preface
Prologue: Vietnam: Pursuing Integration and Expansion in the Face of Foreign Civilizations

Chapter 1: Chinese Rule and Vietnamese Resistance
1 From Myth to History
· Vietnam's National Foundation Day event, the Hung Vuong Festival
2 Nam Viet was established under Chinese influence.
3. Achieving independence from Chinese rule
★ The Trung Sisters, the 'Goddess of Liberty' of the socialist country of Vietnam

Chapter 2: The dynasty that laid the foundation in the north
1 The Ly Dynasty establishes Dai Viet
The Tran Dynasty repelled the Mongol invasion.
· The secret weapon of the Tran Dynasty that defeated the Champa, the 'fire gun'
3 The Le Dynasty promoted Confucian ideology
· Vietnam's best historical books, "The Complete Records of Dai Viet" and Ngo Si Lien
★ Hanoi Temple of Literature, a symbol of Vietnamese Confucianism

Chapter 3: Division and Expansion, Trade and Development
1. Trinh and Nguyen Divide the Nation
· Porome Temple, the last relic of Champa's glory
2 Trade flourishes and the South develops.
· The old streets of Hoi An, which prospered through foreign trade
3 The Nguyen Dynasty unifies North and South
★ The remains of the Nguyen Dynasty, the Hue Imperial Citadel

Chapter 4: French Colonial Rule and the Independence Movement
1 Invasion and domination by France
· The Korean word 'Khuoc Ngeu', which was widely used during the colonial period
2. The national movement unfolds
3 Socialist forces lead the national movement
· The love of the young female revolutionary Nguyen Thi Minh Khai
★ A Legacy of Colonial Rule: Ho Chi Minh City's Colonial Architecture

Chapter 5: Independence and War, Division and Unification
1 Declared independence, but France invaded again
· The Last Empress, Nam Phuong
2 The Geneva Accords divided Vietnam.
3. The United States intervenes in the Vietnam War
· Dangtuichum's Diary
4. US troops withdraw following the Paris Peace Accords
5. North and South Korea are unified and socialist reforms are implemented.
· The Sorrow of War, a novel that exposes the dark side of war
★ Ho Chi Minh's Legacy 'Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum'

Epilogue: Pianist Dang Thai Son and Modern Vietnamese History
Chronology
Vietnamese Dynasty and Government
Sources and References
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A piece of information from a travel book, beyond the war-filled history of Vietnam
The first comprehensive Vietnamese history book in Korea, covering 2,500 years of history from ancient times to the present day.

The most sought-after travel destination for Korean tourists since the COVID-19 pandemic, a country rapidly emerging as a global production base and new economic hub in Asia to replace China, a country that has finally emerged victorious from successive wars against powers like France, the United States, and China, and the country with the second-largest number of immigrants forming multicultural families in Korea.
There is a lot of information we know about 'Vietnam'.
These days, Vietnam feels more familiar to me as I watch videos of Coach Park Hang-seo, who recently coached the Vietnamese national soccer team, and vlogs of Korean YouTubers living in Vietnam.
But can we truly say we have a fundamental understanding of Vietnam and its people just by encountering a few fragments of information? Travel books that merely provide information on the locations and locations of historical sites don't reveal the events that unfolded there hundreds or thousands of years ago. Reading only about the Vietnam War and the socialist revolution doesn't allow us to understand Vietnam's current path, which maintains active diplomatic relations with the United States and is at the forefront of international trade.
《Vietnamese History for Beginners》 is Korea's first popular history book that fully introduces Vietnam's 2,500-year history.
Beginning with the Dong Son culture and ancient mythology that blossomed in the lower reaches of the Red River 2,500 years ago, the independent dynasties of the Ly, Tran, Le, and Nguyen dynasties, the French colonial period and the Vietnam War with the United States, the socialist revolution, and the Doi Moi reforms, the film captures every moment of Vietnam's history without missing a single moment.
Only after delving into Vietnam's entire history do the stories hidden behind the streets of Hanoi, the imperial citadel of Hue, and the French-style buildings of Ho Chi Minh City truly come alive, and only then do we begin to understand the Vietnamese way of life and cultural sensibilities that distinguish them so distinctly from those of other Southeast Asians.
After encountering the true Vietnamese history, your eyes will finally open to a new charm of Vietnam that you had not known before.



