Essay Contest Result

I was born in 2007, a year that placed me between two generations of Vietnamese students. From grades 1 to 9, I studied under Vietnam’s old national curriculum, where one standardized set of textbooks—published by the Vietnam Education Publishing House—was used for all students across the country. Then, everything changed when I entered high school.

As part of the first cohort to experience the new national curriculum reform, I had access to three different versions of textbooks for each subject, published by three different groups: Kết nối tri thức với cuộc sống (Connecting Knowledge with Life), Chân trời sáng tạo (Creative Horizons), and Cánh Diều (The Kite). It was a bold move toward decentralizing education and giving teachers and students more choices. I was excited to explore more diverse perspectives, especially in geography, a subject that connects the local to the global.

Yet, despite the shift in structure and presentation, one thing remained unchanged: the silence surrounding Korea.

While flipping through the geography textbooks from all three publishers, I searched for content about South Korea—an economic powerhouse, a cultural giant, and one of Vietnam’s strongest international partners. But Korea was either barely mentioned or completely missing. In contrast, countries like China, Japan, the United States, and Russia were consistently featured in lessons about global economies, population distribution, and technological development. Korea, it seemed, had once again slipped through the cracks of our formal education.

This absence was especially striking because outside the classroom, Korea was everywhere. I heard Korean songs on my friends’ phones, saw Korean signs on electronics and beauty products, watched Korean films on television, and read about Korean companies building billion-dollar factories in Vietnam. Samsung and LG had become household names. Our own Prime Minister frequently appeared in the news shaking hands with Korean business leaders or signing MOUs with Korean mayors. But in the pages of my geography books—old and new—Korea was practically invisible.

Such omissions are not trivial. When a country is consistently excluded from instructional materials, students subconsciously absorb the message that it is unimportant or irrelevant. That message couldn’t be more inaccurate in Korea’s case. From a war-torn nation in the 1950s to one of the world’s most innovative economies today, Korea’s transformation offers invaluable lessons on resilience, vision, and soft power. Its story is exactly the kind of narrative that geography education should highlight.

As someone who has studied through both systems, I have experienced firsthand how the form of education may evolve while the substance often lags behind. The three new textbook series vary in layout, color schemes, and teaching methods—one might emphasize active learning, while another leans on narrative-based teaching. Chân trời sáng tạo often features projects that encourage students to conduct research and present findings, while Kết nối tri thức tries to tie textbook knowledge to real-life scenarios. Cánh Diều, on the other hand, focuses on inquiry-based learning and reflection. Despite these stylistic differences, none of them managed to capture the reality of Korea’s growing influence in our region.

This lack of representation is more than a missed opportunity; it is a disconnect between what we teach and what students experience in the real world. As learners are encouraged to think globally, how can we justify the exclusion of a nation so intertwined with Vietnam’s development? Korea’s massive investments in Vietnamese infrastructure, education, and technology sectors alone warrant educational attention.

To address this, I propose integrating Korea into Vietnam’s geography textbooks through three critical lenses:
1. Economic development, by featuring South Korea as a case study of successful industrialization and innovation. The rise of the chaebol model, the investment in education and infrastructure, and the government’s forward-thinking policies provide rich ground for comparison with Vietnam’s own development path.

2. Cultural influence, through Hallyu and Korea’s ability to project soft power via pop culture, fashion, and cuisine. Dishes like kimchi, bibimbap, and tteokbokki are not only culinary delights but also carriers of cultural identity and global diplomacy.

3. Regional partnership, by showing Korea’s growing ties with ASEAN and its status as one of Vietnam’s largest trade and investment partners. Korea’s economic footprints are visible in industrial parks, logistics, and even the startup ecosystem.

This could be implemented across all three textbook series, with consistency in core content and flexibility in presentation. For instance, Chân trời sáng tạo could feature a project-based activity where students map Korean-Vietnamese trade routes. Cánh Diều might include a profile on Korean green cities like Songdo, while Kết nối tri thức could connect Korea’s urban development with Vietnam’s own challenges in megacities like Ho Chi Minh City.

Moreover, official Understanding Korea materials developed by the Academy of Korean Studies—such as resources on Hangul, Korean cuisine, and the Korean education system—can be translated and adapted for classroom use in Vietnam. These materials could be integrated not only into geography, but also into cross-curricular activities in literature, civics, and even entrepreneurship education. For example, using case studies of Korean F&B chains in Vietnam could foster conversations around cultural globalization and local adaptation.

Ultimately, this is not about glorifying Korea—it’s about correcting a blind spot in our educational worldview. As a student who has lived through both the uniformity of the old curriculum and the variety of the new, I see clearly that change must go beyond formats and visuals. It must reach the core of what we choose to teach and what we choose to ignore.

Korea is not missing from our lives—it is embedded in the apps we use, the products we buy, the music we listen to, and the economic headlines we follow. Its growing presence in Vietnam’s real-world landscape stands in stark contrast to its absence in our official geography education. If our textbooks are to prepare students for a connected and dynamic future, they must reflect the realities of that world. Including Korea in our geography curriculum is not just about acknowledging a major partner—it is about equipping future generations with the full picture. And that begins with what we choose to print on the pag.