Journalist Hoang Kim Dang - The keeper of memories of the times

In 1965, following the call of the Fatherland, the village teacher in the Hung Yen education sector shouldered his backpack and went to battlefield B - Truong Son Command - Ho Chi Minh trail (formerly known as group 559). He entered the battlefield as an engineer on the fierce Truong Son trail.

In late 1967, his health declined and he was assigned to the position of reporter for the newspaper "Truong Son Gang Thep" - later upgraded to "Truong Son" newspaper.

Hoang Kim Dang became one of the first journalists of the newspaper "Truong Son" with Lieutenant Cao Can as Editor-in-Chief and 3 reporters Hoang Kim Dang and comrade Pham Thi Ngoc Hue, and Nguyen Vinh Phuc specializing in illustration.

He said that the newspaper's editorial office at that time consisted of only a small barracks and a bomb shelter, but the location constantly changed depending on the requirements of the war. There was no technical means to print photos, so reporters had to write articles and draw illustrations on wax paper before sending them to print.

But during that period, although it was not published regularly, the "Truong Son Gang Thep" newspaper still published quite regularly, 1-2 issues/month with a quantity of more than 1,000 copies to distribute to the company level, providing valuable information to soldiers on the front line. It was not until 1969, when the "Truong Son Gang Thep" newspaper changed its name to "Truong Son", that the newspaper began to be printed in tipo.

Journalist Luc Van Thao (at that time, Head of the Military Department of the "People's Army" newspaper, reinforcing Truong Son) became the first and only Editor-in-Chief of Truong Son newspaper.

Journalist and photographer Hoang Kim Dang.

Despite the poor conditions of wartime journalism, Truong Son Newspaper was still truly loved by soldiers. For journalist Hoang Kim Dang, those were memorable years in his life.

Right from the time he was assigned to work as a journalist, realizing that his writing ability was "average", Hoang Kim Dang thought about learning photography.

He sought out experienced photographers to learn from, and then studied painting to understand more about light and composition.

During 10 years of being attached to the fiery Truong Son, he worked as a war correspondent, rushing into hot war news articles and was the author of thousands of photos about Truong Son.

One of his most notable works is a photo of four engineer soldiers on duty amidst the majestic Truong Son mountain range, with a makeshift pontoon bridge they built themselves in the background. This photo shows the resilience and creativity of soldiers in harsh war conditions.

Talking about the birth of the photo, photographer Hoang Kim Dang said: “That afternoon, while marching deep into the battlefield with my comrades, I met a group of engineer soldiers happily walking together towards the regimental headquarters after a morning of breaking rocks and clearing roads.

After the work, despite my calloused, bleeding hands, I still saw joy, optimism, and trust through the bright smiles of my brothers and sisters, and I pressed the shutter with overwhelming emotion. He placed the entire image of the 4 engineering soldiers in the frame amidst the majestic Truong Son mountain range, with the background being the makeshift pontoon bridge that Regiment 30 had just built.

In 1974, when he changed his career to work at the Literature and Arts newspaper, he handed over valuable photos of the battlefield to the Truong Son Command. Photos such as “Ho Chi Minh Trail in the Campaign” and “Marching Through Truong Son” were full of epic and majestic qualities, capturing historical moments and were considered valuable works about Truong Son in the past.

Despite the poor conditions of wartime journalism, Truong Son Newspaper was still truly loved by soldiers. For journalist Hoang Kim Dang, those were memorable years in his life.

At the age of over 80, journalist and photographer Hoang Kim Dang still publishes books.

Becoming a famous photographer of the Truong Son battlefield, but Hoang Kim Dang's name is most clearly marked by the years he worked at literary newspapers in Hanoi and his portfolio of portraits of famous writers, poets, and intellectuals.

That was also the reason why he chose to work at the Literature and Arts newspaper after leaving the army, because there were many opportunities to meet writers, artists, intellectuals... to learn and improve his understanding of the field that he was passionate about and was deeply attached to. He had the chance to meet writer To Hoai and learned many valuable experiences from the great writer. He wrote in the article "Mr. To taught us how to do journalism" that: "Writer To Hoai often confided that being a journalist is "serving a hundred families", being as busy as a child but also fun...".

His journalism career is closely linked to his photography career, capturing moments of famous people. He has worked for many press agencies such as Van Nghe Newspaper, Nguoi Ha Noi Newspaper, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Photography Magazine, he has had the opportunity to set foot in every corner of the country, exploring and discovering the beauty of people and the country through the lens of a talented artist.

Poet To Huu. (Photo: Hoang Kim Dang)

Therefore, Hoang Kim Dang's journalistic legacy did not disappear into oblivion in the face of overwhelming information. Right from the moment he picked up a pen and a camera, he was conscious of storing documents so that those articles and photos would become a part of history and he worked hard to write books.

He walked on two legs, holding both a camera and a pen. When photography was powerless, he wrote, and there were things that could not be written because the photos said it all. Therefore, his career was quite massive, not only articles and photography works but also research, collection and compilation works.

