South Korean woman falls in love with daughter-in-law’s native Vietnam

By Nga Thanh   December 31, 2024 | 10:14 pm PT
For a month now people in Go Quao District in the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang have been seeing a Korean woman dressed in local attire and exercising.

She also shops at the market like a true delta local, wakes up early to join others to work in the garden and field and enjoys sitting and chatting with neighbors, even managing to exchange a few words in Vietnamese. "The serene riverside views of the Mekong Delta and its amiable people make me wish to stay here indefinitely," Joo Sun Seon, 68, says.

She is from South Gyeongsang Province in South Korea, and is the mother-in-law of Pham Thi Kieu Tien, a native of Kien Giang.

Joo says her initial curiosity about Vietnam and its landscapes and people was sparked years ago through books and television. "20 years ago I dreamed of visiting Vietnam and wearing an ao dai (Vietnamese tunic) and a conical hat," she reminisces.

Joo Sun Seon picks water lilies in Kien Giang, Dec. 2024. Photo courtesy of Joo

Joo Sun Seon picks water lilies in Kien Giang, Dec. 2024. Photo courtesy of Joo

In early 2011, when she discovered that her son Na Eop Dong was dating Tien, she promptly invited Tien home. During Tien’s subsequent visits after that she was enthralled by tales of the Mekong Delta, its floating markets and merchandise sold from boats on the rivers.

"I started calling Tien every day because I adored hearing her describe Vietnamese culture and food," Joo explains.

In early 2012, when Na and Tien married, Joo spent the night before the wedding sleepless, filled with both anxiety and excitement about finally seeing Vietnam in person.

And Vietnam did not disappoint her.

Upon arriving at Tien’s home as part of the wedding procession, she crossed the river by ferry, both frightened and fascinated to see that the small vessel could carry motorcycles, luggage and people.

Sitting at the bow of the boat, dipping her hands in the water and observing orchards laden with fruit on both sides, Joo closed her eyes and reveled in the atmosphere. 10 minutes later she was greeted at the gate by Tien’s family, and felt "a familiar and warm feeling" despite it being her first visit to Vietnam.

"The moment I sat at the dining table with dozens of people, eating and chatting, became an unforgettable memory," she says.

Joo Sun Seon (C) cooking a traditional Vietnamese dish with uncles of her daughter-in-law Pham Thi Kieu Tien. Photo courtesy of Joo

Joo Sun Seon (C) cooking a traditional Vietnamese dish with uncles of her daughter-in-law Pham Thi Kieu Tien. Photo courtesy of Joo

Joo’s fondness for the land and its lifestyles grew bigger after her son’s wedding. She quickly became addicted to Vietnamese cuisine as Tien taught her how to cook various dishes. Her favorites include stir-fried morning glory with garlic, banh chung (a square-shaped pack of sticky rice with pork and bean fillings wrapped in green leaves), and pickled shallot.

"Even in South Korea, every meal my family eats includes Vietnamese dishes," she reveals. "Thanks to my daughter-in-law, I enjoy a lot of delicious dishes from the Mekong Delta."

Unfortunately for her, she could not visit Vietnam for over 11 years. She was occupied with her business and had to care for her ailing husband, but satisfied her longing for Vietnam by video calling Tien’s mother to see the rivers and landscapes.

In 2023 she decided to visit Vietnam for the Lunar New Year in early 2024 because she missed the country so much.

The first thing she did after arriving in Kien Giang was to go up to the ancestral altar in Tien’s house to light incense and pay her respects to Tien’s late father. Then she went shopping at the local market for Tet with her in-laws. Watching people jostling to buy chickens and ducks, slaughtering pigs, buying fruits, vegetables and dried goods, she squeezed in herself to buy things.

"I was taught how to select a good chicken to cook as an offering, choose dried bamboo shoots for noodles and buy various kinds of flowers like peach and apricot blossoms and chrysanthemums for Tet," she says.

For more than a week during Tet Joo started each day by exercising alone around the village pond in a conical hat for nearly an hour from 5 a.m. before returning home. She loved riding pillion with Tien’s mother on a motorbike to the market in the early morning, enjoying bun nuoc leo (a type of noodle soup). Along the way, if she saw a house with coconut, banana or guava trees, she would ask to try some fruit.

In the afternoon she would sit under a tree at the village entrance and chat with Tien’s relatives and neighbors.

"I truly aspire to live like the people of the Mekong Delta, engaging in rice harvesting, picking flowers, working in the fields, catching snails during the day, and lying in a hammock listening to folk songs at night," she says wistfully.

(From L) Joo Sun Seon, her grandchild, her daughter-in-law Pham Thi Kieu Tien’s mother, and Tien. Photo courtesy of Joo

(From L) Joo Sun Seon, her grandchild, her daughter-in-law Pham Thi Kieu Tien’s mother, and Tien. Photo courtesy of Joo

After returning to South Korea, Joo set herself a goal of visiting Vietnam, "her homeland," several times a year. "I am genuinely fortunate, proud and happy to see my husband’s family love and respect our lifestyle and culture," Tien says.

Tien’s mother Cam Van, 53, says though she and Joo do not understand each other’s language, they can still sit and talk for hours about life in their respective countries. "It is like having another friend to confide in during old age. We express ourselves through gestures and facial expressions and somehow understand each other."

At the end of November this year, knowing that Tien’s father’s death anniversary was approaching, Joo decided to accompany her daughter-in-law to Vietnam.

On returning to Go Quao and changing into a ba ba (traditional southern Vietnamese garment) transformed the Korean woman.

She began making banh xeo (crispy stuffed rice pancake), then went on to help serve food and wash dishes, and generally doing whatever work was needed without any hesitation.

"I’ve bought dozens of ba ba outfits, silk floral fabrics, checked scarves, and conical hats to wear each time I return to Vietnam," she says. "[But] I wear them even in South Korea, to truly embody the look of a traditional Vietnamese woman."

 
 
go to top