Pretoria (VNA) – Kyler, a South African who has lived in Vietnam for a decade, has become fluent in Vietnamese, married a Vietnamese wife and turned into an unsung "cultural ambassador" between the two countries.
Language is the first wedge
Talking with a Vietnam News Agency reporter in South Africa, Kyler said language is the key that breaks cultural barriers. “I once heard a very good saying: if you speak to someone in English, you reach their head; if you speak their mother tongue, you reach their heart”, he recalled.
That philosophy shaped his first step into Vietnamese culture: not guidebooks, but learning how to greet people. The small effort paid off. Locals responded warmly, corrected his pronunciation and told him about their families. Over time, everyday conversations made him genuinely fluent.
To Kyler, Vietnamese people are exceptionally warm, quick to offer a stranger specialty fruit or a fragrant cup of tea.
He said: “They are warm and eager to learn. They ask where you are from, what you eat, how you feel, and they really listen”, adding that that sincere curiosity narrowed the distance. With such open people, one stops being an outside observer and becomes part of the community.
Cuisine and art sell culture faster than slogans
Asked which Vietnamese cultural element has the strongest pull abroad, Kyler named cuisine without hesitation. For him, food is the easiest channel. His Vietnamese wife’s cooking consistently impresses friends in South Africa. When he recently brought “phin” coffee to the office, colleagues kept asking for more.
“Cuisine sparks curiosity and naturally leads people to explore the culture behind it,” he said.
Contemporary Vietnamese art is also showing force. Young artists are blending traditional materials with modern sound, giving global audiences an easier entry point. The international success of young artists such as Son Tung M-TP is clear proof.
Still, Kyler said cultural products need more investment in English subtitles on online platforms and more content creators explaining culture from an insider’s perspective.
Living in both countries, he argued that trust and friendship cannot be built through stiff media messaging alone. They must come from natural, regular contact, including exchanging students, work partners, or foreigners who stay long enough to understand the culture.
Preservation works best when ordinary stories lead
From a national development standpoint, Vietnam is paying more attention to cultural values. Drawing on South Africa’s experience, Kyler said places that do preservation well always put the stories of ordinary people at the centre.
He cited Cape Town’s District Six Museum, built from the memory of a community that was forcibly relocated. Its value lies in letting the people who lived through that history shape how the story is told. Robben Island and Constitution Hill, he said, show how painful history can become a deep educational lesson.
Kyler noted the biggest challenge is balancing preservation with development while securing stable long-term funding. For Vietnam, he praised models such as Hoi An and Hue.
“They are valuable lessons in managing tourism and protecting ancient relics while maintaining the living space and soul of the resident community”, he said.
Overseas Vietnamese can be a bridge
As an outsider who knows Vietnam deeply, Kyler rates the overseas Vietnamese (OVs) highly. They understand how the outside world sees Vietnam and how the country works from within. But he argued that this combination only gains power when it rests on trust and substantive cooperation, not just calls for financial contributions.
According to him, mentorship programmes and short-term internships should let OV experts work directly inside domestic organisations and then collaborate remotely. “They need to be entrusted with real responsibility, not just be guest speakers”, he stressed.
To support networks of OV artists and intellectuals, creative residencies, co-working spaces and regular meetups should also be given priority. Strong networks, he said, usually start from a few quality projects with specific goals, not from superficial events./.
