[ Sender:JCS ]
Hoa , a CoFesta ambassador from Vietnam shares with us about how Japanese media contents are being received in her home country. Through her frank and sharp observation, we learn how Japanese media contents are perceived by young Vietnamese, and also about its future prospects.
Hoa: An Undergraduate student from Hanoi, Vietnam, studying in Faculty of Commerce at Waseda university.
― What particularly interests you about Japan?
Hoa: "What I find interesting about Japan is that the co-existance of traditional and modern values. That is the most attractive thing about Japan to me."
― Is there anything that interests you recently?
Hoa: " I fell in love recently with ODA Kazumasa's music (a Japanese singer-songwriter who was the vocalist of a folk rock band from1969-1989 and is now active as solo artiste and composer)! Yes, everyone tells me I'm 'shibui' (slightly old-fashioned in a positive way), but I think his lyrics are very meaningful, and I really feel his music when I listen to it; I just connectwith the songs, so to say. Before ODA Kazumasa, I was really into OTSUKA Ai."
― How did you first get to know about Japanese media contents in Vietnam?
Hoa: "When I started studying Japanese in highschool, I used to watch dramas, anime and read manga in order to improve my Japanese. Through those, I not only learnt the language, but I also got to know Japanese culture. Back in Vietnam, I would just search the Internet for what I wanted. There were many websites in Vietnamese that used to keep people updated with information about Japanese media contents, but when I go to those websites now, I find most of them dead! They didn't have enough capital to sustain their businesses. I have no idea how people in Vietnam find information about Japan or Japanese media contents nowadays."
― That is very sad! Do you hope that Japan will support these websites?
Hoa: "In the first place, exposure to Japanese media contents needs more exposure in people's daily lives. . If there is nothing readily available for consumers, websites that only serve as a source of information on contents will not be any helpful."
― Do you think popularity of Japanese media contents among young people in Vietnam is growing?
Hoa: "I think it's growing, and not only just for media contents. Many people come from Vietnam to Japan for studies, and many Japanese companies do business in Vietnam. As a result, there are many Japanese cultural events held in Vietnam. For example, we have 'Hanoi Obon Festival' and 'Sakura Matsuri' in Hoh Chi Min city every April. I was actually a volunteer at Sakura Matsuri and a comic festival which had manga, anime and cosplay related events."
― Can you think of any Japanese media contents that would not do well ?
Hoa: "I that it would be difficult for idols, because Korean idols are already very popular among the Vietnamese. People view Korean idols, such as 'Super Junior' or 'Girls Generation', as 'cool', but Japanese idols are just like cheerleading! If Japanese idols adopt the same strategy as Korean idols, they would be seen as copying Korean idols. I can safely say that Korean media contents is the mainstream in Vietnam."
― I heard that you gave a presentation on the potential of Japanese dramas in Vietnam at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry as part of CoFesta Ambassador's activity. Could you tell me more about that?
Hoa: "We suggested building a website providing Japanese TV dramas for Japanese language learners. First, we pointed out factors as to why Japanese dramas in Vietnam have not been successful, which are for instance, the number of episodes, the time at which Japanese dramas are aired, unnatural dubbing, thedifference in how people perceive 'good looking' actors in Japan and Vietnam etc... However, considering the increasing population of Vietnamese studying Japanese, and the proliferation of youths watching overseas dramas on the Internet in Vietnam, we thought that the best solution would be to create a online platform for Japanese dramas to become popular in Vietnam."
― Through your experiences as a CoFesta ambassador, what do you want to do in the future?
Hoa: "I want to work in Japan. Especially at a trading company or a bank. I took n class in university about Mitsubishi Corporation and I thought that the system was very interesting. It would be a challenging job that I want to try doing. "
Thank you very much Hoa! This interview must have help everyone in the media contents industry in Japan realize how much how endless the possibilities are. This is our last interview with CoFesta ambassadors this year. Thank you for your staying with us and with your positive feedback, we hope to come back again. Please show your support through visiting and liking our Facebook page and posts!
Vol.1 : Interviews with "CoFesta Ambassadors": Vol.1 << USA >>
Vol.2 : Interviews with "CoFesta Ambassadors": Vol.2 << Indonesia (1) >>
Vol.3 : Interviews with "CoFesta Ambassadors": Vol.3 << Indonesia (2) >>
Vol.4 : Interviews with "CoFesta Ambassadors": Vol.4 << Mexico (1) >>
Vol.5 : Interviews with "CoFesta Ambassadors": Vol.5 << Mexico (2) >>
Vol.6 : Interviews with "CoFesta Ambassadors": Vol.6 << Thailand >>
Vol.6 : Interviews with "CoFesta Ambassadors": Vol.7 << Philippines >>
More about "CoFesta"
http://www.cofesta.jp/
What is "CoFesta Ambassadors" program?
Through the voices and observations done by overseas consumers of
Japanese media content, CoFesta administration team aim to provide
beneficial information from 1) marketing and 2) promotional points of
view for the CoFesta events and the exhibitors.
Every year, 150 international students studying abroad in Japan are
certified as "CoFesta Ambassadors" for this program.
