Vietnam's hottest FDI destination gains pop culture cred

Local-born Hoa Minzy sings about Bac Ninh's cultural traditions in one of YouTube's most popular music videos. (Screenshot from BAC BLING <BAC NINH> OFFICIAL MV)

TOKYO -- The northern province of Bac Ninh has played a major role in driving the economic growth Vietnam is experiencing today, thanks to the Samsung gigafactory there.

Yet despite Bac Ninh making the smartphones that end up in pockets around the globe, the province remains little known to the world. Now locally born artists are changing that.

Until last year, 33-year-old music composer Tuan Cry was struggling to land a hit and make money after spending nearly 10 years in the parody genre.

Little did he know that a song he wrote about his hometown would become an overnight sensation, topping YouTube's global music video charts.

The music video "Bac Bling", a pun on Bac Ninh, went viral after 21 days on YouTube, garnering more than 70 million views and on March 5 securing the No. 2 position on the platform's global top music videos list. It was at No. 3 on March 19.

Local composer Tuan Cry ended up with a global hit by mashing together rap and Vietnamese folk music. (Screenshot from BAC BLING <BAC NINH> OFFICIAL MV)

For two weeks, it was right up there with tracks featuring the likes of Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga. Bac Bling features a mix of traditional Vietnamese folk music and rap verses, and the video showcases tourist "hot spots" in Bac Ninh.

"I always dreamed of doing something for my hometown," Tuan Cry said. "But I didn't know exactly how to do it. When I met Hoa [Hoa Minzy, a singer and actor born in Bac Ninh], who shared the same goal, I started to study our culture more seriously."

Tuan and Hoa had previously worked together on another music video.

"I had given up so many times since 2018," Tuan said, " leaving the big cities to go home to my parents in Bac Ninh with no money in my pocket. They were so worried."

Listeners or those who watch the video hardly notice the reference to Bac Ninh in the song's title, but they can feel the province in the lyrics and video.

The video mixes the past with the present. It starts with young men parading a dragon puppet along a rural path. Later, residents sporting a wide range of colorful, traditional outfits dance by the old houses of their hometown. The rap lyrics -- rhyming invitations and enticements to visit Bac Ninh -- are accompanied by the music of Vietnamese folk instruments.

In the comments section under the video, one viewer wrote in Vietnamese, "I watch this video a dozen times every day."

Said another: "My 8-month-old baby is addicted to this song. She immediately stops crying whenever I turn this video on."

The music video also features Vietnam's "Comedy King of the North," Xuan Hinh, who is also from Bac Ninh.

Wearing sunglasses and a traditional ao dai, Xuan Hinh raps and dances in a temple, then flies above a quan ho museum in Bac Ninh, with the Comedy King's performance reminiscent of Psy in the South Korean recording artist's 2012 monster hit, "Gangnam Style," which also exploded on YouTube.

Quan ho is a kind of Vietnamese folk music with alternating male and female voices singing challenges and responses.

Hoa Minzy mobilized Bac Ninh villagers for the production, including an old woman who stole the show in an eye-catching black-toothed granny scene.

The women donned traditional black headscarves and four-piece dresses, swaying while chewing betel leaves and areca nuts, a practice known for its stimulating, narcotic -- and teeth-cleaning -- effects.

The grannies are the friends of Hoa's grandmother, and the 30-year-old singer released the video on her grandmother's death anniversary.

"I miss you so much, Grandma," Hoa said on her Facebook page. "I hate the coronavirus that took you away."

Vietnam's "Comedy King of the North," Xuan Hinh, came up with a performance that is inspiring comparisons to South Korea's Psy, who had a global hit of his own in 2012. (Screenshot from BAC BLING <BAC NINH> OFFICIAL MV)

In another scene, the singer dances before a tall pile of burning paper horses, reflecting the ritual of hau dong, a UNESCO-recognized cultural heritage dating back to the 16th century in which deities are summoned to Earth to bless, protect and assist believers in their daily lives, or protect them and keep them from misfortune.

The video stars Bac Ninh, depicting a wrestling match at the Lim Festival, the Phu Lang pottery village, Ba Chua Kho temple and boat races on the Cau River.

Bac Ninh provincial authorities are trying to capitalize on the music video by offering free bus rides to tourists. They have also rewarded members of the video's production team for putting Bac Ninh on the global tourist map.

"I am very proud to have done something that has been so well received not only by my hometown but also by Vietnamese and international audiences," Tuan said.

"My nickname, 'Tuan Cry,' comes from the idea of making people laugh so hard they cry," said the singer, whose real name is Nguyen Sy Tuan. But that entertainment-induced "laugh has now turned into a more meaningful tear -- a tear of happiness and pride for my hometown, Bac Ninh."

Last year, the province was No. 1 in Vietnam for foreign investment registration value at $5.1 billion, 13% of the country's total.

Samsung has been the driving force since setting up a mobile phone factory in Bac Ninh in 2008. The South Korean conglomerate has invested more than $20 billion in its six factories and other facilities. Around 50% of Samsung smartphones are made in Vietnam.

Now Bac Ninh has a second act, one that is bestowing it with more fame than Samsung's Galaxy ever did.

Source: Nikkei Asia