Khoai Lang Thang: Sincerity and simplicity create a unique appeal

The success he achieved with Khoai Lang Thang is not without the element of luck; but more than that, it is his tireless efforts in the journey to promote the culture of his homeland that he shared with Thanh Nien .

What made Dinh Vo Hoai Phuong give up his job as an engineer after graduating from university with second place to pursue the path of becoming a content creator?

In my hometown Ben Tre , I had no opportunity to study drawing, so I had to put aside my dream of architecture to pursue construction. When I was in my second year of university, I suddenly realized that I did not like construction. I learned that being an engineer is very different from being an architect, being more obsessed with numbers than being creative in design.

After graduating, I worked as a design consultant and structural engineer for 2 years and found that it was not suitable for me. After months of thinking, I decided to change because I was not born for this job, I prefer creative freedom to working around numbers.

More than 7 years ago, few people thought that they could make a living from YouTube and Facebook, but I still took a risk and decided to make video clips. After thinking for several days, after Tet 2017, I decided to buy an old Canon G7X camera to "work". The first day I posted a video on YouTube, I still remember clearly February 22, 2017, the feeling of excitement and excitement waiting for viewers' reactions, I still remember it until now.

- Ảnh 2. — *Khoai Lang Thang makes hundreds of videos with diverse content.*

What was the content of Khoai Lang Thang's first vlog and how many views did it get? What were the biggest difficulties and obstacles you encountered at that time?

I went to the Zoo (HCMC) to film some animals, simply because… the ticket price was cheap. I wandered around and filmed whatever I saw and talked about it. The first clip I only dared to send to a few friends, everyone talked long and drawn out, making me sleepy. At that time, I had no experience in filming. I figured it out as I went. I went to work during the day, and at night I went on YouTube to self-study, downloaded software to my computer to cut and edit films. Luckily, I had time to self-study. I never thought that one day I would be able to create videos that attracted millions of views, and that content creation would be recognized as a profession like it is today.

Having used to sing, why did Phuong decide to become a YouTuber instead of pursuing acting?

When I was a student, I worked as a waitress, sang in small cafes and tea rooms to earn money to pay for tuition and living expenses. Being a singer depends on fate and requires formal training, so I only sang because I liked it, but I knew I couldn't pursue this career. I don't regret it because if I had been a singer, there wouldn't be Khoai Lang Thang. I also don't regret studying construction, because if I had been an architect, I wouldn't be where I am today.

You once confided that you sold flowers during the days before Tet to help your family. Did those years leave many emotions for you?

My family is average, not poor, not rich. My hometown is right next to Cai Mon flower village, so many families grow cotton. My mother often buys cotton from the countryside and sells it. During Tet, sometimes she sells it early, sometimes she finishes it on the 30th night of Tet, but after that, she sold it at a loss, so my mother stopped selling it. I am the oldest in the family; my younger brother studied veterinary medicine, now works as a photographer, and has opened his own channel for the past six months.

- Ảnh 3. — *Khoai Lang Thang was born and raised in Ben Tre.*

Why choose the name Khoai Lang Thang?

Khoai was my nickname in middle school so I decided to use it with "wandering", I thought it was suitable for making a travel vlog.

Milestone – When did Khoai Lang Thang channel reach 1 million subscribers?

After 2 years of making Vlogs, in October 2019, Khoai Lang Thang channel reached 1 million subscribers on YouTube. I remember it was around 12 o'clock at night. I was very happy, the joy was hard to describe because I never thought I would reach this number. Currently, the channel has 2.67 million followers on YouTube, 2.3 million on TikTok and nearly 3 million on Facebook.

Compared to yourself 7 years ago, what makes Khoai Lang Thang feel happy and proud of himself? What more efforts do you need to make in your journey to becoming a content creator?

The proudest thing is that now I have many uncles, aunts, brothers and sisters accompanying me on my trips. Now I have a more open and liberal mindset, looking at things from many angles compared to when I was young and biased, with a strong personal perspective. Now I feel like I have truly grown up.

Nowadays, the trend of viewing content on social networks, including devices, changes extremely quickly. In my opinion, it takes 50% of emotion to create a Vlog with its own personality and soul; the remaining 50% is reason, which means following the trend, following the algorithm so that viewers searching on Google, YouTube or Facebook will find you immediately. On the other hand, you must use background images, titles, and status writing techniques to attract the audience.

- Ảnh 6. — *A Vlog trip with the people of the South*

Tell us about how you got started. What makes your content so authentic and simple?

