Why do Northern and Southern Vietnamese look down on each other?
Ho Chi Minh City is perceived as vibrant, fashionable, and modern.
In contrast, Southern Vietnamese seem more enthusiastic, whether in service or on the streets.
In Ho Chi Minh City, there seems to be a certain "mutual disdain" between Southern and Northern Vietnamese, especially with Southerners having strong opinions about Northerners,
while the Northerners' resentment towards Southerners is relatively less.
This mutual disdain mainly manifests in the following aspects:
1. Southerners feel they have a better economy and are more fashionable, viewing Northerners as rustic, outdated, and bureaucratic.
2. People in Ho Chi Minh City look down on those from Hanoi and are resentful about the city's name change from Saigon to "Ho Chi Minh City," preferring to call it Saigon.
3. People in Ho Chi Minh City believe Hanoians come to their city for work, while it's rare for people from Ho Chi Minh City to go to Hanoi.
4. Northerners consider Southerners to be nouveau riche, uneducated, lacking history, and heavily Westernized and colonized.
5. Northerners find the South uninhabitable due to its year-round heat, preferring Hanoi's cooler autumns and winters, where they occasionally wear down jackets.
Observing the North-South differences has become a hobby of mine. Based on my understanding of Vietnamese history, I'll elaborate on the reasons for these differences:
1. Vietnamese history and culture are mainly concentrated in the North (hence Southerners see Northerners as conservative and outdated)
Northern Vietnam was part of China from 221 BC to the 10th century AD, giving the North a deep cultural heritage.
At that time, the South was not part of Vietnam, but belonged to the Champa Kingdom and Cambodia. The southern region of Vietnam did not historically belong to Vietnam.
2. The Southern economy gradually caught up with the North (hence Northerners see Southerners as uneducated "nouveau riche")
Vietnam gained independence from China in the 10th century and spent 700 years expanding southward, annexing Champa and expelling the Cambodians from the Mekong Delta, with the Kinh people moving south to develop the area.
By the 18th and 19th centuries, the Southern economy had gradually caught up with the North, and Saigon began to be established.
3. The colonial period widened the North-South gap
In the 1860s, France began colonizing Vietnam, focusing on the Mekong Delta in the South. Later, the French established the colonial capital in Saigon, preferring the South for its distance from China and lesser Chinese cultural influence, thus focusing development efforts there. This allowed the Southern economy to surpass the North.
4. The division of North and South Vietnam exacerbated conflicts (hence Southerners became more Westernized and open to new things)
After World War II, Vietnam was divided, with the South supported by France and the United States, and the North supported by the Soviet bloc.
The South continued to be influenced by Western civilization, with better economic conditions.
5. The North's unification of the South intensified conflicts (hence Southerners' resistance to Northern values)
In 1975, North Vietnam attacked and unified South Vietnam, with the political center remaining in Hanoi. However, many Southerners did not agree with the North.
To deter opposition, Hanoi renamed Saigon to "Ho Chi Minh City" with strong Northern influence.
Even today, many people in Saigon do not recognize the name "Ho Chi Minh City" or prefer to call it by its abbreviation "HCMC."
Six of Vietnam's ten most populous cities are in the South.
6. Economic reforms led to Southern resurgence (hence more Northerners flock to the South for work)
After the unification of North and South Vietnam, the North conducted a capitalist purge in the South, hitting the economy hard.
However, in the late 1980s, Vietnam began economic reforms. The South, being more Westernized and open, combined with its superior geographical location, quickly rebounded, becoming the most developed region in the country.
The North, being the cultural and political center for a long time, had strong conservative forces, leading to less significant reforms compared to the South.
Therefore, the historical background has led to Northerners seeing the South as nouveau riche, overly Westernized and colonized, while Southerners see Northerners as outdated and conservative, resulting in this phenomenon of mutual disdain.
However, overall, this mutual mockery is mostly an entertaining topic for casual conversation and does not affect the fact that Vietnam remains a relatively united country.
The North-South differences in Vietnam have evolved through historical context, similar to the North-South differences in China.
However, Vietnam's differences also include colonial and political division factors, making the sense of North-South division in Vietnam much stronger than in China.
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