In Focus: A struggling Vietnamese rock music industry in a booming economy.

Although it is officially committed to socialism, Vietnam also enjoys a very fast growing economy, amongst the top 11 in the world, actually. In 2012, it had a total GDP of USD138.1 billion.

And so, it is only natural for a country that is experiencing such tremendous economic and financial growth to have a very vibrant society, and one that is hardworking and ambitious.

And that is the reason that I chose to head over to it’s financial capital, Ho Chi Minh City (formerly known as Saigon), to check out how the economic situation in the country is directly affecting it’s people.

However, I was specific to what I wanted to see. I wanted to see how the Vietnamese youth were living their lives. And so I chose to delve into, of all things, the city’s rock music industry!

Tofu

It’s surprising to see that in a country that is developing so rapidly in the global scheme of things, such an alternative industry is actually struggling to survive. Many of these young musicians tend to make very little playing and writing music.

Black Infinity

So a majority of them actually hold high paying, professional jobs, such as engineers, graphic designers, advertising executives and business owners. But their main ambition is still to play music professionally and to make it their full time career.

Trac Ngoc Linh

And to be perfectly honest, the mere existence of such an alternative industry is already a sign of a country’s prosperity. So I refuse to see the Vietnamese rock music industry as a struggling one. It is really a hatchling fighting to mature.

To find out more about how Vietnam's rock music industry is struggling in a booming economy, tune in to 'In Focus' tonight, Tuesday (23rd July 2013), at 8:30pm.