboration between Vietnam and South Korea’s cinema indust...

Paul Christiansen

in Culture

An Ode to Photo Booths, the Korean Trend Preserving Our Memories in Time

How can photo booths be a new trend if they’ve been around forever?