Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam )

The Republic of Vietnam (ベトナム共和国, Betonamu Kyoowakoku), or South Vietnam (南ベトナム, Minami Betonamu) is a posthumous character for the series Hetalia: Axis Powers. She is sometimes referred to as Namu-Ko-san, or Lady Nam-Co in the english translation''. In such contexts, her older sister is referred to as Namu-Ton/Nam-Ton.''

While deceased in canon, she has made several appearances. Usually, she appears in strips set before the 1970's; most of which have an amusing focus and take on historical wars and battles in Asia. She is the central focus of the more somber chapter series “Diary”, set after her death.

Formerly Cochinchina, she became more colloquially known as South Vietnam after the 1950’s.

Prior to 1471, before being called Cochinchina, she was the Kingdom of Champa.

Appearance
South Vietnam has a near identical appearance to her sister North Vietnam, with honey gold eyes and black/brown hair. That said, South’s hair is in a bob with middle-parted bangs. She also wears an ao ba ba, with a scarf hanging around her shoulders. Sometimes, South is seen wearing a non la. She’s tends to get quite messy from enthusiastic farm work. Despite this, she’s described as having the aura of an elegant princess. This part of her appearance is conveyed through how she's often seen with lotus flowers blooming near her.

Before the two were split, South wore her hair in a messy half-bun, with thick middle part bangs. The half bun was set with a white ribbon that matched with her older sister’s red ribbon. South’s former boss, who was rather enthusiastic about western countries, had her cut it in the style of France.

Other than general differences such as hair and clothing, South Vietnam is often mistaken as Vietnam’s twin due to similar heights and facial structure. However, it’s been remarked by America that South is a lot more softer and slender, with her face being “much gentler” than that of her older sister’s. South weighs more than North Vietnam, and for a time was curvier than her sister. Though, this was because of how well-fed South often was compared to her sister. This weight was gradually lost in the war against North. South’s face of anger is also noted to be incredibly terrifying.

Around the time of her death, South was said to look slightly older and had longer, messier, medium length hair. She was also more scarred and bruised, despite being a country capable of healing in a day. All of this was a byproduct of losing her status and power as a nation as a result of North Vietnam’s actions. At that point, South and North had looked like mirror images.

 (Her appearances have been updated since 2014 [2019]) 

Personality and Interests
Originally a noble turned farmer, South was described by others as ingenuous and demure, polite but unpredictable in her actions. She was often considered a kind soul by most, while maintaining shy but sweet behavior. The girl was easy to intimidate and would constantly worry over everything; obsessing over her mistakes, and whether or not she was bothering others. She harbored an interest in Western Culture and in spite of how she was spoiled by France over her sister, disliked anything that was too expensive to afford. South Vietnam was noted to have been frugal with her money, but often sold things at cheap prices. Out of the two, South Vietnam was often seen as weaker and more submissive. This resulted in South getting bullied multiple times from all angles, impacting her self-esteem and augmenting her doubts in her own strength. South was much happier spending time in her garden or on the river, and enjoyed dancing and singing, as well as farming emphasizing her non-confrontational nature. Furthermore, she would often vent about how she desired to live the life of a human rather than a country.

In spite of all this, other nations noted how there was a certain kind of bravery to her; referring to how she rose up against her sister and succeeded in the unification of north and south after the Trinh-Nguyen war. Though, South often found herself needing to rely on others to get by - a trait she despises. According to France, it was almost terrifying how capable and brutal South Vietnam could be in combat — though this was something she never fully realized herself. That said, she was also seen as a naive fool, innocent in her belief that a happy end awaited anyone no matter what struggle they live through. While she's older than most countries, the memory of being Champa feels more like a dream to her.

Towards the end of the Vietnam War and despite initial popularity among others, South Vietnam was eventually looked down upon by most countries for continuing to fight for a doomed cause. South's outlook on the world had also changed, rendering her peaceful disposition to become more hostile. It was during this time the peaceful and tender country grew cold, lashing out at anyone who tried to help her. She feared her weakness and her certain doom, and fought more vigorously than ever. In the end, she became desperate and violent, and was eventually killed by her own sister.

