“He’s not one of us. I don’t know why he doesn’t go where he belongs” – Pham

“You will always be out of place wherever you go…And poor” – Ship Captain

The treatment of bui doi was totally new to me. Because of globalization, histories of colonialism, and racist beauty standards, mixed race folks with white ancestry and lighter skin are sometimes afforded privileges in countries that are predominantly POC. It makes sense that the experience of the children of GI’s would be very different, especially given the resentment towards American military intervention in Vietnam, and the prevalence of bui doi who were the children of sex workers.

Significance of title
The Beautiful Country. Does the title refer to Vietnam or the United States? Binh refers to the United States as a “beautiful country”, and his father says the same thing about Vietnam. Beauty holds deeper meaning than landscapes, it represents potential, love, escape from poverty.