LookAtVietnam – Two women, one a Korean American and the other Vietnamese, will share their personal visions of daily life in Viet Nam through a photography book Viet Nam Moment, to be released on Saturday.

Captured: Viet Nam Moment features photographs of daily life.

Thought the women grew up in countries with vastly different cultures, they found a shared identity in the creation of Viet Nam Moment.

Brenda Paik Sunoo is a third-generation Korean American writer and photojournalist. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and her Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing at Antioch University.

Her memoir on loss and healing, Seaweed and Shamans – Inheriting the Gifts of Grief, has been published in English, Korean and Vietnamese.

Sunoo began taking Vietnamese language lessons with Nguyet, who is an English foreign language teacher at Viet Nam National University in Ha Noi. They quickly became friends and found a shared a passion for travel, photography and poetry.

Nguyet was born in the central province of Quang Ngai. She is currently a lecturer of English at Viet Nam National University in Ha Noi, where she also received her undergraduate and master’s degrees. In 1996, Nguyet established the Needy Students Support Programme which has assisted more than 1,000 university students throughout the country.

The two women have collaborated on several projects to foster cultural relations between Viet Nam, South Korea and the United States since 2003.

“Our book is unique because it juxtaposes contemporary visual impressions of a Korean American, and words from traditional Vietnamese culture,” says Sunoo. “The collaboration has been very enriching.”

“Even though people these days seem to work non-stop, we still find time for simple pleasures. The photos and sayings try to capture those moments,” says Nguyet.

Viet Nam Moment

is the first book of its kind, said Kim Hyung-geun, director of Seoul Selection Publishing House. “I hope the book deepens the friendship between Koreans and the Vietnamese. There are thousands of Vietnamese immigrants now living and working in Korea.”

In order to reach a broad audience, the text is provided in English, Vietnamese and Korean. The Korean Cultural Centre in Viet Nam will hold a book launch on Saturday at 49 Nguyen Du Street, Hai Ba Trung District, Ha Noi.

Viet Nam Moment

will be available in Viet Nam by contacting Sunoo at b13sunoo@aol.com. Otherwise, those interested in purchasing the book online may go directly to: www.seoulselection.com or amazon.com.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News