The introduction to each area, as well as the main introduction, is taken from The Six Faces of Contemporary Vietnam by Robert J. Dalton. Dalton's observations are supplemented by the experiences of the U Maryland Winterterm 1999 Study Abroad group in each area of Vietnam, and presented in the order they were discovered in during the trip.

Many years ago I told an old man in a country village that I was an American.  “I know America,” he said, “you are a young nation that has much to learn.”  It was from that point that I began to look at the relationship between the United States and Vietnam from a different perspective.  The year was 1969.

Americans during the war usually referred to North Vietnam and South Vietnam.  When you arrived in the country you were then exposed to Central Vietnam, the Highlands, and the Delta.  It was as if you had to journey to Vietnam to really understand this complex and diverse country.  The culture and long history of Vietnam were simply grouped into the “good guy” and the “bad guy” categories.  The North was bad and the South was good.  Very simple.  Very American.  However, we have since realized this was a serious mistake but one I fear were are about to make again—and for the same reasons.  We provide simple solutions to complex cultural-political problems.  It is time to begin to seriously study the complex interactions between the various regions of contemporary Vietnam and their inhabitants in order to better understand the country as a whole. 

There are actually six Vietnams within one country today: North Vietnam, Central Vietnam, South Vietnam, the Mekong Delta, the villages, and the overseas Vietnamese community.  Each community is itself unique and separate geographically.  However, each is interdependent upon the other for its cultural and its political-economic survival.  Therefore, an overview of each area and its people can provide the basic information necessary to make informed conclusions about contemporary Vietnam.  The following is an attempt to provide a basic overview of the people and six geographical components that make up Vietnam today.