How Cultural Integration Has Changed Vietnam | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Politics and Activism

How Cultural Integration Has Changed Vietnam

The preservation of traditional values versus the demand of globalization.

6129
How Cultural Integration Has Changed Vietnam
Passerelles Numériques

In the past, when the trade and cultural networks of Vietnam were confined to South East Asia, Confucianism and Chinese culture were the only frames of reference. The Vietnamese adopted said cultures to compare themselves with their neighbors. However, as Vietnam has gradually become globalized, those frames started to be replaced by a range of other foreign cultural standards, such as Western and South Korean values. Vietnamese citizens attempt to modernize their culture by eliminating outdated and dehumanizing customs and preserving distinctive traditional values. However, to some extent, the negligent imposition of foreign cultural norms might put an end to the distinctiveness of Vietnamese culture.

In language, many young Vietnamese usually replace some Vietnamese words with English synonyms. For example, when a person wants to tell his friend about his trip, he might say, “Hôm nay mình hang out với bạn ở Royal City. Thấy phấn khởi với happy dễ sợ.” This literally means, “Today, I hung out with my friends at the Royal City shopping mall. I felt so excited and happy.” They put some English words in their sentences to show that they are well-educated and cool. Vietnamese composers started to use some English sentences in their lyrics or they gave an English name to their songs to make them catchy. Around tourist attractions, many shop signs are not written in Vietnamese, but in English, Russian, or Chinese to attract more foreign tourists. In business, as customers believe that goods with English brand names will be made in the Western world and that it automatically implies a very high quality, many trademarks have a half or whole English name to gain more revenue. That trend is not economically, but culturally wrong and it could deteriorate the Vietnamese language. The language may become bastardized and corrupt when it cannot preserve its clarity and purity.

Vietnamese people now tend to impose foreign standards to evaluate their own beauty standards. In fashion, because of the integration of South Korean culture through pop music and dramas, a potential compliment might be, “You look like a South Korean guy,” when they see someone who is wearing trendy clothes. In beauty pageants, judges adopt Western standards rather than Vietnamese to decide who will be the winner. An ideal winner should have a Western appearance with a tanned complexion, an angular face with high cheekbones, endless legs, and breathlessly sexy curves. These features will increase the probability of winning in global beauty pageants when all of the judges are Western. In contrast, a traditionally beautiful Vietnamese woman has a light skin, a harmonious face with low cheekbones, and is elegant in “Ao dai,” a traditional dress that gently shows off her body's curves.

In reference to traditional festivals, many people oppose killing pigs in public for a local festival or object to the national buffalo fighting festival. Some foreign animal protection associations located in the middle of nowhere argue that it is brutal and savage to animals. Those protestors might forget the mythical legends that brought about these cultural norms in which blood from pigs and harsh buffalo fights embody luck and best wishes for the coming New Year. Some others believe that these violent scenes will negatively affect children’s behaviors.

If this does happen, then the government should ban violent movies as well, such as "Game of Thrones" and "The Lord of The Rings." Some economic experts suggest that the Vietnamese should shift their New Year celebration from the Lunar to the Gregorian calendar because of global business. While we are on vacation, we might miss highly profitable contracts because people all over the world are working. I wonder whether that means that the Vietnamese should, instead, celebrate some national holidays of the United States, such as Thanksgiving and Christmas, because no Americans work on those days.

Those impetuously rapid changes to fit Vietnamese culture into the mainstream of global cultural exchange are no different from the burning of books and burying of scholars in the Qin dynasty of ancient China 2000 years ago. It led to many disastrous impacts on the cultural development of the Chinese. Those changes are similar to cutting off the continuous connections among the past, the present, and the future, and re-writing history of Vietnam. Those actions are betrayals to the nation and to ancestors who sacrificed their lives in patriotic wars to protect Vietnam from foreign domination and cultural assimilation.

An advanced and civilized society, obviously, should not be completely assimilated into others. In contrast, it should welcome cultural exchange without losing its own uniqueness. In other words, people in that society need to know not only how to make room for others’ differences, but also how to preserve their own cultural frame. Vietnamese culture survived several Chinesation attempts over a 1000-year period of Chinese domination. However, now facing globalization, Vietnamese culture seems to be less resistant and quick to assimilate.

