Slow Vietnam is written by one person: me, Dongmin Seo. I am Korean, I live in Busan, and I run a small travel agency, MARI TOUR Co., Ltd, that works between South Korea and Vietnam. I married into a family from southern Vietnam, and between the business and the family I spend several months of every year in the country. As I write this, in September 2026, I am in Hanoi.
Why this site exists
Too many Vietnam travel guides are written once, never updated, and polished until every beach is “paradise.” Vietnam changes fast — especially Phu Quoc, where a beach that was pristine one season can sit under a seaweed line the next, and where whole resort districts appear in a year. Travelers deserve the current, unpolished version: the real price of a Grab ride this month, the beach that is actually swimmable in September, the visa rule that changed in April. That is what I try to publish here.
What you are reading
- Trips I actually took. The oldest photographs on this site are from 2018; the newest were taken last week. If a guide describes a place, someone in my family or I has stood there, paid there, and usually eaten there.
- Prices with dates. In dong and dollars, from the year stated, often with the price tag or receipt photographed. When I have not paid for something myself, I say so.
- Honesty over hype. If the snorkeling is mediocre, I say so. If a famous beach has a bad season, I tell you which months. Nobody pays for coverage and there are no sponsored trips.
- Slow travel first. Long stays, monthly rentals and living like a temporary local, alongside the three-day itineraries.
About the photos
Every image captioned “Our own photo” was taken by me or my family in Vietnam, and the newest guides use nothing else. Some older articles still carry illustrative images produced with AI tools from the period before I had my own shot of a place; since 31 August 2026 no new ones are added, and I am replacing the old ones with real photographs as I re-walk each location. Photographs are never used to show something I have not seen.
About the writing
English is not my first language. I plan and research every guide, take the trips and the notes in Korean, and use writing tools to turn them into clean English; then I check every fact, price and opinion again before it is published and whenever something changes on the ground. The judgment is mine, and so are the mistakes — if you find one, tell me and I will fix it with credit.
How this site makes money
Some links are affiliate links to booking platforms I use myself (Agoda for hotels, Klook for tours and eSIMs). If you book through them, the site earns a small commission at no extra cost to you. That is what keeps it free and unbought. The legal details of the operating company are on the company page, and the full policy is in the affiliate disclosure.
Where else to find me
Short videos from the same trips are coming to YouTube, Instagram and Threads under the name Slow Vietnam; links will appear here as each channel goes live. For questions, corrections and tips about something that changed, the contact page reaches me directly, and I read everything.