Belgium soon became a popular alternative to France for South Vietnamese students seeking higher education and career opportunities, especially in the cities of Brussels, Liège and Leuven.
Similarly to their counterparts in France, South Vietnamese refugees to Belgium were largely of higher socioeconomic standing and integrated much easier into their host country's society due to better linguistic and cultural knowledge than their peers who settled in North America, Australia and the rest of Europe.
[2] Following the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, a number of Vietnamese workers in former Soviet Bloc countries who were sponsored by the communist government of Vietnam sought asylum in Belgium.
[1] In terms of religion, the vast majority of Vietnamese Belgians are at least nominal Buddhists, following the Mahayana branch with influences from Confucian philosophy.
Among immigrants from the former South Vietnam, initial strong knowledge of the French language allowed them to pursue studies and careers despite their recent arrival.