Market development of Vietnam’s performing arts in Asean region from the perspective of regional integration

54 Huỳnh Hồng Diễm. Tạp chí Khoa học Đại học Mở Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, 15(6), 54-63 
 Market development of Vietnam’s performing arts in Asean region 
 from the perspective of regional integration 
 Huỳnh Hồng Diễm1* 
 1Vocational Ballet School of Ho Chi Minh City 
 *Corresponding author: diemhcm@yahoo.com 
 ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT 
 When it comes to the performing arts of Vietnam, it is popular 
Received: 25/05/2020 to think of types of arts which have become a part of the cultural and 
Revised: 21/07/2020 spiritual life of Vietnamese people such as Ca Tru (a complex form 
 of sung poetry), Cheo (Vietnamese traditional opera), Boi singing (a 
Accepted: 23/08/2020 Vietnamese operatic art form), Bai Choi singing (a folklore style of 
 singing), Don ca tai tu music and song, Cai Luong (modern folk 
 opera), Puppetry, Circus, etc. From the perspective of cultural 
 economy, these types of arts are fully potential to become typical 
 cultural products, with many competitive advantages in the overall 
 national cultural industry. Therefore, developing the market for 
 various types of performing arts in Vietnam is a story that needs to 
 be discussed specifically and comprehensively. Within the scope of 
Keywords: this paper, the author discusses the issue of market development of 
performing arts, Ho Chi Vietnamese performing arts beyond the national territory, 
Minh City, ASEAN penetrating ASEAN market and the world market from considering 
 the current ASEAN regional integration, which is a valuable 
 opportunity that stakeholders need to exploit effectively. 
 1. From the term “Regional integration” to the issue 
 1.1. The connotation of “Regional integration” 
 “Regional integration” is the term that many researchers put forward with different concepts 
such as it is “one of the many forms of association, alliances, gathering forces that have existed in 
human history. This type of multilateral connection between countries and groups of countries is 
based on “geographic proximity and often starts from the economic sector” (Nguyen, Q. T., Dang, 
Ha, & Nguyen, D. V., 2010, p. 13). The author of this concept considers “geographic proximity” 
factor as the most important basis for establishment of the “regional integration”. Haas Ernst B. has 
the same point of view, but he argues that the purpose of forming "regional integration" between 
neighboring countries is “to loose the factual attributes of sovereignty while acquiring new 
techniques for resolving conflict between themselves” (Ton, 2015, p. 20). From the practical 
development of “regionalism” in the world, De Lombaerde and Van Langehove identify “regional 
integration” as a global phenomenon, and its purpose is to "increase the interactions between their 
components, creates new forms of organizations which coexist with other traditional forms of state-
led organizations at the national level” (Ton, 2015, p. 20). Overall, the scope of the “regional 
integration” under this concept is broader, which may include “economic, security, political, or 
 Huỳnh Hồng Diễm. Tạp chí Khoa học Đại học Mở Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, 15(6), 54-63 55 
cultural and social issues through institutions and common rules” (Ton, 2015, p. 20). 
 In summary, the connotation of the term “regional integration” may not be consistent 
among researchers, but there are some common points such as: 
 - “Regional integration” are formed on a voluntary basis between countries (sovereignty) / 
territories; 
 - Differences in political institutions, economic development levels, cultural identities, etc. 
are not a barrier for countries / territories to participate in “regional integration”; 
 - The interactions between countries / territories are bilateral and multilateral; 
 - Countries / territories participating in the “regional integration” network can cooperate in 
many fields of economy, politics, military, culture, etc. 
 1.2. Foundation of “Regional integration” 
 From practices in the world for many years, there are two main bases for developing and 
promoting “regional integration”: 
 - Similarities in historical and cultural aspects 
 This integration model may include countries / territories which are not geographically 
close to each other, but have many cultural and historical similarities, such as: Organization of 
Islamic Conferences (OIC), Group of eight developing Muslim countries (D-8); Francophonie 
community (La Francophonie), Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries, etc. 
 - Countries in close geographic proximity to each other 
 The characteristics of countries involved in this integration may have different levels of 
economic development and political regimes, but are geographically close to each other. The 
establishment and development of the European Union (EU) in 1993 with 27 countries and 
territories, or the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are typical examples for this 
case. 