The allophilia phenomenon in Vietnam could be a result of the French colonization and wars in the 20th century. That process impoverished the greater mass of the Vietnamese population and it kept the economy outdated and underdeveloped. When the middle and upper classes increased, they started to believe that the material and cultural values from more developed countries could help them show off their social status and wealth as well as helping them gain others’ respect and recognition. Gradually, allophilia has become a phenomenon that occurs in many aspects of life and in every social class, making changes to the language, festivals, and beauty standards as I mentioned before.

Culture exchange and economic integration should be equal in importance and neither should be given preference. If economic integration happens at a slow pace, there is a high potential that we will be out of line and underdeveloped. If cultural exchange occurs without vigilant attentions, then the tragic scenario where Vietnamese culture could be assimilated by other foreign countries might be worse. As culture is the backbone of a nation which differentiates itself from other countries, the disappearance of distinctive culture exemplifies its doomsday. A less developed economy does not mean a less civilized culture. Although we cannot shut off all of our global cultural connections, we should be selective in the cultural essences that we choose to integrate with and we should work to preserve our own distinctive culture.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Featured

15 Mind-Bending Riddles

Hopefully they will make you laugh.

194975
 Ilistrated image of the planet and images of questions
StableDiffusion

I've been super busy lately with school work, studying, etc. Besides the fact that I do nothing but AP chemistry and AP economics, I constantly think of stupid questions that are almost impossible to answer. So, maybe you could answer them for me, and if not then we can both wonder what the answers to these 15 questions could be.

Keep Reading...Show less
Entertainment

Most Epic Aurora Borealis Photos: October 2024

As if May wasn't enough, a truly spectacular Northern Lights show lit up the sky on Oct. 10, 2024

17723
stunning aurora borealis display over a forest of trees and lake
StableDiffusion

From sea to shining sea, the United States was uniquely positioned for an incredible Aurora Borealis display on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, going into Friday, Oct. 11.

It was the second time this year after an historic geomagnetic storm in May 2024. Those Northern Lights were visible in Europe and North America, just like this latest rendition.

Keep Reading...Show less
 silhouette of a woman on the beach at sunrise
StableDiffusion

Content warning: This article contains descriptions of suicide/suicidal thoughts.

When you are feeling down, please know that there are many reasons to keep living.

Keep Reading...Show less
Relationships

Power of Love Letters

I don't think I say it enough...

460054
Illistrated image of a letter with 2 red hearts
StableDiffusion

To My Loving Boyfriend,

  • Thank you for all that you do for me
  • Thank you for working through disagreements with me
  • Thank you for always supporting me
  • I appreciate you more than words can express
  • You have helped me grow and become a better person
  • I can't wait to see where life takes us next
  • I promise to cherish every moment with you
  • Thank you for being my best friend and confidante
  • I love you and everything you do

To start off, here's something I don't say nearly enough: thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart. You do so much for me that I can't even put into words how much I appreciate everything you do - and have done - for me over the course of our relationship so far. While every couple has their fair share of tiffs and disagreements, thank you for getting through all of them with me and making us a better couple at the other end. With any argument, we don't just throw in the towel and say we're done, but we work towards a solution that puts us in a greater place each day. Thank you for always working with me and never giving up on us.

Keep Reading...Show less
Lifestyle

11 Signs You Grew Up In Hauppauge, NY

Because no one ever really leaves.

27859
Map of Hauppauge, New York
Google

Ah, yes, good old Hauppauge. We are that town in the dead center of Long Island that barely anyone knows how to pronounce unless they're from the town itself or live in a nearby area. Hauppauge is home to people of all kinds. We always have new families joining the community but honestly, the majority of the town is filled with people who never leave (high school alumni) and elders who have raised their kids here. Around the town, there are some just some landmarks and places that only the people of Hauppauge will ever understand the importance or even the annoyance of.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments