Vietnamese Overseas After 50 Years

(1975-2025)

(Part 3)

A monument at a Calgary, Canada park honours the Vietnamese people who lost their lives escaping Vietnam after the fall of Saigon in 1975.

1) Vietnamese Adaptation to "Mainstream" Society

The greatest challenge for Vietnamese immigrants has been the language barrier, as their lack of English fluency severely hampered their ability to find employment and communicate with Americans. While some Vietnamese possessed a degree of English proficiency, the vast majority, particularly the "boat people," spoke no English at all.

Vietnamese immigrants also encountered significant culture shock due to the profound differences between American and Vietnamese customs and ways of life. Those who settled in states like Pennsylvania faced particular difficulties adapting, as the cold climate of the American Northeast was a stark contrast to Vietnam's tropical weather. Certain common Vietnamese behaviors were often perceived as impolite or "rude" by Americans: not introducing oneself upon meeting, avoiding direct eye contact during conversations, speaking too softly in dialogue or too loudly in crowded places, not greeting strangers with "Hi," refraining from hugging others, and not consistently expressing "thank you" or "sorry" like Americans, or failing to hold doors open for those behind them. Over time, immigrants gradually adopted these American social norms. Conversely, upon returning to visit their homeland, these newly acquired habits often marked them as American Viet Kieu (distinct in some respects from European Viet Kieu). Unlike four or five decades ago, after several decades of globalization, the cultural divide between Americans and Vietnamese is no longer as vast. Simultaneously, with the economic rise of East Asian nations (China, Taiwan, South Korea), Singapore, and Vietnam, Asian minorities have gained greater confidence in their original cultural identities, and mainstream Americans have developed a much deeper respect for diverse cultures than before.

Another challenge for Vietnamese was the lack of recognition for certificates and degrees obtained in the Republic of Vietnam (and other Asian countries) within the United States, leaving many educated individuals jobless. This, combined with limited English proficiency, led to widespread unemployment among Vietnamese immigrants in the years following 1975.

Nevertheless, it is important to acknowledge the mechanisms in place that helped refugees re-enter their professions, especially in medicine, dentistry, and pharmacy. Most individuals with degrees from Vietnam, after a period of English language acquisition, retraining, or further professional development, were able to resume their careers in the US, Canada, and France. This process created a highly skilled professional class that not only contributed to the American healthcare system as a whole but also largely served the burgeoning Vietnamese communities. The presence of specialized professionals living in and catering specifically to minority Vietnamese communities is a rare phenomenon compared to other minority groups, such as Hispanic Americans.

A notable example in the refugee medical community was the collaboration between former faculty members of the Saigon Medical School (the largest of only two in South Vietnam) and the American Medical Association (AMA) to establish an Exiled Medical Council. This council provided certification and issued "Certificates in-lieu of Diploma" to replace the lost records, academic transcripts, and degrees of 1251 former students. The vast majority of those who received these certificates resumed their practice in the US (1187 certificates), Canada (48 certificates), France, and Australia after undergoing necessary training and passing professional examinations as required by local regulations. Many graduates of medical schools in Vietnam went on to become medical professors in the US. Most dentists and pharmacists from Saigon also re-established their practices in the US after a period of supplementary training. A well-known case is Dr. Nghiem Dao Dai, a specialist in pancreas transplant surgery. He practiced in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and possesses extensive experience in surgical procedures, particularly organ transplantation. Professor Nghiem is recognized for his contributions to medical research and education, regularly participating in conferences and publishing scholarly works on surgery and transplantation.

Younger generations, who received their education in the US from an early age, have also achieved remarkable success. Dr. Dang Van Chi, the son of former Saigon Medical School dean Dang Van Chieu, arrived in the US in 1967 as a high school student. He is an oncology professor who served as Vice Dean for Research at the prestigious Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and is a member of the National Academy of Medicine of the United States. He also sits on the VinFuture Prize Council of Vietnam, which awards international science prizes worth millions of US dollars annually.