His articles and pages about the country or people are all sincere, clear, and full of information; especially historical documents. He met, took photos and wrote about the country's outstanding people such as: "The times I met and took photos of General Vo Nguyen Giap", "Writer Nguyen Tuan with the Da River", "Vo An Ninh - a giant of Vietnamese photography", "This spring, Mr. Hoang Dao Thuy - a great cultural figure nearly 100 years old", "Tran Quoc Vuong with the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long", "Van Cao in my memory", "Meeting Professor Tran Van Giau", "Image of Professor - Academician Ton That Tung", "Playwright Tao Mat - the times I met", "Writer To Hoai at the age of 90"... and the only article he had was about Mr. Hai Au - the person who took care of King Ham Nghi for decades until his last days.

He said that in his life as a photographer, he was especially passionate about taking pictures of General Vo Nguyen Giap (whom he called “martial general”, and the person he compared to “literary general” was writer Nguyen Tuan). Although he did not have many opportunities to meet the General, he was lucky to take two pictures of the “big brother” of the Vietnam People’s Army. Among them, there was a photo he took in 1991, capturing the image of the General raising his hand to greet everyone - one of the most used portraits of the General.

When he brought it to the General, he liked it very much and signed the photo. The General said: “This precious photo turned out to be good. If anything happens to me, the image of me saying goodbye to the Vietnamese Fatherland, the Vietnamese people and the people of the world when I leave peacefully.” As for journalist and photographer Hoang Kim Dang, “The photo is the most valuable asset in my life as a journalist and photographer.”

The photo of General Vo Nguyen Giap is the most valuable asset in my life as a journalist and photographer.

---Photographer Hoang Kim Dang---

Each character in Hoang Kim Dang's memoir has a destiny, personality, virtue and strong will. There are characters he follows for a long time in his career, such as the memoir "The 80th year of photographer Trinh Hai" which leaves many thoughts on the spirit of hard work and dedication of the elderly.

Writer Nguyen Tuan. (Photo: Hoang Kim Dang)

He confided: “I entered journalism by first holding a pen. After a while, I tried combining these two weapons like two brothers in one family. When I wrote, I felt the need for pictures to prove it, so I immediately took a camera to take pictures. When I held a camera, I felt writing was more suitable, so I took a pen. The two weapons, two types of language complement each other, which is very advantageous for journalists.”

It can be said that thanks to that combination, his journalistic legacy has been enriched. In every position, he has left his mark with his dedication and passion.

During his time as an editor and photojournalist at Van Nghe Newspaper, he took many portraits of famous writers, poets and artists. These works not only recorded images but also conveyed the characters' spirit and soul, becoming valuable documents for Vietnamese literature and art. When he was invited to work as the first editorial secretary of Nguoi Ha Noi Newspaper (in 1980) founded and served as Editor-in-Chief by writer To Hoai, he contributed to building and shaping the style of the newspaper, deeply reflecting the cultural and social life of the Capital.

Hoang Kim Dang's contributions to these two newspapers not only demonstrate his talent and dedication but also make an important contribution to recording and honoring the cultural and artistic values of Vietnam.

He advised the youth that journalism must be creative based on real life to benefit the country, the people and humanity. In particular, journalists must direct their pens to good people and good deeds.

He gave an example of an article and photos he had just done about a woman who buried nearly 30,000 fetuses in Ly Nhan, Ha Nam. He said that the character was not a wealthy person, her family cultivated nearly 3 hectares of rice fields to earn money to buy a burial site for the fetuses right in her garden. “Readers who read this information will believe in the kindness in society,” he emphasized.

Professor, Academician Ton That Tung. (Photo: Hoang Kim Dang)

Writer Mr. Van Tung. (Photo: Hoang Kim Dang)

In a small house on the windy banks of the Red River, journalist and photographer Hoang Kim Dang is still working hard, continuing to carry out his plans... With the mindset of "as long as I live, I will continue to publish books", the accumulations from his life as a journalist and photographer have left him a valuable legacy, and he wants to continue to preserve that legacy for future generations...

Journalist and photographer Hoang Kim Dang was born in 1942 in Chinh Nghia commune, Kim Dong district, Hung Yen province. He worked for several newspapers such as Truong Son newspaper, Van Nghe newspaper, Nguoi Ha Noi newspaper, Vietnam Photography magazine, World of Photos magazine and worked at the Central Ideology and Culture Department (now the Central Propaganda Department). He is the author of books such as: The pioneer, Poetry and life, Kazit and friends, Hoi An ancient city, Pho Hien historical culture, Vietnamese Art Photo Book, Portrait of Vietnamese culture... The glory of Vietnamese art photography, Shining land and sky of the South... In addition, he is also the editor of a number of notable books "Ho Guom - Hanoi - Vietnam - 2000) on the occasion of the 900th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi. In particular, the book "Thang Long-Hanoi through images" published in 2010 was evaluated by General Vo Nguyen Giap as a work of art that quite truthfully reflects the development of the ancient capital Thang Long and the present-day capital Hanoi over 1000 years... He was awarded the Glorious Soldier Medal, the Third-class Liberation Medal, and the First-class Resistance War Medal against America for National Salvation.

At the age of over 80, journalist and photographer Hoang Kim Dang still publishes books.

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