Oh Sang-jin, CEO of the Korea-Vietnam IT Center (KVIT), has compiled into a single volume the Vietnam he observed on the ground over 13 years there, during which he worked as a corporate expatriate, a country head, an entrepreneur and a government adviser.
The new book, "Insider of Vietnam," records the changes in Vietnamese society and the economy that the author witnessed firsthand after first setting foot in Hanoi in December 2013, along with the process by which Korean companies entered the local market. Rather than remaining a personal memoir, it also includes local information and case studies that companies and individuals preparing to enter Vietnam can consult. After publication, it ranked first in the weekly poetry and essay category at Kyobo Book Centre's POD online bookstore in July.
The author built his experience in the Vietnamese market while working at Lotte Finance and Lotte Innovate, among others. In 2023, he founded the Korea-Vietnam IT Center, a Hanoi-based provider of IT development, shared office space and business consulting services. Since January 2026, he has served as an adviser to Vietnam's National Innovation Center (NIC) and also serves as secretary general of the K-FDI Academy.
The book introduces a range of cases of Korean companies entering the local market, including the localization process at Shinhan Bank Vietnam, the growth of Hanwha Investment & Securities' Vietnam business, Megazone Cloud's industry-academia cooperation model and a partnership with the Vietnamese e-commerce company Tiki. It also carries accounts of Korean companies and business figures active in Vietnam, including Samsung Electronics, GS and SK. The book covers cooperation cases involving the NIC and Samsung, NAVER and SK Group that the author took part in or observed directly, as well as the establishment of the K-FDI Academy.
Analysis of Vietnam's political, economic and social structure forms another pillar of the book. It examines the shifting political landscape, including the recent realignment of political leadership and the redrawing of administrative districts, and points to the country's heavy dependence on foreign direct investment (FDI), a shortage of skilled labor, intensifying competition with Chinese companies in northern industrial parks, infrastructure bottlenecks and tariff risks originating in the United States. It also introduces higher education, the IT outsourcing industry and policies aimed at shifting a motorcycle-centered transportation system toward electric vehicles.
The book also looks at how quickly economic ties between Korea and Vietnam are tightening. It describes the economic and industrial cooperation that has expanded since the two countries established a "comprehensive strategic partnership" in 2022, from the perspective of a businessman who has worked in the country.
The author said the book contains "experience gained by grappling firsthand with the realities of Vietnam over 13 years," adding that he aimed for a practical guide that helps businesspeople looking to enter Vietnam and those already running businesses there reduce trial and error.