 1.3.  ... 5 
 3. Quan Ho Bac Ninh folk songs Unesco recognized 2009 
 4. Ca tru singing Unesco recognized 2009 
 5. Xoan singing Unesco recognized 2011 
 6. Art of Don ca tai tu music and song in southern Viet Nam Unesco recognized 2013 
 7. Vi and Giam folk songs of Nghe Tinh Unesco recognized 2014 
 Practices related to the Viet beliefs in the Mother Goddesses 
 8. Unesco recognized 2016 
 of Three Realms 
 9. The art of Bai Choi in Central Viet Nam Unesco recognized 2017 
 Practices of Then by Tay, Nung and Thai ethnic groups in 
 10. Unesco recognized 2019 
 Viet Nam 
 11. Circus 
 12. Puppetry 
 13. Cheo singing 
 14. Cai Luong 
 15. Boi singing 
 The artistic and cultural values of the performing arts in Vietnam have been recognized by 
the Vietnamese people and the international community. From the cultural and economic 
perspective, there are great potentials to promote such products to Southeast Asian market. 
 3.3. From the perspective of state management 
 As for promoting Vietnamese performing arts to Southeast Asian cultural and arts market, 
the Vietnamese government plays a leading role from the perspective of state management. 
Accordingly, in recent years, the government of Vietnam has issued many legal documents related 
to the state management of cultural and art activities in Vietnam, including performing arts such 
as: 
 Resolution No. 05/2005/NQ-CP on promoting socialization of educational, healthcare, 
6 Accessed on March 1, 2020 
https://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%A0i_ch%C3%B2i, 
https://vietnam.vnanet.vn/vietnamese/hat-then-%E2%80%93-giai-dieu-cua-than-tien/434278.html, 
60 Huỳnh Hồng Diễm. Tạp chí Khoa học Đại học Mở Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, 15(6), 54-63 
cultural and physical training and sports activities; 
 Decree No. 11/2006/ND-CP on promulgating the regulation on cultural activities and 
public cultural service business; 
 Decree No. 103/2009/ND-CP enclosed with the regulation on cultural activities and of 
public cultural service business; 
 Decree No. 69/2008/ND-CP on policies to encourage socialization of activities in the fields 
of education, vocational training, health care, culture, sports and environment; 
 Decree No. 79/2012/ND-CP on regulations on art performances, fashion shows; beauty 
and model contests; circulation, commerce, audio and video recordings of music and dance 
performances; 
 Decree No. 75/2010/ND-CP on regulations on sanctioning administrative violations in 
cultural activities; 
 Decree No. 158/2013/ND-CP on regulations on sanctioning of administrative violations in 
the fields of culture, sports, tourism and advertising; 
 Decision No. 1456/QD-TTg issued on August 19, 2014 by The Prime Minister of Vietnam on 
approving the “Master Plan for the Performing Arts Development to 2020, Orientation to 2030”. 
 Among the legal documents mentioned above, the author pays special attention to Decision 
No. 1456/QD-TTg issued on August 19, 2014 by The Prime Minister of Vietnam on approving 
the “Master Plan for the Performing Arts Development to 2020, Orientation to 2030”. Specifically, 
some crucial points in the development of performing arts are as follows: 
 1. Develope performing arts to contribute to an advanced culture deeply imbued with national 
 identity; 
 2. Develop performing arts in the direction of prioritizing investment in fostering human 
 resources, perfecting the system of technical foundations of the sector and each region; 
 preserve and promote the traditional art forms, simultaneously selectively absorb the 
 quintessence of the world's art; create and develop modern art forms; 
 3. Promote the socialization of performing arts, encourage domestic and foreign organizations 
 and individuals to invest in facilities and develop performing arts human resources in 
 accordance with law 
 (The Prime Minister, 2014, Article 1). 
 Additionally, the Master Plan also outlines specific development goals of Vietnam's 
performing arts by 2030, including: 
 1. Build and gradually perfect the system of technical and material facilities for the 
 development of performing arts; examine and upgrade a number of degraded theaters in 
 localities, focusing on upgrading and equipping new appropriate technical equipment 
 systems; build modern performing arts centers in Ho Chi Minh City; 
 2. Organize and rearrange public art units towards streamlining and professionalization; 
 encourage organizations and individuals to invest in the development of performing arts in 
 accordance with legal requirements; improve the capacity of art performance organizations 
 nationwide; 
 3. Train and develop human resources in performing arts who have creative capacity, ensure 
 the balance of specialties according to the needs of the society; 
 Huỳnh Hồng Diễm. Tạp chí Khoa học Đại học Mở Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, 15(6), 54-63 61 
 4. Create many works which are high in artistic, humanistic and educational value; enhance 
 the promotion and dissemination of domestic and international performing arts products. 
