Former Road to Olympia contestant "disillusioned" while studying abroad in Japan

Despair in a foreign land

The program "Connectors" hosted by MC Cat Tuong has just returned with an online talk show version. This time, the program connects to Japan to meet Nguyen Hai Anh Tuan (32 years old).

Anh Tuan is currently the CEO of a company that manages a social networking site connecting the Vietnamese and Japanese communities. He supports Vietnamese people living and working in Japan as well as receiving and transmitting information from the Japanese government and embassy to Vietnamese people in this country.

Besides, Anh Tuan is also one of three co-founders of an information technology company in Hanoi. Having achieved many successes at a young age, Anh Tuan is admired by many people. However, few people know that he started from zero and had to sacrifice many valuable things.

Nguyen Hai Anh Tuan was a former contestant on the show Road to Olympia in 2006.

In his hometown of Dak Nong, Anh Tuan soon became known to many people when he achieved the highest achievement in the monthly competition of the program Road to Olympia in 2006. After passing the entrance exam to Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, he was selected to join the school's talented engineering class.

In Ho Chi Minh City, Anh Tuan made constant efforts to receive two scholarships from Japan and Singapore at the same time. After much deliberation and consideration, Tuan decided to study in Japan.

Mr. Tuan said: “I prefer to go to Singapore, but the scholarship in Japan is 100%. I just need to study and not worry about food and accommodation. My family is not rich, so if I go to Japan to study, I will be able to help my parents a lot. So I decided to go to Japan to study.”

He is currently the CEO of a company that manages a famous social networking site connecting the Vietnamese - Japanese community in Japan.

At the age of 19, Tuan went to Japan alone with dreams and ambitions of a bright future, changing the lives of himself and his family. However, upon arriving in the “land of the rising sun”, Tuan quickly became disillusioned.

Tuan came to Japan without any fellow countrymen or other connections. The area where he went to college had few Vietnamese people and was far from the city center. So integrating into the community was a problem for the young student. At this time, everything was not as Tuan thought or wanted.

Accept trade-offs for success

“Many times, I felt regretful and discouraged after coming to Japan to study. I used to think that in Vietnam, I studied very well so I could have done something. But when I came to Japan, there was a period when I was confused and didn’t know what my future would be like,” Tuan shared.

While still struggling to find a way to integrate and escape disappointment and depression, the young student continued to receive a mental shock. From his hometown, he received news that his father was sick, making his family in Vietnam, which was already in difficulty, even more difficult.

Anh Tuan appeared in the program Connector.

To help his family, Tuan started working part-time. Every day, after school, Tuan would carry goods, do office work to earn extra money. However, that hardship made him more understanding and sympathetic to Vietnamese people who were looking for opportunities in foreign countries.

That was also the motivation for Tuan to establish the company to support more Vietnamese people in Japan. After a few years of operation, the company gradually gained a foothold and a voice in the Japanese community. The company was also recognized and cooperated by the government of this country.

To achieve this success, Tuan had to sacrifice many things, including “forgetting his family”. Being away from home for 12 years, Tuan only visited his family a couple of times. He was so busy and worked so hard that the time he had to call home was short and fleeting.

Meeting online and listening to their son share his hidden difficulties, Anh Tuan's parents were moved to tears.

“My biggest regret is spending too little time with my family. In the 12 years I have been in Japan, there were times when I used the excuse of being busy with work or studying to forget my family, my parents, my grandparents, and my relatives. In the past 12 years, I have not celebrated Tet at home once,” Tuan said.

After that sharing, the program secretly contacted Anh Tuan's parents. Unexpectedly meeting his parents online, Anh Tuan was extremely surprised and moved. Meanwhile, hearing their son share that he had fallen into a desperate situation but always kept it a secret for fear of worrying his family, Tuan's parents were moved to tears.

On the show, Tuan revealed to his parents that he was preparing to buy a house and would try to get married and "have grandchildren for them". He also promised to return to Vietnam soon to visit his family and try to stabilize his life so that his parents could enjoy their old age in peace.

According to Vietnamnet