Another notable descendant of the generation of Vietnamese refugee doctors in the US is Professor Quan Dong Nguyen, the son of the late Dr. Nguyen So Dong, who arrived in the US in 1980 with his parents and three brothers. His father decided to flee Vietnam after his eldest son, having completed ninth grade, was denied advancement to tenth grade due to his family's "puppet regime" (nguỵ) background. Upon arriving in the US, the four brothers attended and successfully graduated from prestigious schools. Professor Nguyen Dong Quan is currently a renowned ophthalmologist at Stanford University, specializing in the research and treatment of retinal and uveal diseases. He is recognized for his work on macular degeneration and uveitis, and he leads clinical trials to develop new treatments for eye conditions. Dr. Quan also plays a significant role in editing specialized medical journals and in US medical organizations, as well as those serving the Vietnamese refugee community.

An individual who achieved spectacular success on Wall Street and is one of the Vietnamese-American billionaires is also a descendant of a doctor from the Saigon Medical School. According to the University at Buffalo, a key factor in Chinh Chu's success is his "ability to overcome adversity—a skill he acquired, out of necessity, at a very early age." Chu, his paternal grandmother, four siblings, and his eight-month pregnant mother were forced to flee their Vietnamese homeland in 1975 when Chu was only eight years old, after receiving news that South Vietnam was on the verge of falling to the communists. After a narrow escape on one of the last American military planes evacuating refugees from Saigon, they arrived in Hawaii, where his father, military doctor Chu Phu Chung, was undergoing further training in physical medicine and rehabilitation after two arduous years as a combat surgeon in the war-torn An Loc.

One of the greatest ongoing challenges for Vietnamese Americans is striking a balance between preserving their Vietnamese heritage and traditions while simultaneously integrating into American culture to achieve success in their new environment.

Vietnam is a traditional patriarchal society rooted in Confucian-Mencian ethics. Significant differences in parenting styles between Vietnamese and American parents can lead to difficulties for Vietnamese parents with the local authorities. Examples include using corporal punishment for discipline, demanding absolute obedience from children, parents not being accustomed to participating in parent-teacher associations or communicating with their children's teachers, and the Vietnamese preference for traditional medicines and practices (such as coin-rubbing, or "cạo gió", using a strong-scented menthol oil, which can cause suspicious bruises) although these treatments are now more common and accepted in the US. It is often said that Vietnamese Americans, and especially their children, feel as though they are simultaneously living in two different worlds.

Currently, the global landscape is entirely different from decades past, and the first refugee generation has gradually been succeeded by the 1.5, 2nd, and 3rd generations. Language and cultural differences have considerably diminished, largely persisting perhaps only within the community or family, between older Vietnamese and younger Vietnamese Americans.

2) The Role of the Homeland and History in Overseas Literature and Arts.

Pham Thi Hoai, a writer and journalist born in Hai Duong, Northern Vietnam, who studied in Germany and currently resides there, observed: "Overseas, with 4 million users, it does not truly spread Vietnamese culture; at most, it merely serves as a sauce over some global assimilation dish, faintly hinting at a Vietnamese flavor. Its influence is negligible, but its peace index is probably high."

Nguyen Hung Quoc, a renowned scholar, journalist, and university professor of Southern Vietnamese origin, currently residing in Australia, wrote the following in his book Living and Writing Overseas: "As for me, although I have lived abroad for nearly 40 years, I still primarily write in Vietnamese. Vietnamese is my homeland. Other languages are merely exiles, where I have no past, no relatives. Vietnamese is also my body."

For Generation 1.5 (those who grew up overseas) and Generation 2 (those born overseas), the Vietnamese language may not embody "homeland" or "body" as profoundly as Nguyen Hung Quoc describes. However, Western countries like the US, UK, France, and Australia are progressively becoming more multicultural and multi-ethnic. With identity politics gaining increasing prominence, individuals sharing a common race, ethnicity, religion, or gender are developing their own political agendas based on these identities, even if the language of communication is English rather than Vietnamese.

