Life journeys of Vietnamese people in Finland

Over four decades have passed since Vietnamese refugees first arrived in Finland in 1979. Despite this, much remains unknown about their journeys and experiences. Life Journeys of Vietnamese in Finland is an interview-based study that explores the unique life paths of older Vietnamese migrants who settled in Finland as adults between the late 1970s and the late 1980s. Through in-depth interviews, we examine their adaptation to Finnish society, their personal life experiences, their perspectives on ageing, and their current needs as they grow older.

Laura Kemppainen (neé Lyytikäinen) holds a docentship in Sociology and works as a university researcher and as the responsible researcher in the Vietnamese life journeys study. Her research focuses on migration, health and wellbeing, especially in the context of ageing. Kemppainen’s research interests include research on inequalities, transnationalism, ageing and end of life and mixed methods. She has acted as a principal investigator in the projects Crossing Borders for Health and Wellbeing (2017–2020) and Transnational Health and Wellbeing (2020–2022), which investigated transnational use of health care, medical travel, and tourism. 

More about Kemppainen can be found here.

Nguyễn Ngọc Trầm is doing her master’s study in Sociology at the University of Helsinki and works as a trainee at MICA. Her master's thesis focuses on the experiences of loneliness in the daily life of Vietnamese migrants in Finland. She is now a research assistant in the Vietnamese life journeys study.

More about Trầm can be found here.

We are currently inviting participants for our research study. We are looking for individuals who migrated from Vietnam to Finland as adults (age 18 or older) between the late 1970s and late 1980s. If this describes you and you are interested in sharing your experiences, please reach out through the contact information provided on this page. 

Please note that contacting us does not obligate you to participate. If you don’t meet the criteria but know someone who might, we kindly ask for your help in sharing this information with others who may be eligible. Your interest and support are invaluable to us, and we’re more than happy to answer any questions you may have about the study. 

All interviews will be conducted with full confidentiality. Participants will remain anonymous, and no identifying information will be shared in research publications. Participation is entirely voluntary.  

The research results will significantly enhance our understanding of the life journeys of early migrants to Finland. Our aim is to broadly share these findings with a range of collaborators. The insights gained will offer valuable information on the well-being of the Finnish-Vietnamese community and their specific needs, which can be used in the future to support the development of services and inform political decision-making. 

Detailed information about how participants’ personal data will be processed is provided in this document in English, in Vietnamese, and in Finnish.

Nguyễn Ngọc Trầm, University of Helsinki

In my master’s thesis, I studied how older Vietnamese migrants in Finland defined and experienced loneliness. In this blog post, I share my findings, which show that loneliness was shaped not only by language barriers and social circumstances, but also by the stigma attached to admitting it. The results highlight the need for local social services to pay closer attention to this community in order to foster connection, inclusion, and healthier aging among older migrants.

My thesis study focused on Vietnamese refugees—the first large group of quota refugees in Finland—and their family members. Aging as migrants can expose them to a higher risk of loneliness, yet they have largely been overlooked in loneliness studies in Finland. This case study addresses this gap by employing qualitative biographical interviews to explore the loneliness experienced by eight older Vietnamese migrants (aged 60 and above) in the Helsinki Metropolitan area.

Arriving in Finland at the end of the 1970s, the first Vietnamese migrants laid the foundation for the Vietnamese community in this Nordic country. After decades of resettlement, Finland has become their second homeland. Many have built fulfilling lives in Finland and earned a positive reputation among locals due to their hard work. However, alongside their successes, the first generation of Vietnamese migrants in Finland has faced significant hardships, not only during their younger years but also as they enter old age, with loneliness being one of them.

Participants described loneliness as a feeling of sadness and deliberate disconnection from society. While Vietnamese culture values sociability and mutual dependence, this perception can create stigma around loneliness and those who experience it. Consequently, individuals may feel hesitant to disclose their loneliness and seek help, not only from their community but also from the broader society, often due to language barriers. This explains why, for some participants, loneliness becomes a hidden personal experience that is difficult to share with others.

When it is challenging to open up about their feelings, participants’ stories reveal that many of them experience loneliness in later life. Participants experienced loneliness when being disconnected from loved ones, such as separation from family or the death of a spouse. The inability to find a preferred group with whom to share hobbies or socialize also contributed to their feelings of loneliness. Additionally, loneliness can manifest more abstractly as a sense of emptiness and detachment from life, especially after fulfilling family and societal responsibilities.

Cultural differences play a significant role in causing loneliness among older Vietnamese migrants. Research participants described Vietnamese culture as more collectivist, while Finnish culture was seen as more individualistic. As their children adopt Finnish cultural norms—emphasizing independence from a young age and equality among generations within families—some participants felt that familial closeness and filial values have diminished, leaving them disconnected from their children and ultimately feeling lonely.

Finnish culture also highly respects personal privacy, which contrasts with Vietnamese culture that traditionally encourages social interaction. Consequently, older Vietnamese migrants often struggle to find a neighborly atmosphere characterized by spontaneous visits and interactions in Finland, particularly given the small Vietnamese population and the lack of ethnic enclaves due to Finnish dispersal policies that have spread the community throughout the country.

Moreover, because Vietnamese people tend to derive meaning in life from their communal achievements, some participants experienced loneliness and constant contemplation in later life due to a perceived lack of meaning when reflecting on their past and believing they had not achieved their goals.

In conclusion, my findings showed that while participants viewed loneliness as a result of personal characteristics in which individuals deliberately avoid social contact, it can also arise from situational factors, including social stigma when exposing their loneliness, language barriers, and specific social circumstances, as mentioned above. Therefore, older Vietnamese migrants who experience loneliness require support from the community to address this issue. Local social services targeting older migrants should pay close attention on the Vietnamese community when tackling loneliness, ensuring their well-being and promoting healthy aging in later life.

Words cannot fully express my gratitude to the Vietnamese migrants who have participated in this project and entrusted me with their life stories. Their hospitality and generosity will always hold a special place in my heart. The stories they shared not only shaped this research but also serve as a poignant reminder that behind every finding lies the lived experience of a real person. However, because loneliness is recognized as a unique and personal experience, our findings do not represent the experiences of all older Vietnamese migrants in Finland. As our study continues, we welcome more individuals to participate and are eager to hear their stories to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the life journeys of the first generation of Vietnamese in Finland.