(North) Vietnam
It should be noted that at first, North Vietnam/Tonkin and South Vietnam only were neighbors; when South Vietnam was named Cham Pa. Vietnam was quite cruel to Cham, and after the Cham-Vietnamese wars in 1471, Cham was adopted by North and renamed South. For a time, they were called the sisters of Annam. South Vietnam referred to North as Chi Ngoai (Wai), while North called her Em Trong (Chong).

In the first few centuries of adopting South Vietnam, North was quite awful towards her; breaking her heart numerous times. As a result, South and North often fought, underneath the influence of Nguyen (of the South), and the Le-Trinh (of the North), and eventually the Tay Son (also of the North), the sisters had trouble properly unifying in the struggle for control and power. North Vietnam and her bosses often denied South and hers any influence. However, with the help of Nguyen Ahn, Thailand, and France, South was finally able to beat some sense into North, and made peace. Thankfully, their relationship began to improve tremendously shortly after 1800, with the arrival of the prosperous Gia Long dynasty.

Before the end of WW2, the two spent almost every second with each other. Despite North’s prodding and teasing of South, and South unintentionally embarrassing North in front of guests, they had ended up caring for each other deeply. Out of the two, South tended to be heavily favored by other countries for her submissive nature, something North would often scold South for. In a way, North encouraged South’s independence and often supported her— but would sometimes call her coward and too dependent on others. At the same time, North would always rush to her sister’s rescue. In return, it was said that the other only person who could properly quell North Vietnam’s rage was South. For most of their peacetime, South Vietnam was North Vietnam's greatest weakness, as North couldn't really bring herself to say no to her little sister.

After rescuing South from France’s place, North Vietnam and South kicked France out of their home— but the consequences and negotiations that followed cut down on a lot of the personal time they spent together. While both had hoped they’d be reunited soon, they knew that their differing ideologies, as well as their companions, would complicate things. The Hien Luong Bridge was where the two parted as individual countries rather than sisters who shared one, and from there, they were known as North and South Vietnam.

While the Trinh-Nguyen war caused a temporary split, and a war that South Vietnam won. It ended in treaty, which allowed the two to continue to coexist. North however, repeatedly and forcefully made attempts to reunify with her sister as a singular Vietnam, though she was prevented by USA.

For a time, South tried to enjoy the independence and made a show of rejecting her sister— though, she still thought about the reunifications. In time, fear mixed with doubt. By the time USA left, South Vietnam was emotionally broken; she knew that North Vietnam would not respect the peace treaty, but knew it was pointless to fight against it. She continued to fight two years after everyone had left, her psyche breaking down further and further. North Vietnam’s power and strength, as well as the desire to be one Vietnam had quickly and inadvertently caused South’s power as a nation to fade— rendering her almost human. Though the war was tiresome for both sides, it was South Vietnam that was killed by North during the fall of Saigon. Without the South sister, North Vietnam eventually came to embody a unified Vietnam. North Vietnam hadn't meant to kill her sister, and in her grief destroyed any trace of her that was present in their home, save for South Vietnam's diary, and a picture.

Modern day Vietnam references South Vietnam in a throwaway line. While Taiwan and the others point out how Vietnam incapable of smiling and laugh, Vietnam admits the reason why is because the only person who could make her smile is dead. Vietnam flusters afterwards, and doesn’t understand why the atmosphere became uncomfortable.