Yet, even within this English-dominant landscape, Vietnamese language and culture continue to exert a meaningful influence. The case of Ocean Vuong (Vương Quốc Vinh), for instance, demonstrates how deeply the Vietnamese linguistic and cultural imagination can shape creative expression, even in English. Vuong—grandson of an American soldier, immigrant to the US at the age of two, and now an award-winning poet and professor—embodies multiple intersecting identities as a queer overseas Vietnamese writer. He has repeatedly emphasized that Vietnamese enriches his artistic practice, remarking that his command of the language infuses his English writing with a distinctive rhythm, style, and vision. In his view, Vietnamese is a kind of “creative superpower”, one that continues to sustain both homeland and diaspora alike.

Anh Do was born in Vietnam (1977) and came to Australia as a refugee when he was just a child. His family made a perilous escape from war-torn Vietnam by boat, surviving attacks by pirates and near-starvation before being rescued and eventually resettled in Australia in 1980. His memoir, “The Happiest Refugee,” tells his family’s story of fleeing Vietnam and starting anew in Australia. The book captures the struggles, triumphs, and humor of growing up as a refugee, and has won multiple literary awards, including the Australian Book Industry Awards’ Book of the Year. It is regarded as an inspiring account of resilience and gratitude.

Also in Australia, Professor Nguyen Van Tuan's journey provides a powerful example of how the bonds to a motherland and mother tongue can evolve from simple memory into a driving force for tangible contribution. Arriving in Thailand by sea as a refugee, his assimilation story in Australia is remarkable—from washing dishes with no English to earning two doctorates and becoming a celebrated medical professor, recognized as a Member of the Order of Australia. However, his story transcends the typical immigrant success narrative. His adopted country became a platform from which to serve his native one. "I love my native country," he explains, seeing his mission as a way "to improve research capacity for local colleagues." He has actualized this vision through decades of dedicated collaboration and training in Vietnam. Crucially, this professional bridge is built using his “mother tongue”. Professor Tuan writes widely-read books in Vietnamese, not only of nostalgic memoir, but also of practical mentorship, aimed at inspiring the next generation of Vietnamese scientists. In his life's work, the mother tongue is not just a tool for reflection but for empowerment, demonstrating how a diasporic intellectual can harness the language of his past to build a scientific future for his homeland.

French director of Vietnamese origin Tran Anh Hung (born in 1962 in Vietnam, moved to France after April 30, 1975) is best known for his works on Vietnamese themes, distinguished by a unique contemporary style. His film The Scent of Green Papaya remains the only Vietnamese film to date to receive an official nomination for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. In 2023, at the Cannes Film Festival, he was awarded Best Director for his film La Passion de Dodin Bouffant. He is widely regarded as the Vietnamese-blooded director with the most exceptional and successful cinematic language on the world film stage. He remarked, "My reality is a complex blend, seen through the lens of many artists I know, with whom I choose to engage. It is the scent, the color, the texture I perceive in Vietnam."

Therefore, regardless of their proficiency in Vietnamese, we can assert that the younger diaspora generation is increasingly eager to explore their ethnic and cultural origins and heritage, and to leverage these resources to establish their unique place in a new Western social environment that is not merely a single mainstream, but rather comprises multiple parallel currents.

Regarding the shift in perspective among young scholars concerning Vietnamese from South Vietnam, unlike the previous left-leaning generation exemplified by history professors Ngo Vinh Long or Truong Buu Lam, we can highlight the story of Alex Thai Dinh Vo. He is currently a research professor at the Vietnam Center and Archive at Texas Tech University, specializing in Asian studies, particularly focusing on Vietnam. Having moved to the US at the age of 8, he felt the bias in history lessons taught in American schools regarding South Vietnam from a young age, which prompted him to seek the truth about the South's defeat. While studying at the University of Berkeley (California), anti-war professors presented a "relatively one-sided" view to students, significantly influencing their perception of South Vietnam. From then on, Alex-Thai Vo chose to specialize in historical research, especially on Vietnam. His work at the University of Oregon’s US-Vietnam Research Center included promoting research and dialogue on the historical achievements and legacies of the Republic of Vietnam, the Vietnamese American diaspora, and bilateral relations between Vietnam and the US. ¹

3) Success of Some Overseas Vietnamese

According to the Migration Policy Institute, there are currently over 2 million US residents who were either born in Vietnam or report Vietnamese origin or ancestry. Today, Vietnamese Americans are generally more successful and accepted than they were in the 1970s and 1980s. Vietnamese people have established cultural communities to support each other in urban centers, particularly in California. This group has also risen to economic and political prominence in recent years, drawing national attention. Vietnamese Americans have held public office in positions such as mayors, representatives, city council members, and attorneys general.