 (The Prime Minister, 2014, Article 1). 
 To accomplish the above objectives, according to the Decision No. 1456/QD-TTg, there 
are solutions such as perfecting mechanisms and policies; human resources training activities, 
increasing mobilization of resources, communications to raise awareness of the whole society, and 
promoting international cooperation activities. 
 Particularly, in terms of the training of human resources, the Prime Minister emphasizes 
specific tasks such as: 
 a) Improve the training capacity in education system and culture and arts schools system; 
 combine long-term and short-term training, training through professional practices; invite 
 international experts who are experienced in teaching and imparting advanced knowledge 
 and skills in the world; 
 b) Foster and enhance the level of composition and expression of works for creative 
 performing artists and technicians in the field of performing arts. Improve the quality of 
 lecturers and researchers for schools and research institutes; creative teams, performers, 
 technicians at arts organizations; develop theoretical and performing arts critical teams who 
 are skilled and professional; provide management teams with knowledge and capacity in 
 consulting and planning policies; 
 c) Recruit and nomimate artists for long-term and short-term training abroad, “with priority 
 given to a number of specific performing arts fields”. 
 (The Prime Minister, 2014, Article 1). 
 Order to mobilize resources to participate in the development of the national performing 
arts, the government emphasizes: 
 a) The state budget shall provide funding support for upgrading and renovating performing 
 arts facilities with appropriate size, given priority to localities in difficult areas and ethnic 
 minority areas, remote areas, borders, islands; upgrade and renovate technical facilities for 
 teaching and human resources training; 
 b) The localities shall actively allocate local budgets in combination with the state budget's 
 support funds to invest in renovating and upgrading art performance theaters and equipping 
 technical facilities for arts performance activities of arts organizations; 
 c) Encourage the whole society, domestic and foreign organizations and individuals to invest 
 in developing facilities and training human resources activities in the field of performing 
 arts; 
 d) The government supports the creation of performing arts works for political missions. 
 (The Prime Minister, 2014, Article 1). 
 In regard to international cooperation activities, the government also identifies comprehensible 
solutions such as “a) Organize cultural and artistic exchange activities with other countries and 
international organizations; focus on integrating art performance programs associated with regional 
and international diplomatic events and cultural exchanges; b) Increase the introduction of Vietnamese 
art works to the world and valuable foreign art works into Vietnam; c) Establish joint ventures with 
foreign organizations in investing technical facilities, organizing art performance programs and 
62 Huỳnh Hồng Diễm. Tạp chí Khoa học Đại học Mở Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, 15(6), 54-63 
training human resources (The Prime Minister, 2014, Article 1). 
 In the context of cultural economy is increasingly becoming one of the key economic 
sectors of Vietnam's economy, the advent of Decision 1456/QD-TTg on approving the “Master 
Plan for the Performing Arts Development to 2020, Orientation to 2030” is important to further 
political economy dynamics so the performing arts not only continue to be appreciated and 
developed in Vietnam, but also flourish in Southeast Asia in particular and worldwide. This is 
considered as an effective way to preserve, promote and develop the performing arts of Vietnam 
at the present time. 
 4. Conclusion and further issues to be discussed 
 Regional integration is a trend that has existed and developed for a long time in human 
history. Regional integration models allow each country member to take advantage of its own 
benefits and the common advantages of the region, as well as other countries, for more sustainable 
development. The purpose, form and field of integration between countries in the world at different 
historical and regional periods are not completely the same. In the context of contemporary society, 
most regional integrations are concentrated in the fileds of politics - military - economy - culture. 
 For Vietnam, participating in the Southeast Asian regional integration model to establish 
the ASEAN community is not only a historical but a contemporary requirement. Becoming a link 
- an organic element in the ASEAN community will allow Vietnam to enhance its international 
role, as well as provide opportunities for comprehensive and sustainable development of the 
country in the current situation. 
 With the benefits of ASEAN regional integration model that Vietnam participates in, from 
a cultural and economic perspective, the author supposes that with the support of the Vietnamese 
government and inherent internal strengths of performing arts will help these types of arts enter 
the ASEAN cultural and arts market. This brings practical benefits, and significantly contribute to 
the preservation, promotion and development of performing arts of Vietnam. 
 It should be noted that related subjects such as state agencies, art organization, corporations 
as well as other civil society organizations need to set up scientific, theoretical, legal foundations 
to ensure that measures taken to expand the performing arts market into the ASEAN region and 
the world achive the same results as expected from economic, cultural diplomacy perspective. 
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