In the comic strip ‘Family’, Vietnam watches Prussia and Romano. She broods on how had everything gone smoothly, “Em Trong” would be standing there laughing with them. Estonia asks her to explain further, since all he remembers was the collective panic of a country dying. Vietnam then says that when a country exists as two, the two have to work in tandem in order to coexist— they can argue and fight and have different cultures and one may be a lot weaker, but they’d still be one— so long as they held onto the same ideologies and values. The difference was that Vietnam was so obsessed with the idea of becoming one unified country after the split, she forgot that her sister was still her other half. As a result, her sister grew weaker and weaker— becoming more human while Vietnam became a stronger nation with the absorption of South’s people and pride. She didn’t expect to kill her sister easily or at all. She goes on to conclude that in order for two to exist, the country and their sibling must share the power, otherwise death would await them. Estonia is terrified having just learned something about his existence, but offers his condolences to Vietnam.

In the epilogue of 'Diary', it is revealed that South Vietnam still exists, but only as a ghost living in Vietnam's house. She's noted to be proud of her sister, but still sad about how the war had to end. While Vietnam doesn't seem to realize or acknowledge the ghost, certain countries such as USA or Thailand can sense her presence.

On a somewhat lighter note, and amusingly, Vietnam's shyness and self-conciousness towards her appearance stems from how most countries tended to shower South Vietnam with compliments over her (as evidenced by how historically, most countries often paid attention to the southern areas of Vietnam).

America
Her former mentor and best friend, America and South Vietnam had a powerful, tragic, and bittersweet relationship which resonated with the rest of the world, even after her death. The two had formally been introduced to one another after the Dien Bien Phu, and he began to support her while Russia took care of North Vietnam. Her initial impression of him was that he was powerful and intimidating, but his attitude endeared him incredibly to her. On the other hand, America's first thought was that she was beautiful. America firmly believed that South Vietnam was in danger, and promised to protect her— when negotiations between her and her sister failed, America moved in with her. Though he didn’t really tell her why, it was mostly because he was worried for her well being and safety; being under the impression that if North got to South, other countries in Asia would meet the same fate. In time, the two became incredibly close. America would often call himself her 'hero', and South Vietnam encouraged it.

Despite this, America was never able to fully understand the Vietnam sisters, and at times ended up contributing to South Vietnam's downfall. Several times he had mistaken South for North and hurt her, and South would argue with him to let her go back to her sister and end the fighting — these arguments later escalated into violence. In the end, the genuine friendship and love between the two grew bitter as more and more nations began to disapprove; protesting that staying with the small country would only cause more grief and bloodshed. Unable to deal with the pressure, America left South Vietnam after the Paris Peace Accords; with North Vietnam promising to leave South Vietnam alone. However, the accords were violated and the war continued for 2 more years - with USA looking the other way. Despite everything, he still visited South's home often to oversee the complete withdrawal, but couldn't bring himself to actually apologize to South Vietnam in person for leaving her. He assisted with the evacuation process when North Vietnam reached Saigon, where he briefly met with South Vietnam a few hours before her death.

After returning home, America developed Vietnam Syndrome. He was unable to handle the grief and humiliation of being failing to protect a single country, and questioned whether or not he could really be a hero. Until that point, the rest of the world had been quite cruel to him in regards to how he handled South, and was even blamed for her death. In modern day, America is shown to get uncharacteristically somber whenever his time in Vietnam is brought up. He still remembers her dearly and fondly, as he keeps a picture of her on his person on all times.

He can feel South Vietnam's presence when her ghost is around, and while he can't see her, he still tries to talk to her; usually asking if she's still mad at him, or if he's still a hero she could love. Doing so or thinking about her often makes him cry however, so he tends to avoid places that remind him of her/where her spirit might dwell.

France
During the time of French Colonization, South Vietnam was called Southern Indochina, or Cochinchina. During the civil-war with her sister, she came to him for help. After 1800 however, France continued to pester both South and North— with South apologizing to her sister for the trouble, and North not trusting him at all. After about 100 years of hanging around their place, he stole South from her home.