The relationship between Korea and Vietnam has steadily grown closer since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1992.
Vietnamese History for Koreans, Seen Through Korean Eyes

If you think about it, Vietnam and Korea have had an inseparable relationship since a very long time ago.
There were Vietnamese people who migrated to Goryeo around the 13th century and created new surnames. They were also influenced by Chinese empires in the same Confucian cultural sphere, and they also experienced a similar history of colonial rule and division.
They also have in common the fact that they have used Chinese characters for a long time and accepted Mahayana Buddhism.
In the early 20th century, the Vietnamese intellectual Phan Boi Chau's "History of the Fall of Vietnam" influenced the Korean nationalist movement, and during the Vietnam War, Korea and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam faced each other in a hostile relationship.

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1992, the volume of trade between Vietnam and Korea has also increased every year.
As of 2022, the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, Vietnam is Korea's third-largest export destination and seventh-largest import destination. As of 2021, Korea is Vietnam's third-largest export destination and second-largest import destination.
Korea was also the country with the largest number of tourists visiting Vietnam in 2022.
Just looking at the statistics alone, there are enough reasons to know about Vietnam.
In many ways, Vietnam is no less than a mirror for Korea.
To better understand and reflect on ourselves by looking into the history of other countries, and to properly understand Vietnam, which is becoming increasingly closer through travel and economic exchange, now is the time to look into the mirror of "Vietnamese history."


Over 250 color photographs, historical maps, introductions to historic sites, and balanced perspectives.
The easiest and most user-friendly 'Vietnamese History' for 'first-time' readers.

As the title suggests, “Vietnamese History for Beginners” was created so that readers who are new to Vietnamese history can read it easily and enjoyably.
Historical events are reconstructed in narrative form, and anecdotes related to characters are placed throughout, making it feel as if all the elements appearing on the stage of history are alive and breathing.
A map that kindly guides you through an unfamiliar time and space, and over 250 color photos containing Vietnamese history and culture, give you the feeling of traveling to Vietnam.
At the beginning of each chapter, a chronology is provided that allows readers to simultaneously examine Vietnamese, Korean, and world history. At the end of each chapter, representative Vietnamese historical sites are introduced along with historical events to help readers gain a deeper understanding of the sites.
In addition, we tried not to lose sight of the warm perspective on the lives and culture of the people who have shaped Vietnam from ancient times to the present, so that first impressions of Vietnam are not distorted by outdated ideologies.
For readers new to Vietnamese history, the most essential element is to break free from outdated stereotypes such as "a Southeast Asian country worse off than us" and "a communist enemy country" and to look at Vietnam's three-dimensional history from an objective and balanced perspective.


The "World History for Beginners" series, written by a current history teacher.
A new book after eight years and the sixth country, Vietnam

The books in the "First Reading World History" series, which were planned with the aim of looking at world history "through the eyes of Koreans" rather than "Europe as the lead and China as the supporting role," are written so that each country's history can be understood within the context of world history while also covering its own unique history.
To help readers learn about major events, figures, and the historical significance of civilizations in world history, we've used timelines and maps to clearly connect the dots between the books in the series.
Another unique characteristic of this series is that it does not mechanically list political events in a chronological order, but rather vividly portrays the culture and history of the country.
Looking at the many reader reviews that poured in after the series was published in 2010, many praised the books, saying they chose them before traveling to Turkey, before going on a business trip to India, or while living in Japan to learn about the local area, and that the easy-to-read, three-dimensional narratives led them to seek out and read books from other countries as well.
I hope that this series will continue to serve as a vivid introduction to the history of countries that cannot be fully understood through textbooks alone, and as an excellent guidebook for those planning a trip to those countries.