This talk introduces the case of South Korea-Vietnam sister cities into the debate on North-South urban hierarchies in transnational city networks. Drawing on the two sister city pairs between South Korea and Vietnam—Yongsan District and Quy Nhơn City, and Namyangju City and Vinh City—the research results argue for recognising the role of Vietnamese cities in transnational partnership and placemaking with their Korean counterparts. This study sheds light on the quiet participation of Vietnamese cities in transnational sister city placemaking, despite their significant financial contributions to joint initiatives. The discussion further highlights the unorthodox negotiations undertaken by Vietnamese cities as they carefully weigh decisions regarding partnership matching, taking into account the geographical and economic compatibility of Korean candidates. Interactions within these partnerships are further meticulously calculated by the Vietnamese side to minimise the circulation of inevitable capital incompatibilities. This study emphasises the importance of integrating localised knowledge into discussions on the wording politics of Southern cities and juxtaposing Southern urban experiences alongside the conventional discourse on Northern leadership in transnational city networks. Doing so advocates for understanding the worlding of small Asian cities and their role in transnational space production within the ‘new geographies of urban theory’.
