Hoang Do Thao Nhi, a student of class K66 Korean Studies, Faculty of Oriental Studies, is the valedictorian of the April 2025 graduation batch of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi.
Thao Nhi received a certificate of merit for excellent graduates from Associate Professor, Dr. Dang Thi Thu Huong - Vice Principal of VNU-USSH
The girl born in 2003 is currently working at a Korean company in Hai Phong city, recruited under a program to attract young talents jointly organized by the company and the school.
Sharing with reporters of the Vietnamese Student Page, Tien Phong newspaper, Thao Nhi said: “I was very surprised and happy when I heard that I was the valedictorian. When I entered the university gate, I set a goal of getting an excellent degree but never thought I would become the valedictorian in the early graduation round.”
Since childhood, Nhi has known Korea through TV dramas. When she was in middle school, she started listening to Kpop music and became a fan of the famous boy band BTS. Through this, Nhi gradually developed a love and desire to explore more deeply, not only the entertainment industry but also the people, culture, and society of this Northeast Asian country.
In 2021, Nhi was admitted to her first choice of Korean Studies with a score of 28.03 for the D78 group (Literature, English, Social Sciences). This is also the major with the highest admission score at VNU-USSH and caused a "shock" with a national record benchmark score of 30/30 for the C00 group in that year's exam season.
Thao Nhi brought a photo of a member of idol group BTS to her graduation ceremony in April 2025.
As a former student of the Literature class at Le Hong Phong High School for the Gifted, Nam Dinh Province, Nhi had a good knowledge base. In college, she maintained her academic performance, always maintaining excellent grades (3.6/4.0) or higher, with the highest semester achieving a perfect score of 4.0/4.0. Nhi won the school's scholarship for 6/7 semesters and corporate scholarships from KF-Samsung and SJ Tech Oesol.
“I don’t differentiate between general subjects, specialized subjects, or have any special learning methods. I just try my best to complete the exercises assigned by my teachers,” Nhi said.
On her first attempt, Nhi successfully passed the Topik 5 advanced Korean certificate, nearly three years after she first started learning this foreign language. At that time, she was studying Advanced Korean 6, the highest level in the series of 6 books according to the Korean Studies program.
The female student shared that grammar is the part that she finds most difficult when learning Korean. Because this language has many grammars with similar meanings but different usages. To effectively memorize Korean grammar, Nhi often makes a comparison table of similarities and differences between them, as well as gives specific, close examples.
With her outstanding academic achievements, Nhi was admitted to the Oriental Studies Student Learning and Research Club, which helped Nhi practice critical thinking, research skills and teamwork. She also had the opportunity to expand her academic knowledge as well as improve her information analysis and synthesis skills.
Thao Nhi with lecturers and classmates of Korean Studies, Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Social Sciences and Humanities
Having completed most of her courses in three years, Nhi completed her graduation thesis in the first semester of her final year with the topic: The Success and Influence of Kpop on Promoting the National Image of South Korea in the US (2017-2023), supervised by Dr. Ha Minh Thanh.
According to her, with the trend of globalization and international integration, countries around the world increasingly attach importance to building, promoting and enhancing national image. In particular, Korea is the country leading this trend with a soft power strategy, using Kpop as a tool of cultural diplomacy. This has contributed to promoting and enhancing the image of the land of Kim Chi in the international arena, especially in the US.
Realizing that this was an interesting issue, Nhi spent a lot of time researching and choosing it as her thesis topic. Also because she has been a fan of BTS for a long time, witnessing the group's successful journey in the American music market, Nhi wanted to conduct a research closely related to her idol.
The new valedictorian also confided about her regrets during her student days, such as never having participated in scientific research, especially at a university with research strengths like VNU-USSH. Nhi is also working hard every day with the determination to soon pass the highest level of Korean language certification, Topik 6.
Thao Nhi and her parents at the university graduation ceremony.
Currently, Nhi wants to focus entirely on her work to gain practical experience. She is also looking for opportunities to study abroad in Korea to expand her knowledge and have more interesting youth experiences.
“Everyone has difficult times, but if we believe in ourselves and try our best, one day we will definitely get the results we deserve,” Thao Nhi emphasized.
Vietnam Student Newspaper:
Valedictorian graduated early from Humanities School with thesis on Kpop
