"The warmth and kindness of the people of Nghe An are unmatched anywhere else."

(Baonghean) - “To date, I have been connected with Vietnam for 11 years. I have lived, studied, and worked in many different provinces and cities across the S-shaped land, but perhaps Nghe An is still the place I have the most affection for, because the people here are so incredibly kind and hospitable...”

Make a living through military service and learning Vietnamese.

I was born and raised in a well-off family in central Seoul, South Korea. Although I was the youngest and only son, my family saw me as strong and independent from a young age. In my late teens and early twenties, while studying Tourism at a prestigious Korean university, I decided to defer my studies and enlist in the military to fulfill my duty to my country. I must say that my 21 months of military service changed me significantly. From eating, sleeping, and training to even the smallest details like daily hygiene, conscripts must adhere to specific schedules and regulations. My time in the military forged me, a young man from the capital, into a more resilient and mature person.

Cho Sung Min.

The end of nearly two years of military service marked a turning point in my life. Upon returning, I realized that tourism was no longer an attractive career path. After much deliberation, I decided to find a new direction for myself, one that was truly different from everyone else's. At that time, many young Koreans were flocking to learn Chinese, amidst the booming Chinese economy of the early 2000s. To the surprise of many friends and family, I chose to learn Vietnamese after initial research into the country and its people.

Indeed, at that time, information about Vietnam was not widely available in South Korea. Only two universities offered Vietnamese language courses for those passionate about the language. Furthermore, Koreans who wanted to learn Vietnamese could only do so by "learning by observation" from Vietnamese women married to Korean men. I thought that there was no better place to learn Vietnamese well than Vietnam. Therefore, in November 2004, I said goodbye to my family, carrying with me love and excitement for a new land, a little money from my parents, and some savings from my time in the military, to go to Vietnam to study at the Department of Vietnamese Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City.

When I first arrived in Vietnam, I really wanted to study while traveling around to learn and gain practical knowledge, or simply to find Korean restaurants to get a taste of home and ease my homesickness. These seemingly simple things proved incredibly difficult for me, as I hadn't yet adapted to the traffic in Vietnam, and communication was also challenging. But I didn't give up, because I believed that interacting with locals was the fastest way to learn a foreign language.

One fond memory from my struggle with learning Vietnamese that I'll never forget is when I went to buy bottled water near the university. Although I could have written down the item I needed, I still tried to pronounce it several times so the shopkeeper could understand. The hardest part of learning a foreign language is communicating fluently with native speakers, and I'm grateful to that shopkeeper for patiently listening and maintaining the conversation, which gradually allowed me to confidently speak with Vietnamese people without any further assistance.

And so, I studied and worked for a Korean company, so after only about half a semester, I could communicate with students at the university and even go shopping comfortably in Vietnamese. I started buying books about Vietnamese culture, customs, history, and landscapes to read. That's how I coincidentally learned about a very famous family, the Ly family, whose ancestor was Ly Long Tuong (Yi Yong-sang). Combined with the lessons about history and the many similarities in some customs and traditions, I felt even more connected to this country.

After graduating, I applied to a company in the Dung Quat Industrial Park and worked there for four years. In early 2014, I returned to South Korea to visit my family. My parents tried to persuade me to stay in my hometown, find a job, and start a family soon. But the longing for the land I was so attached to compelled me to return to Vietnam, and I set foot in the sunny and windy central region of Nghe An.

A fateful encounter stemming from a faulty SIM card.

Although I've traveled extensively in Vietnam and am accustomed to its hot and humid climate, my first visit to Vinh City truly shocked me with the scorching heat on a June afternoon. Of course, it was just a slight surprise, because I believed that if people in Vietnam could endure it, why couldn't I? And indeed, that belief helped me overcome the initial difficulties. Today, this land has given me everything a successful man should have: a stable job, a blossoming love, and a small family. I am proud of all of this.

My wife and I met quite naturally, in a very chance encounter. It was the end of the year, and my phone's SIM card was malfunctioning. I went to VNPT Nghe An to get a new number and met her. Her beauty, gentleness, and charming way of speaking captivated me, and I decided to win her over. After romantic dates, movie nights, and strolls through the city, my sincerity was rewarded with a wedding filled with love and happiness, following the traditional customs of Dien Ky, her hometown. My wedding was even more meaningful when my parents, sister, and relatives in Korea – who had initially opposed my coming to work in Vietnam – came to offer their blessings and had very positive impressions of Nghe An province. To further strengthen our family ties, my parents even went to great lengths to invite my wife's parents to visit Korea.

To date, after 11 years living away from my hometown, I have found my second home and my happy home. Those 11 years have been enough for me to experience Vietnam, but truly, interacting with the people of Nghe An has been a completely new experience. In my eyes, Nghe An is still poorer than some other places I've visited, but the warmth of its people is unparalleled. The people of Nghe An are sincere, simple, and very affectionate, yet also strong, ambitious, and progressive. These are all unique traits that I can sense, as they resonate with my own personality. Therefore, my future home and I will also be deeply connected to this land of Nghe An.

Canh Nam