While originally showing resistance towards him, she dejectedly submitted to him after a crushed uprising in 1916. France on the other hand, found her more gentle, and less of a problem to deal with than her sister; who was instead a protectorate. As a result, he spoiled her — almost condescendingly so; dressing her up and taking her to fancy parties to show off. He held onto her during North’s uprising, but she was rescued and together they humiliated him. Other than that, South Vietnam had a mostly quiet life as a French Colony and was given International Diplomatic Recognition in 1950. He introduced USA to South Vietnam shortly after - an action he still wonders was the right thing to do.

The last time he saw South Vietnam was during the Paris Peace Accords, where he realized she looked completely different and broken. According to him, the last he saw her, South Vietnam was still quietly processing the awful truth that she was signing away her last hope of survival.

Japan
Prior to the end of the Nguyen dynasty, the Vietnam sisters and Japan had gotten along relatively well. They had a good enough trade that was even allowed after his isolationism (through Netherlands, of course). During WW2, France surrendered his Indochinas to Japan. This caused some rifts as both Vietnams didn't like him or the way he treated their situation. Arguably however, he brought the sisters quite close together. However, South and North eventually did respect him to some degree, as he quickly overthrew France for them during WW2, proclaiming their independence— though, France quickly took South back (leaving North to her own devices). During the Vietnam War, Japan tried to encourage some negotiations between the two, but to no avail.

Thailand
A former rival turned good friend. South Vietnam came to him for help with deposing her sister’s bosses, but they tried and failed. Weirdly enough, he tried to hit on her, so she had him leave. He returned to give her assistance again in defeating the Tay Son-backed North. During the Siamese-Vietnamese wars, he often kidnapped South; usually ending in an angrier North Vietnam taking her back. Generally, Thailand often playfully flirted with South as a joke (usually), prompting the rage and protectiveness of her sister. Eventually, North and South chased him out of Vietnam and Cambodia.

This changed again when Thailand tried to take over Cambodia and force the sisters influence out, but ended in the Vietnam's and Thailand agreeing to share Cambodia as their vassal. During her time as a lone South Vietnam, Thailand and her got along relatively well, and accompanying her during the Vietnam War. He was present for her death during the Fall of Saigon, aiding USA's evacuation process.

South Korea
A friend of South Vietnam. While he was quite determined to impress South Vietnam, like the USA he often ended up hurting her instead. However, the two nations enjoyed each other's company; weirdly enough bonding over their situation of sibling fights peppered with western intervention. He would often proclaim he saw himself in South Vietnam, which would confuse her greatly -- though she appreciated him nonetheless. South Korea promised to keep South Vietnam safe, but like USA, he caused her grief than reassurance. He was vehemently against the withdrawal, and abandonment of South Vietnam; a topic that negatively impacted his relationship with America, and an indicator of how deeply he cared for South Vietnam. He stayed by her side until the Paris Peace Accords forced him to leave.

England
England was North and South Vietnam's caretaker shortly after WW2; France being too weakened to take care of the two Indochinas. It was described that the two sisters were a mess when he saw them, and that Britain tried to ease things off of them. This was when a 6 month operation began however, as Britain had gotten into a fight with North Vietnam in South Vietnam’s house. Similar to France, he found South Vietnam a lot more warmer than North. He also observed how close the sisters actually were, and quietly admired that. England ceded control over to France in 1946, and the war continued as the 1st Indochina War-- leading up to the Dien Bien Phu.

China
The actual older brother of South Vietnam, when she was originally named Cham Pa. He raised her for a time, before North Vietnam stole her and scared him away. He did his best to support South while she lived with Vietnam, but repeatedly North would always scare him off. As a nation working underneath the Nguyen, South worked with China for anti-pirate activity. Around the time of their unification and during a time where it was rare for them to get along, North and South teamed up to kick a meddling China out of their country.

Cambodia
As there are many OC's of Cambodia, i'll leave them gender neutral.

