Brett Davis - AsiaLIFE Magazine

MARRIAGE is seen as
important for providing
stability in life, as well as a
sign of SUCCESS.
Young Vietnamese are PRAGMATIC
about EDUCATION, often seeking
courses which will provide JOBS IN
LUCRATIVE industries.
For them, travel is a representation of freedom
and an opportunity to gain knowledge
and experience. While each participant said
they wanted to travel they were conscious
that they may not be able to due to financial
restraints. Also, travel is primarily viewed as
a youthful folly, adventures that should be
undertaken before settling down, if at all.
EDUCATION & CAREER PROSPECTS
Young Vietnamese see education as a means
to an end: with certification they will secure a
lucrative position that will earn them money
and ensure stability. This stability extends far
beyond just employment. The participants
also believe that a good job will lift their social
standing and even improve their chance of
meeting a suitable (note: successful and
wealthy) partner.
These perceptions are perpetuated by parents
who associate a higher education with
success; as the only means to be successful.
As such, Vietnamese parents encourage
(even push) their children into studying
courses at university that will lead to “hot”
jobs in finance and banking, IT, medicine
and law. While the participants in HCM City
said their parents merely gave them advice
about study paths, it’s easy to see that their
caregivers have a big say in their choices. In
Hanoi it’s even more overt. There, some of
the participants knew exactly where they’d
be working once they finished university,
not just the field. Phuong, 19, will work at
Techcom Bank. And the girl who sat next to
her, Lien, 18, already has a position reserved
for her as an accountant at the Ho Chi Minh
Mausoleum when she graduates, thanks to
her mother, who works there also.
It was interesting to see how their career
aspirations changed when money was
removed from the equation. They wanted to
be actresses, and footballers, tour guides
and air hostesses but dismissed them as
childish dreams. One boy in the Hanoi group,
Son, 17, wanted to be a football coach until
his parents discouraged him. “They said if
I studied at the sport’s university I wouldn’t
have a bright future. When asked to define
“bright” he said “wealthy.”
As a whole though, the participants were
pragmatic about education and the opportunities
it will afford them. This pragmatism also
translates into expectations about how they
should be taught.
Most find the Vietnamese education
system to be outdated and too theory-based.
They feel they have few opportunities for
practical application. This goes hand in hand
with their complaints about “old” teachers
and lecturers who don’t explain subject
matter properly and whose knowledge is
perceived to be out of date. While the high
school pupils seem to be relatively happy with
the quality of education they are receiving,
the university students are concerned that
they won’t have the skills to perform in the
workplace after completing their studies,
primarily because the teaching methods
their lecturers employ—often strict and
didactic—are impractical. In addition, they
say Vietnamese syllabuses are old-fashioned
and promote “cramming,” that is, committing
copious amounts of information to memory.
Still, they all view education as essential and
pointed to a number of social evils that a lack
of study could lead to: homelessness, crime
and, interestingly, diseases like HIV.
SEX & RELATIONSHIPS
The moderator, 28-year-old Hieu An, skirted
ever-so-artfully around the s-word before
she dropped the bomb. Previously, there had
been chatter about the importance of marriage
and laughter about 16-year-old HCM
City resident Trong’s desire to one day have
a beautiful wife. But the talk quickly dissolved
and all eyes averted downwards when Hieu
An mentioned sex. Young Trong, in particular,
appeared uncomfortable.
The Saigonites recovered quickly and put
forward their opinions about pre-marital sex.
Loc, 16—who works as a promotion girl at a
supermarket after school—said she believed
sex before marriage was acceptable and was
largely circumstantial. She explained this by
adding that she may have sex while under
the influence of alcohol. The two girls sitting
opposite her, however, 19-year-old university
students Hue and Nhi noted the value of a
woman’s virginity. They also said that premarital
sex was a Western activity, and one
that Vietnamese need not follow.
The boys referred to sex before marriage
as a “movement,” that more young people
aged 14 to 15 were indulging in. They
seemed to think it was OK as long as the
couple were mature enough to cope with the
consequences and considered the health
issues involved. They also had no problems
with couples living together before marriage,
in order to get to know each other before taking
the plunge. Still, they said the likelihood of
them living with their partner before marriage
was slim.
The Hanoians were a different story
and bound far more by convention. Each
participant said that sex before marriage was
unacceptable, a response that TNS Market
Research consultant David Watts said could
be attributed to the importance of “keeping
face” and upholding one’s reputation in the
north. Most thought it was OK to kiss their
boyfriend or girlfriend, but anything more
intimate took the relationship to a new level.
They believed that if a young couple has sex,
they should marry one another. The youngest
participant Dung, 15, said he thought young
couples could live together before marriage
as a way of gauging their compatability. When
prompted for more information though, he
said it wasn’t something he would do, but
he believed it was acceptable behaviour for
others.
Marriageable age varied by gender, not
so much by location. While all participants
said they would get married, males opted to
wed later in their mid-30s, and females said
they expected to walk down the aisle in their
mid- to late-20s. This makes sense as the
boys view themselves as the future breadwinners
of their families, and want to marry only
once they have a stable job and adequate
finances.
Everyone said without hesitation that they
would have children. In both cities having
children is perceived as a way to continue the
family lineage. Both the Saigonese and the
Hanoians said they’d like to have one to three
kids in the future. The group from HCM City
couldn’t really explain how they had arrived
at the figure, but the northerners pointed
directly to Ho Chi Minh’s teaching as their
source. “That’s a statement of Uncle Ho,”
they agreed, referring to the government’s
two child per family policy.
FUTURE AMBITIONS
All of the participants yearn for material
possessions—fashionable motorbikes in
the immediate future and cars and villas as
adults. One boy, 19-year-old university student
Tu, who aspires to be a millionaire, even
wants to own a private plane. To afford the
lifestyle they desire they need money and it
is apparent that cash underpins every critical
decision they make.
Their ambitions reflect the change in
Vietnam’s society. As the nation becomes
more affluent they anticipate that their quality
of life will improve. They expect Vietnam to
develop exponentially and can foresee better
education and healthcare systems, plus
greater collective knowledge, awareness and
understanding. Yet, they are also aware of
the pitfalls of rapid expansion—increasing
population, industrialization, rising land prices
and a widening of the gap between rich and
poor. Ironically, they can also see the cons
of living to work, the very lifestyle they are
gearing themselves for—the degradation of
the family and reduced social life. And with
multi-generational living situations on the
downward slide, they predict a diminishing
sense of community and social responsibily.
Recurrent throughout the entire project
was this sense of confusion. Vietnamese
youth are torn between a desire for progress
and modernity, yet they are worried about
what may be lost if the country’s traditions are
not maintained. They’re still not exactly sure
what they want.
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