While journalist Trọng Minh’s collection “Vẻ Vang Dân Việt” (Pride of the Vietnamese People, 1991) was created decades ago, the tradition of honoring the Vietnamese people continues. Here are a few more recent notable examples:

One individual who played a significant role in US politics is lawyer Viet Dinh (born 1968). He served as Assistant Attorney General of the United States from 2001 to 2003. He was the principal author of The USA Patriot Act, antiterrorism legislation enacted after the events of September 11, 2001, and previously held the position of Chief Legal and Policy Officer for Fox Corporation. This law generated considerable controversy and was criticized for infringing upon civil liberties, especially for some immigrants.

Joseph Cao Quang Anh (born 1967), the first Vietnamese American to be elected to the US House of Representatives in 2008, faced several challenges upon entering Congress. Representing a heavily Democratic district in Louisiana (the New Orleans area), he secured victory due to his opponent being embroiled in a scandal. As a Republican, he found himself in an unusual position, facing pressure from both parties. His initial decision to vote for President Obama's healthcare bill drew criticism from Republicans, who viewed it as a betrayal. Later, he was criticized by the Democratic Party when he changed his vote to oppose the final draft, due to his pro-life stance against abortion, as he remains a very devout Catholic and had once studied to become a Jesuit priest.

In the November 2024 election, a young Vietnamese American lawyer, from the second generation, and a worker rights advocate in Little Saigon, Orange County, California, Derek Tran, a Democrat, brought an unexpected razor-thin victory to his party. In a vote count that lasted several weeks with no clear winner, he ultimately defeated incumbent Michelle Steele, of Korean descent, by only a few hundred votes. According to the Los Angeles Times, Mr. Tran's father fled Vietnam after the fall of Saigon in 1975. When his boat capsized, his wife and children died. He returned to Vietnam, where he met and married another woman who became Mr. Tran's mother.

Cao Hung, the first Vietnamese American candidate for the Federal Senate, conversely failed in his bid despite being endorsed by President Trump to represent the Republican Party. After President Trump's election, Mr. Cao Hung was nominated to serve as the Under Secretary of the US Navy.

A prominent female figure who garnered significant attention from American media is Duong Nguyet Anh (Anh Duong), born in 1960, also known as "Bomb Lady." She is renowned for developing thermobaric weapons utilized by the US military in Afghanistan after the events of September 11, 2001. Upon receiving the prestigious Service to America award, she stated: "This land is heaven not for its beauty or wealth but for the people here, the kind, generous Americans who welcomed my family and me here, 32 years ago, and healed our souls, who restored my faith in humanity, and who inspired me to serve the community. There is a special group of people for whom I am particularly grateful and to whom I want to dedicate this medal. They are the 58,000 Americans whose names are on the Vietnam War Memorial wall and the 260,000 South Vietnamese soldiers who sacrificed their lives in that war so that people like me could have a second chance at freedom. God bless all who are willing to die for freedom—especially those willing to die for the freedom of others. Thank you." And the celebrated commentator George Will dedicated an entire commentary, echoing her words and, on behalf of the United States, reciprocated: "And thank you, Anh Duong. Consider your debt paid, with interest."

Unlike the aforementioned individuals who hailed from the South, a name frequently mentioned in American media who originates from the North is mathematics professor Ngo Bao Chau. He holds both Vietnamese and French citizenship and received the most prestigious international award in mathematics, the Fields Medal, in 2010. Before that, in late 2009, his work "The Fundamental Lemma for Lie Algebras" was recognized by Time magazine as one of the top 10 scientific discoveries of 2009 ("The Fundamental Lemma, Solved"). Currently, he chairs the Mathematics Department at the University of Chicago, one of America's elite universities. He also actively contributes to the development of mathematics in Vietnam.

