Like South Korea, Vietnam underwent rapid industrialization, transforming into a bustling economic hub. Saigon, now renamed New Saigon, is a gleaming metropolis of towering glass buildings, neon lights, and a relentless work culture.
New Saigon, in this alternate timeline, Vietnam never came under a communist government. Instead, after a decisive U.S. victory, the country remained under a pro-American regime, closely allied with the West. Like South Korea, Vietnam underwent rapid industrialization, transforming into a bustling economic hub. Saigon, now renamed New Saigon, is a gleaming metropolis of towering glass buildings, neon lights, and a relentless work culture. American corporations dominate the skyline—billboards advertising McDonald’s, Apple, and Hollywood blockbusters blend seamlessly with traditional Vietnamese aesthetics. English is widely spoken and integrated into schools alongside Vietnamese. The country’s elite are often educated abroad in the U.S., bringing back Western philosophies while maintaining the deeply ingrained Confucian values of hierarchy and respect.
Despite its prosperity, Vietnam’s cultural landscape is one of both fusion and friction. Traditional elements like Tet celebrations, ancestor worship, and the flowing ao dai persist, but they exist alongside an overwhelming wave of Western influence. The entertainment industry thrives, producing Vietnamese pop stars and blockbuster films modeled after K-dramas and Hollywood epics. Fashion reflects this hybrid identity—modernized ao dai-inspired streetwear graces magazine covers, while luxury American brands cater to the country’s rising middle class. Yet, beneath the surface, a quiet struggle brews. The government enforces a rigid nationalist agenda, ensuring that the official history of the war glorifies the U.S. intervention. The former North Vietnam and its revolutionary leaders have been erased from textbooks, and those who question the state’s narrative are subtly silenced. Dissent exists, but only in whispers, in the hidden strokes of an artist’s brush or the coded lyrics of a song that hint at an unspoken truth.
In this world, military service is mandatory, much like in South Korea. Young men serve two years in the highly disciplined Vietnamese-American Defense Force, a modernized army built under U.S. oversight. American bases remain stationed in Da Nang and New Saigon, their presence both a source of security and silent domination. Soldiers march in formation under the banner of a “free Vietnam,” yet many never question whether their nation is truly free. The economy flourished under capitalist expansion, with Vietnam emerging as a global center for technology and manufacturing. However, class divides run deep—wealth is concentrated in urban elites while rural communities struggle to keep up with the demands of modernization. The gap between rich and poor widens, mirroring the fate of South Korea in its early economic boom.