[비즈한국] After finishing my two-week quarantine, I excitedly hopped into a taxi. I gazed out the window with bright, wide eyes.
'Wow, there are really so many motorbikes!'
Like anyone visiting this city for the first time, what overwhelmed me initially was the wave of motorbikes filling the streets. But there was something else, perhaps not as ubiquitous as the motorbikes, but still very noticeable: familiar Korean signage. GS25, Lotteria, Tous Les Jours, Paris Baguette...
'Am I in a Koreatown back in Korea?'
That was the thought that crossed my mind. This wasn't the scenery I had expected... A wave of disappointment washed over me. It was so different from the image I had imagined before coming here. I’ve been in Vietnam for nearly three months now, but the only time I’ve seen an Ao Dai (traditional Vietnamese clothing) was on a waitress at a high-end Vietnamese restaurant. I haven't even seen a cyclo (traditional Vietnamese transport) being pulled once. However, I see dozens of Baemin riders in mint-colored helmets and jackets navigating the streets every single day.
At first, I was annoyed by the wave of Korean brands that betrayed my fantasy about Vietnam. But my thoughts gradually changed.
My move to Ho Chi Minh City was not a voluntary decision. One day, my wife was suddenly assigned as an expatriate, and we had to come in a hurry. It was just like a professional baseball player being traded overnight and forced to join a new team. Whenever I heard news of trades, I used to think:
'How devastating must it be for that player to be sent to another team overnight, regardless of his own wishes?'
But what if you encountered a colleague or coach you knew, like a classmate or a senior/junior from your school days, at your new team? Wouldn't you feel much more at ease?
As time went by, the Korean brands I encountered on Ho Chi Minh soil became exactly that kind of presence. Walking through a sea of Vietnamese signs I couldn't understand, coming across a familiar Korean convenience store or coffee shop would often bring a sense of relief—a feeling that "Ah, I’m not completely stranded in the middle of a desert." Our familiar brands often act as an oasis in daily life.
A while ago, I ran out of the 'live ammunition' I brought from Korea. I had used up all the US dollars I prepared for living expenses. In a situation where I had to open a local bank account and make an overseas transfer to use my pocket money, I felt burdened by the prospect of opening an account at a Vietnamese bank where the language barrier was an issue. However, if you go to District 1 (the central district of Ho Chi Minh City, equivalent to a 'Gu' in Seoul), it’s easy to open an account.
This is because branches of domestic banks such as Shinhan Bank, Woori Bank, Kookmin Bank, and Industrial Bank of Korea024110 are concentrated there. It would probably be even easier if I went to Phu My Hung, the Koreatown. The staff working there are all fluent in Korean. They kindly explain interest rates and how to use the app in Korean, which often puts a smile on my face.
If it's a family member or acquaintance's birthday, I can open Google Maps, search for Paris Baguette or Tous Les Jours, and easily go buy a cake. When my son begs, "Dad, I want to eat chicken for dinner tonight," I open the 'Baemin' app, order Goobne Chicken, and it's delivered right to our door in no time. When I get tired of the Vietnamese pho and banh mi I eat every day and suddenly crave a 'taste of home,' I can simply go to the GS25 in front of my house and grab a kimchi fried rice lunch box or some tteokbokki, and the problem is solved instantly.
Just because I am singing the praises of Korean brands, don't mistake this for thinking that Korean companies in Vietnam are operated solely for Koreans. Their target, of course, is the locals. And they have truly penetrated deep into the lives of the local people.
There is a high school in front of my house, and the GS25 located next to it is always crowded with local students. The difference between this and a Korean convenience store is that this one has a huge number of tables and chairs. It has enough space for about 20 people each inside and outside. The tables are occupied by young people.
There are groups chatting while eating lunch boxes in a space where BTS songs are blasting, and students studying while drinking Pepsi with Blackpink’s faces printed on them. Korean convenience store culture has penetrated this deeply into the daily lives of Ho Chi Minh’s youth. Just like how Vietnamese pho has settled into the food culture of young Koreans.
It's not just convenience stores that have permeated the daily lives of the Vietnamese. Countless young people enjoy dates at trendy tteokbokki restaurants playing K-pop music videos or at Korean-style jjimjilbangs (saunas). Many places are currently closed due to COVID-19. The most common cinema chain in this city is none other than Lotte Cinema. If you open the Netflix app, the 'Top 10 Content in Vietnam Today' section is dominated by 'Vincenzo,' 'Night in Paradise,' 'Tale of the Nine Tailed,' and 'Sisyphus' in the top four spots.
Above all, the number of young people learning Korean is increasing rapidly. Earlier this year, Korean was officially designated as a second foreign language in the Vietnamese curriculum. Not long ago, I called a taxi via Grab to go to my son's kindergarten, and I was surprised when the driver started talking to me in Korean.
Vietnamese women walking down the street with their flowing Ao Dais, merchants wearing traditional conical hats, drivers pulling cyclos... The Ho Chi Minh landscape I imagined back in Korea was a fantasy and a stereotype. That might have been the scene decades ago, but it is not the reality of Ho Chi Minh City in 2021, a city growing rapidly day by day.
Someday, when the day comes for the plague to recede, many people will visit this city, right? I hope they don't get disappointed by the landscape of this city, soaked in fantasy like I was. Instead, I hope they actively experience the true essence of a global city where numerous brands from Korea, Japan, Thailand, and more embroider every corner. After all, this appearance is the authentic look of 'here and now.'
Kim Myeon-joong began his career as a newspaper reporter, worked as a magazine reporter for men's fashion magazines and travel magazines, and until recently, served as the editor-in-chief of Asiana Airlines' inflight magazine. Since the beginning of this year, he has been staying in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, one of the fastest-growing cities in the world.