Overseas Vietnamese have also made significant contributions to the literary world with the emergence of Vietnamese overseas writers such as Viet Thanh Nguyen (Pulitzer Prize for Literature with his novel The Sympathizer) and Ocean Vuong.

Over time, the overseas Vietnamese community has achieved high levels of education and economic success. According to data from the Pew Research Center, 22% of Vietnamese Americans have earned a bachelor's degree, and 10% have earned a postgraduate degree. The median annual household income for Vietnamese Americans is $85,800.

Recent shifts in the presence of overseas Vietnamese from various political backgrounds signal the growing role of Vietnamese individuals in the cultural, entertainment, and social life of their host countries—areas where Vietnamese were previously less recognized:

Writer Duong Thu Huong, a Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres in France since 1994, was awarded the Cino-Del-Duca Global Prize 2023 at the Paris Book Festival, valued at 200,000 euros. This award was given to "honor a great writer for her outstanding personality and excellent career, conveying a message of modern humanism." According to the BBC, this is a significant award, second only to the Nobel Prize in Literature, according to some assessments by European literary magazines. This writer was one of the first from the North to enter and occupy Saigon on April 30, 1975, and famously "sat down on the sidewalk, burying her face in her hands and crying as if her father had died, a feeling of extreme confusion and bitterness" because she felt betrayed.

However, Trinh Xuan Thuan, a professor of astrophysics at the University of Virginia (US), and a renowned writer who writes in French, a Buddhist, who grew up in South Vietnam and was trained in Switzerland and the United States, was in fact the first Vietnamese to receive this prestigious Prix Mondial Cino del Duca award in 2012. He was recognized for his works that present "a complex and subtle view of the universe and humanity's place in it, from the perspective of both a scientist and a person of faith."

Like many famous overseas Vietnamese, he has family connections to the "elite" of both the North and the South. His father, Trinh Xuan Ngan, was formerly the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Vietnam and, after 1975, was sent to a re-education camp. He enlisted the help of a friend (a French professor) to write to  Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Van Dong, asking for intervention, after which his father was freed and moved to France. His family's genealogy also includes many prominent figures in the North and in reunified Vietnam after 1976. His uncle, Trinh Xuan Gioi, a doctor of history, was formerly the Rector of the Central Youth Union School and a former Deputy Head of the Communist government's Mass Mobilization Committee. Mr. Gioi's son is Trinh Xuan Thanh, an official who was internationally wanted and later arrested in a corruption case.

The T.H. Chan School of Public Health at Harvard University established the Thich Nhat Hanh Center for Mindfulness on April 26, holding a symposium attended by Zen masters and scholars from around the world, including leading disciples of the late Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh.

In December 2020, HBO (MAX) premiered the reality TV series "House of Ho," which depicts the lives of a Vietnamese American family in Houston. Some observers described the program as "a gloomy picture of a crazy rich Asian's life." Perhaps due to its success, a second season premiered in August 2022, demonstrating the Vietnamese community's growing presence among "The Rich and the Famous" in America.

In early 2024, HBO premiered a 7-episode television series adapted from Viet Thanh Nguyen's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Sympathizer, starring and produced by renowned American actor (and former Iron Man) Robert Downey Jr. The lead role is played by Hoa Xuande (Nguyen Xuan Hoa), a Vietnamese Australian actor who previously played supporting roles in some Australian films and deliberately avoided using the stage name "Nguyen" to prevent being typecast. He had to learn more Vietnamese to speak both Vietnamese and English in this film and to gain a deeper understanding of the Vietnam War. Most of the regular cast members are of Vietnamese descent, including Kieu Chinh and Nguyen Cao Ky Duyen, chosen after an extensive search across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia, and Vietnam, as well as an open online worldwide casting call. The film was banned from filming and screening in Vietnam.

