The power of 'good enough'

The first Korean dictionary in Vietnam was written by a man who couldn't speak a word of Korean.

Sometimes, being first matters more than being right.

It's okay to be imperfect.

My uncle published the first Vietnamese-Korean dictionary in the 90s. The funny part is he does know Korean at all.

Back then, there was a high demand for learning Korean after the US embargo on Vietnam was lifted. There was a lot of trade, and people were going to Korea to work as well.

He used the English-Vietnamese dictionary and Korean-English dictionary to write his own dictionary. It was bad. But when there was nothing on the market, bad was better than none.

The first edition sold out quickly, and they never republished it. By then, many people who actually knew Korean had published their Vietnamese-Korean dictionaries after they saw my uncle's success. There was no way he would compete.

Despite its flaws, his dictionary was the first. It helped many Vietnamese learn Korean and assisted the first generation of Koreans who came to Vietnam to do business.

It is better to add value than to be perfect.

When the final shipment arrived, one copy was missing. Nobody could find it. That was the last copy of the dictionary.

It is currently part of my library.