When I first started, I didn’t have any team, I was alone from writing the script, monologue to filming and editing the video. Now I have a supporter, and later some companions. I like the feeling of filming and editing myself, that’s how I can be myself. I think simply: put myself in the position of the viewer and make it attractive and engaging. I just watched many clips of my seniors online, filmed them over and over again, and found my own style of expression.

Being from the Southwest, my personality is always honest, rustic and simple, not polite. Therefore, the videos I make are primarily with the desire to express the people of the Southern region through culture, through experiences of tourism and cuisine.

The South is where I was born and raised, then went to Ho Chi Minh City to study at university. Ben Tre, An Giang, Soc Trang, Tra Vinh... each place has its own differences, especially in culture and cuisine. But the most impressive thing is the heart of the people of my hometown: honest, generous, and affectionate. Until now, many people still keep in touch, occasionally calling to ask how I am, even though I have only met them a couple of times. I really like the warm atmosphere and personality of the people of the Southwest, probably because we are fellow countrymen.

Memorable memories of going abroad to make Vlogs ?

When I go abroad to make clips, I face many differences: language, culture, customs… Usually, I stay in each place for a few weeks, doing nothing, just going to the market, eating, interacting with people to understand more about the country and the lives of the local people.

Africa has many memorable stories. That time I took a bus from town to town in Madagascar, the hotel owner knew I was Vietnamese and was willing to help me without charging me any money, and took the bus to take me there. The people of Madagascar are very nice, rarely use the internet, rarely use mobile phones. They gather together to chat, eat and play together, feeling close, life is very communal. Madagascar was also a French colony so it is closer to Vietnam in terms of culture.

During my trip to Kenya, I visited the market inside the world’s third largest slum – Kibera. Everything was strange from the food to the way of life. People had no running water, so they had to bring buckets to the public tap to buy water for use.

I also met Vietnamese people in developed countries like the US, Japan, Korea… The majority of the Vietnamese community abroad are very nice and approachable. They recognized me when watching Khoai Lang Thang channel, sometimes invited me to eat Vietnamese food and paid for it.

How to keep viewers, many cases appear very quickly but also fade quickly?

Choose unlimited topics, otherwise, it is easy to get stuck. Travel, cuisine, culture are topics that can be exploited endlessly with many angles and unique styles. Rustic, simple, sincere are my highlights because I was born and raised in the countryside. However, no matter what style I choose, content creators cannot be fake for a long time. There is nothing better than bringing sincerity to the audience, they will stick with you for a long time.

According to Khoai Lang Thang, what are the essential factors to become a content creator?

To become a content creator, you have to know how to choose a topic. I was lucky to choose a topic to film clips that many people watched. But luck is not enough, you have to be able to produce continuously, create a separate space. Any topic requires time to research and learn. Working on cuisine, tourism, culture will have many viewers but the competition is higher. If you work tirelessly, sooner or later you will reap the rewards.

At the Vietnam iContent Awards 2024 on November 30 in Ho Chi Minh City, Khoai Lang Thang was named in the categories of Content Creator of the Year and Most Favorite Content Creator . How did you feel at that time?

This award was organized by the Department of Radio, Television and Electronic Information (Ministry of Information and Communications) in collaboration with VnExpress. I felt proud at that time because now there was an award for content creators. The first year I was honored, I choked up, cried and laughed at the same time, extremely happy because I pursued a job that was accepted and honored by everyone.

Can Khoai Lang Thang share how you manage the budget to make Vlogs?

In the past, I had to use my savings, so I chose places close to each other or countries near Vietnam to make clips. If I had little money, I would eat at cheap restaurants, choose public transportation, stay at motels or cheap hotels. Especially in the Southwest, my uncles, aunts, brothers and sisters always provided for my meals and accommodation, so it was not expensive. Now, the money I receive is enough to make better, more diverse and unique clips.

After the project “VN – Untold Stories”, does Khoai Lang Thang plan to do anything more for the community, especially children?

There are still projects for the community, but I prefer to do them separately, quietly, and personally. Using my own money, not relying on donations from sponsors or brands. It is not necessary to have a lot of money to do charity work, if you have less, you do less. I always want to contribute more to the community.

In the project “VN – Untold Stories”, I called for playgrounds for children. Urban children have the conditions to play, have swimming pools, volleyball, basketball and soccer courts to practice; while children in remote areas lack everything. The clip recording the process of me building 30 playgrounds for some schools from North to South has more than 10 million views. That is a great encouragement because the community always supports and focuses on charity work.