Speaking of films about overseas Vietnamese, it is worth recalling Green Dragon, directed by a Vietnamese American over 20 years ago. Green Dragon (2001) is a rather profound film directed by a young Vietnamese overseas, Timothy Linh Bui, set in 1975 during the fall of Saigon. The film portrays the lives of Vietnamese refugees at Camp Pendleton, California, as they begin to adapt to life in exile and hesitantly integrate into American society. The story centers on Tran Tai (played by Vietnamese actor Don Duong, who later settled in the US and became embroiled in controversy), a volunteer camp manager and interpreter, and his interactions with Marine Sergeant Jim Lance (Patrick Swayze) and other refugees. Themes of loss, despair, resilience, and hope are explored through various relationships, such as the bond between an orphaned boy named Minh and camp cook Addie (Forest Whitaker, who later won an Oscar), and the romance that blossoms among the refugees.

In 2025, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War, Netflix, America's leading streaming platform, will release a valuable multi-part series titled Turning Point: The Vietnam War. Unlike previous films on this subject, Vietnamese witnesses appear with their full, properly accented names, and there are numerous voices from South Vietnam, offering a richer, more diverse, and fairer perspective on the Republic of Vietnam. The main producer is a Vietnamese American, Doan Hoang Curtis. Hoang Nien Thuc-Doan, born in 1972 in Vietnam, is a Vietnamese American documentary filmmaker, producer, editor, and writer. Her father was a major in the ARVN air force, and her mother's family owned plantations in the Mekong Delta. On April 30, 1975, she was on the last civilian helicopter to leave Vietnam. She worked as an editor and writer for national magazines in the US. She directed and produced the 2007 documentary ‘Oh, Saigon’ about her family, after they left Vietnam on the last civilian helicopter as Saigon fell. The documentary won several awards at film festivals and aired on PBS from 2008 to 2012, and on many channels on streaming services. She was selected as a delegate to Spain for the US Documentary Film Exhibition and has received awards and grants from the Sundance Institute, ITVS, the Center for Asian American Media, the Ms. Foundation for Women, the Brooklyn Arts Council, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Quyen Tran, cinematographer: Beginning her career as a still photographer, Tran garnered acclaim for her striking images capturing the tragic devastation of 9/11. From this background, she endeavors to practice an emotionally resonant cinematic art, capturing the humanity and truth of each moment, regardless of the subject. She has created numerous highly successful films for Sundance and has filmed across the US and globally, including New Zealand, Kenya, South Africa, Canada, Thailand, Japan, China, Russia, Italy, and Vietnam.

In music: Teresa Mai (Mai Xuan Loan), known professionally as Sangeeta Kaur (born in 1980), is the first Vietnamese American female singer to be nominated for and win a Grammy Award.

In sports: At the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Jaedyn Shaw, a 19-year-old with a Black father and Vietnamese mother, was part of the gold medal-winning soccer team. The US artistic swimming team secured a silver medal, their first in this discipline in 20 years, partly thanks to the talent of Vietnamese American Jacklyn Luu, whose contribution was vital to the US team's valuable achievement.

Amanda Nguyen (born 1991 in California), a Vietnamese American activist and Harvard graduate, is poised to become the first Vietnamese woman to journey into space. She is scheduled to fly on Blue Origin's (billionaire Jeff Bezos's space company) New Shepard rocket on April 14, 2025, as part of a crew that includes celebrities and journalists. After experiencing a sexual assault herself at Harvard and the injustices victims often endure during subsequent investigations, Amanda Nguyen founded Rise, a non-profit organization advocating for civil rights, and played a crucial role in the passage of the "Sexual Assault Survivors’ Rights Act." She was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019 and was recognized as TIME's "Woman of the Year" in 2022. It is said that her mother used the stars to navigate during her sea escape, inspiring her to dream of becoming an astronaut. Her journey into space symbolizes breaking barriers and inspiring minority representation in STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, mathematics).

