#vietkor

[mysticalmusicwhispers]

Idk if this counts as a ship ask, but what are your thoughts on South Korea X Vietnam?

Thanks for the ask anon!

Ship asks!

Gotta be honest, I’m not sure what my thoughts are about them? I haven’t seen much content for them and I don’t have a sense of their vibe ig, so I can’t really say anything for certain. The historical parallels and irl relations are certainly intriguing though and I feel like there’s a lot of material for shipping as a) vassal states/tributary states of China, b) the Korean War and Vietnam War both in terms of parallels and SK’s involvement in the Vietnam War, and c) the modern day relations, which are quite good. I can’t really expand on anything of their possible history, but I feel like Vietnam would’ve met Korea somewhere while they were both under China; from reading Wikipedia a survivor of the Ly family massacre fled to Korea and then helped stall the Mongol invasion of Korea, so I feel like perhaps South Korea would have felt grateful (?) towards Vietnam, and sort of in awe of her. He’s not sure whether her resistance of China was a good idea, although she seems to think so, but he can certainly admire her bravery for doing so, especially as he was unable to keep him out in the end. The whole thing with the Mongols would probably only strengthen his image of her as someone fierce, intelligent, with strength that’s often overlooked, and maybe make him feel like he’s in debt to her a little? Not sure, but as I headcanon Yong Soo as a young kid/preteen (subject to more research and evaluation) during the Mongol invasions, he doesn’t have any other feeling for Vietnam besides a hint of awe and vague curiosity.

I think there’s probably a long gap of minimal contact after that (again subject to more research) and that they meet again during the Vietnam War when South Korea sent a lot of people to help the US. I’m not sure how either of them feel; I think Yong Soo would have felt at least a little guilty, even if he’s in denial. After all, he’s just been separated from his brother, whether he willingly chose to or not, and now he’s helping Alfred try to meddle in someone else’s affairs when he’s still unpacking his own feelings about aligning with capitalism for the cost of a sibling. From Linh/Vietnam’s POV, she’s probably thinking about Yong Soo’s hypocrisy too, but she can see how he doesn’t have many other choices besides coming here and sacrificing his men in a war that should have no relation to him. She’s also thinking about how much he’s grown from that kid she met long ago who looked curiously at her as he stood next to Yao, eyes wide with a hint of trepidation (no doubt because Yao had told him lies about her, or half-truths, they were pretty much the same anyways), overpowering inquisitiveness, and maybe a shadow of admiration. He’s grown, as all of them do, into someone who has killed and bled, and she can’t help but feel a little bit sorry for him that he kills and bleeds for someone else; he should not be here, because there should be nothing in it for him. But he’s here.

Ok small drabble over, skip to modern day relations are pretty cordial between them. I think Linh and Yong Soo have k-drama watching sessions, and often Taiwan joins in. They’re probably good business buddies (South Korea is one of Vietnam’s top trading partners) and have moved on from some/most* of their antagonistic encounters. *However, there’s inevitably some sore spots, and I don’t think South Korea holds it against Vietnam that she might still have a grudge, because it’s always this way with nations. After all, he still has a grudge against Japan even as they have regular meetups with America and watch K-pop MVs together.

So, after I’ve finished giving them some thought, I think there’s a lot of interesting possibilities in shipping, but I think I see them as more of a brotp or (mayhaps) wlw/mlm solidarity friends. For me, they’re more platonic than romantic, but again it would be interesting to see them interacting from a romantic lens as well! All around the amount they’re featured together in something is a little bit criminal considering the history :\ the woes of being 2 minor Asian characters in a fandom where everyone is going crazy for Europe :|