Hanoi, Jan. 27 -- The 2021-2025 period marked a turning point for Vietnam's cultural industries as film, music, cultural tourism and video games surged into a new era of scale and sophistication, delivering billions of US dollars in revenue and while projecting a more confident, compelling vision of Vietnamese soft power to the world.

Economic impact and soft power gains

Over the past five years, Vietnam's cultural industries have posted strong gains. According to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism's review for the 2021-2025 term, average annual production value averaged 1.059 quadrillion VND (44 billion USD). The number of cultural businesses expanded at an annual rate of 7.2%, while employment in the sector grew 7.4% per year...