However, in the context of space travel, Eugene Huu-Chau Trinh was actually the first Vietnamese American astronaut. Born in Saigon in 1950, he moved to France at age two and later attended university in the US. He is the director of NASA's Physical Sciences Research Division, a program dedicated to human exploration and development in space. He began his career at NASA in 1999 as a senior research scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Dr. Trinh flew aboard NASA's STS-50 space shuttle in 1992 as a payload specialist, becoming the first Vietnamese American astronaut to travel to space. He holds a Ph.D. in Applied Physics from Yale University.

In the realm of educational philanthropy, a rare and notable case in the eastern United States is that of Mr. and Mrs. Long and Kimmy Nguyen. Kimmy Duong fled Vietnam in 1975 and built a successful career in technology, eventually becoming the Chief Financial Officer of Pragmatics, a company founded by her husband, Dr. Long Nguyen. In 2009, they contributed $5 million to support engineering students, leading to the naming of the Long and Kimmy Nguyen Engineering Building. The Kimmy Duong Foundation, established in 2015, provides scholarships and supports health, education, and welfare initiatives for both Vietnamese and American communities. The foundation has awarded hundreds of scholarships and launched programs to assist families during economically challenging times. They also contributed $1.1 million for student scholarships and named the Long Nguyen and Kimmy Duong Theater and Forum. In 2025, to commemorate 50 years of Vietnamese refugees and as a gesture of gratitude to the United States, the Kimmy Duong Foundation again donated $20 million to George Mason University (helping to raise a total of $36 million), resulting in the university's School of Computing being named "The Long Nguyen and Kimmy Duong School of Computing." According to the foundation's website, "Influenced by her Buddhist background, Kimmy Duong has always cared for the poor and the sick. Raised in a poor family and coming to the United States as a refugee, Ms. Kimmy Duong understands the many challenges that poverty brings."

In Canada, several individuals have received significant national or international recognition across various fields:

• Kim Thuy: An award-winning author, recognized for her contributions to literature, particularly for her book Ru, and recipient of the Governor General's Award.
• Carol Huynh: An Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling (2008) and a bronze medalist (2012).
• Dang Thai Son: A renowned pianist from Northern Vietnam, who won the 1980 International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition.
• Thanh Hai Ngo: The first Vietnamese Canadian to be appointed to the Senate.
• Paul Nguyen: A prominent documentary filmmaker and social activist. Growing up in a disadvantaged and high-crime neighborhood in Toronto, he has actively worked to give a voice to its residents, improve their image, and highlight the cultural and historical richness of his community. He was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012. Paul Nguyen co-produced the Netflix documentary What Jennifer Did, which delves into a controversial case within the Vietnamese community. In January 2015, Jennifer Pan, 28, was sentenced to life in prison for hiring hitmen to kill her parents. The film details her transformation from a young Vietnamese girl, a talented pianist, to a convicted first-degree murderer. Paul Nguyen connects with the Vietnamese community in Markham, Ontario, to offer a cultural perspective on issues contributing to youth crime, such as immense family pressure for young generations to achieve exceptional success in society, and the prejudiced attitudes of Asian immigrants towards mental health disorders. Paul Nguyen also aims to foster dialogue and understanding around these topics through this film.
• Truong Cong Hieu: The current Canadian currency was designed by Vietnamese engineer Truong Cong Hieu, who was awarded the Order of Canada in 2017 (Officier de l’Ordre du Canada). As Director of Engineering and Research and Development Programs at the Royal Canadian Mint, he has placed Canada at the forefront of global currency manufacturing through numerous innovations.

(To be continued)

Ho Van Hien
May 21, 2023
April 28, 2025

Translated and edited from the original article by the author (9/12/2025)

¹ The US-Vietnam Research Center at the University of Oregon plays a significant scholarly role in promoting research and education about the Republic of Vietnam, including its achievements and legacy within Vietnamese history, society, and diaspora communities. A key activity of the center is to host and sponsor international workshops and symposia that specifically address the history, policies, cultural achievements, and political challenges of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam, 1955–1975). Such forums promote a nuanced, accurate, and scholarly reassessment—often called “rehabilitation”—of the Republic’s contributions to nation-building,