Ahn Kyong-hwan, who is a professor at RoK’s Chosun University, says that he hopes his books will help Korean readers to understand more about Vietnam, its people and vitality.

Ahn is one of the first Korean translators to introduce Vietnamese literature to the RoK and has spent years exploring the country, its customs and its lifestyles. His books have left a deep impression on Korean readers, including his students at the two universities of Chosun and Young Sam. “I have a strong feeling in my heart for Vietnam, and love the challenge of translating Vietnamese literature into Korean,” he said.

His love for literature fired his childhood ambition to become a professional linguist. In 1978 he graduated from the Korean University of Foreign Languages, majoring in Vietnamese. Later, he became the head of Young Sam University’s Vietnamese faculty. In 1996, he received a doctorate in the Vietnamese language from the HCM City Social Sciences and Humanities University after studying there for five years.

His first translation was Nhat Ky Trong Tu (Diary in Prison), a popular collection of poetry written in 1942 by the late president Ho Chi Minh. Published by Leo Myeong Mynhwasa Printing House, the book captured the hearts of local readers when it first hit bookstores in the RoK in 2003. It was reprinted for the third time last year to meet readers’ demand, and paved the way for Ahn to enter the fascinating world of Vietnamese literature.

One of the most popular Vietnamese books translated by Ahn is Truyen Kieu, collection of poetry by the renowned poet Nguyen Du and was published by the Munhwasa Journal in 2004. Ahn said that it took only nine months to translate Truyen Kieu into Korean, but he spent 10 years researching it in Vietnamese and English, to bring out the true spirit of Truyen Kieu – a book in Nom, or classical Vietnamese script.

After translating so many Vietnamese books, Ahn says he hopes his own people can now better understand the Vietnamese people, their nature, and their character.

Ahn has also translated some Korean novels into Vietnamese. His version of Kwon Jeong Saeng’s Mong Sil was published by HCM City’s Tre (Youth) Publishing House in 2007.

Many of Ahn’s research works in Vietnamese are useful to Korean students, teachers, and cultural researchers and his works are always sought after.

According to Ahn, the public needs to have access to this literature, which is easily understood and appreciated by people around the world.

The professor said that he is pleased to be able to do something that will further the relationship between Vietnam and the RoK.

His latest work is a version of Nhat ky Dang Thuy Tram (Diary of Dang Thuy Tram), a bestseller in Vietnam. The emotional diary written by Hanoian girl Dang Thuy Tram, a liberation army doctor who died in battle fighting against American troops in South Vietnam in 1970, has caught the attention of several million readers of all ages in Vietnam and the US. It was translated and several excerpts have appeared in English-language newspapers in the US.

Now teaching Vietnamese at Chosun University in Gwangju, Ahn says that he is currently planning his next translation which is the work of 15^th century poet Nguyen Trai.