A weirdly complex relationship. The two Vietnams often bullied Cambodia. During the Trinh-Nguyen war, Cambodia planned to aid South Vietnam in the bid to place her boss on the throne and unify Vietnam. That said, Cambodia ended up supporting North in the isolation of South. With the conclusions of the Trinh-Nguyen war, Cambodia was enlisted as a vassal to South Vietnam. They often worked at her house, but technically lived there seeing as they were there so often. Thailand eventually stepped in wanting Cambodia for himself, and the sisters and him fought over them. In the end, it was decided that all of them would share Cambodia.

The joint ruling ended when France stepped in. While it was assumedly no better, he did promise to keep Cambodia safe from the Vietnam Sisters and Thailand. Communications between South Vietnam and Cambodia became scarce after that.

The next Cambodia heard from South Vietnam was during the Vietnam War, and while there were still some heavy and awkward tensions, Cambodia tried to cater to South Vietnam by showing support to her. However, this support stopped when USA raided their home looking for North Vietnam. Shortly after, Cambodia worked alongside North Vietnam in expelling USA's presence from Southeast Asia.

Trivia

 * Her nickname of Namu-ko-san/Lady Nam-Co is meant to be a portmanteau of Annam; Cochinchina. Her sisters nickname of Namu-ton/Nam-Ton is similar; Annam; Tonkin. The reason for why South is referred to as Lady is meant to be a reference to how imperial power, wealth, and western influences were mostly concentrated on the southern regions of Vietnam. Furthermore, the formal title is a nod to how as the Kingdom Cham Pa, South Vietnam would've been treated as royalty.
 * South Vietnam's birthday corresponds with the founding of the State of Vietnam in June 14th 1949 (which later became the Republic of Vietnam in 1955). However, the date of the State of Vietnam referendum (which was the official day that a new government would be decided for the State of Vietnam) was October 26th 1955, which could count as a birthday. Another birthday could be July 20th 1954, when South and North were split in the Geneva conference. As the State of Vietnam was the root of the two latter dates, I went with the founding of the State of Vietnam.
 * She may be referred to as South Vietnam or the Republic of Vietnam. Her former title was State of Vietnam until the State of Vietnam referendum.South VIet Ref.-0.png
 * Her original design was a young woman wearing an orange ao dai with long front bangs and a short back. Another was quite similar, but her hair was chopped messily to chin-length and had two Hoa Mai flowers placed between both her ears. Her original design on her wikia can be seen on the right.


 * During the Vietnam War, many countries supported her whether or not they were actually involved in the fighting, but eventually began to lose focus; deciding to focus more on the Nations who were dealing with the situation. They demanded that the countries stationed there should just leave due to the lack of progress and damage they were causing to themselves and the Vietnam sisters. By the time her allies left, many found South Vietnam to be unimportant both strategically and economically; many countries even considering her to have been a lost cause from the start.


 * The Vietnam Sisters are not twins, but siblings. North Vietnam is hc'ed to be around 22 in appearance, with South Vietnam being 20.
 * While her human name is yet to be decided, several choices have been: Mai An, Tien Ba, Xuan Tuyen, Huong Tien, Nhat Linh with a last name of Nguyen. As an english name, Cheryl would be nice.
 * South Vietnam's creator (Nononon) is aware that her character is a bit too depressing and serious for the actual series. Please forgive me for any mistakes made and tell me if a thing is off historically. Though, I did try my best to make this character be as accurate as possible. My deviantart is Otakuhime-chan, which is silly because I had that deviantart since I was like 11 years old but i still use it (i dont like my username on deviantart but it has been 3 years since then). - OH HEY it's been like 8 years and i'm still not sure what to do with this aaaaa
 * My plans for South Vietnam is for her to feature in a fan comic (either drawn or written) about the Vietnam sisters and their life dating from the French Colonization to the aftermath of Reunification called "Hien Luong Bridge' . It might feature a few countries that are canon and non-canon. However, it's still in the planning stages but i'm probably going to be too lazy to do anything with it. Cheers and don't forget to stay awesome, my dears. - Nononon / Gwyneth (◡‿◡✿)