Introduction to Vietnam: Land, People, Culture - Lecture 1: How to define Vietnam update - Lam Thi Thu Suu

Introduction to Vietnam: Land, People, Culture Dr. Pham Hoa Hiep Hue University Ms. Lam Thi Thu Suu Center for Social Research & DevelopmentWelcome to Vietnam! You I am Norwegian/SwedishI am not marriedGood byeThank youI don’t speak Vietnamese See you againXin chào Bạn/Anh/ chị/ em/cô/chúEm/ anh/ chị là người Na Uy/Thụy ĐiểnEm/ anh/ chị chưa có gia đình Tạm biệtCám ơnTôi không nói được tiếng Việt Hẹn gặp lại How to address someoneBạn : Someone same age with youAnh : a male older than youChị : a Female older than you Cô: A female in age of your parents Cô: your female teacherChú : A male in the age of your parentsThầy: Your male teacher Three fourths of country area are hills and mountainsVietnam as a part of the MekongInfrastructure development and regional integrationPopulation : 90 MillionP density: 260/km2 933/km2 with Hanoi 1,827/km2, total 6.451.909118/km2207/ km2 with Danang 638/ km2, 973.800 total)92/km2436/km2543/km2 HoChiMinh City 3,155/km2, total 7.162.864 Vietnamese cultural identityAs a Chinese replica?Other Vietnamese cultural identity???? (Brainstorm exercise about place, people, and identity) What are Vietnamese people?Vietnamese people are. These are from our Vietnamese students Vietnamese people are friendly, hospitable, traditional, curious, prideful, boastful, hard working, heroic, brave, family-bound, diverse, unified, complicated, indirect, collectivistic but not good at team work, superstitious, ideological, patriarchal Legend of Vietnamese Pre- Chinese (20,000 B.C - 111 B.C) Van Lang Au Lac StateChinese Influence ( 111 B.C. – 939 A.D)ConfucianismTrung SistersPost Chinese influence: Dai Viet Period (1st century – mid 19 century) the Vietnamese culture underwent comprehensive restoration and quick boom, under the tremendous influence of Buddhism and Taoism.French Influence (1887 – 1940) Vietnam under the Communist Party, 1945 - presentPenetration of Marxism-Leninism and the rise of communism in Vietnam 1925 – 1945Dien Bien Phu battle, the Geneva Agreement and the American involvement in Vietnam, 1954 – 1975The collapse of the world communist system 1990, and economic reforms brought Vietnam back to the world marketThe American War or the Vietnam War (1956-1975) So what is “Vietnamese Identity?”Three layers of culture overlapping each other during the history of Vietnam:-Local culture-The culture that mixed with those of China and other countries in the region-And the culture that interacted with Western culture. Vietnamese cultureThe most prominent feature of the Vietnamese culture is that it was not assimilated by foreign cultures thanks to the strong local cultural foundations.On the contrary, it was able to utilize and localize those from abroad to enrich the national culture.Vietnamese cultureNatural conditions (temperature, humidity, monsoon, water-flows, wet-rice agriculture) _> impact on the material and spiritual life of the nation, the characteristics and psychology of the Vietnamese.Social and historical conditions exert an extremely great influence on culture and national psychology.There are still cultural differences between Vietnam and other wet-rice cultures like Thailand, Laos, Indonesia, India and others: Though sharing the same Southeast Asian cultural origin, the Vietnamese culture was transformed and bore East Asian cultural characteristics because of the long Chinese domination and its cultural imposition on Vietnam.The Vietnamese nation was formed early in the history and often had to carry out wars of resistance against foreign invaders, creating a prominent cultural feature of a patriotism. Vietnamese Society in TransitionThe centrally-planned economy & economic reforms 1986Adopted the Stalinist economic system, Vietnam wiped out the private economic sectors with the view that it is the seed that sprouts the capitalism and exploitation.This economic system which was based on the public ownership of production materials, was stagnated and devastated by the mid-1980's. Vietnam was not growing enough rice under collectivized agriculture to feed itself. In 1986 Vietnam had to import 1.5 million tons of rice and starvation conditions were prevalent. In coping with this, the Vietnamese Communist Party announced an abandonment of its central planning and collective agriculture and the adoption of a program of market socialism, called doi moi, or restructuring economic system. After ten years of moving away from the Stalinist model Vietnam had become the world's second largest exporter of rice. From 1995 till present day, Vietnam reported an annual growth rate of 7.5 percent. Nationalism Being Reconstructed Falling into belief crisis after the collapse of the world communist system, Vietnam tend to return to nationalism for developmentNation building for a world market competition Maintaining a distinguished identity in globalizing world Worrying about a “cultural aggression” and the influence of Western life style Rectifying deviation, strengthening the belief in the Party and State against ungrateful thoughts and unoriginalityChange as a process: Doi Moi (renovation) or Coi troi (release)?1986: began a new land reforms which give farmers more rights on land & the right to decide what to produce on their own.1990 – 91: Recognition of private ownership and existence of non-state economic sectors by law.1995 – 96: Liberation of foreign trade: Re-establishment of formal relations with USA, opening private enterprises to engage in import/export activities.1999: Recognition of the right of business freedom with clarification of entrepreneurs’ basic rights to operate in any and all business arenas that not explicitly forbidden by laws. Reforms process in VN is not only about renovation of existing institutions, rather it frees Vietnamese to engage in economic activities, therefore colloquially the reform process is called “Cởi Trói” or release.Vietnamese Society in TransitionThe centrally-planned economy & economic reforms 1986This economic system which was based on the public ownership of production materials, was stagnated and devastated by the mid-1980's. Abandonment of its central planning and collective agriculture and the adoption of a program of market socialism, called doi moi, or restructuring economic system. Vietnam’s Economy1. Agriculture, forestry, and fisheries: 21% of GDP (2009) Land use: 21% arable; 28% forest and woodland; 51% other Main products: rice, coffee, cashews, maize, pepper, pork, aquaculture of both fish and shellfish species.2. Industry and construction: 40.3% of GDP (2009) Main industries: Mining and quarrying, manufacturing, electricity, gas, water supply, cement, phosphate, and steel.3. Services: 39.1% of GDP (2009) Tourism, wholesale and retail, repair of vehicles and personal goods, hotel and restaurant, transport storage, telecommunications.4. Trade (2009): Exports: $56.6 billion (crude oil, garments/textiles, footwear, fishery and seafood products, rice (world’s second-largest exporter), pepper (spice; world’s largest exporter), wood products, coffee, rubber, handicrafts. Imports: $68.8 billion (machinery, oil and gas, iron and steel, garment materials, plastics). Vietnam economy after economic reformsThe world's second largest exporter of rice (oil, rice, rubber, pepper, coffee, aquaculture products, raw materials and textile garments, etc.)Annual growth rate of 7.5 percent. GDP reached $92.439 billion (IMF), with nominal GDP per capita of $1,060 Foreign trade: $20 billion per yearTotal foreign aid is about $2 billion per year. Hanoi before Doi Moi1981 New Year Tet festival                                                                                                                                         Urbanization boom after Doi Moi Newly urbanized areas Sofitel Plaza hotel in Hanoi Vietnam TodayFast pace of changeSocial, environmental issuesChallenges and opportunitiesThe future Environmental Issues