After 4 years of working in Vietnam - The gap I felt between Japanese and Vietnamese cultures

Greetings. This is Nakamoto of Netmarks Vietnam. I'm in charge of sales.

I am sharing this blog article from Vietnam.

There has been an increase on the number of Japan oriented companies advancing to Vietnam. Vietnam is now seen as a good place to make an investment on.

There is also an increase on the number of Vietnamese working in Japan. So, I believe Vietnam is becoming more and more familiar for everyone.

The country's official name is Socialist Republic of Vietnam. As it says in the name, it is a socialist nation.

It's only been since 1976 that Vietnam became independent. Until then, interventions by some countries were made.

Although there was a successive Royal Family under the Vietnamese Dynasty back in the time, Vietnam has long been under a control by the neighboring country, China.

In the 19th century, a short time after a liberation from China, France then came in to occupy Hanoi and Vietnam technically became a French colony. There are still many European style buildings as the remnants.

French colony's impact can also be seen in the food culture here. Bread called Vine Me is a popular breakfast in Vietnam.

Although this may be a common philosophy to many of the overseas countries, Vietnamese cherish their private times & consider a work is just a tool to earn money. People here value the time spent with their family, so they prefer to spend the after-work hours for that purpose.

However, that doesn't mean they leave their duties uncompleted. Just like the Japanese, I find many people are diligent and hard workers.

Especially the men in Vietnam love soccer. I have not yet seen a man who claims he doesn't like soccer. I often see many people playing soccer at a ground after work.

You will also see this trait after the national team games end. The traffic gets congested as they come out riding on their bikes. Me the Japanese try to get home before this traffic gets bad. <laugh>

I'll bet you, playing soccer will be the fastest way to make friends with the Vietnamese men.