B: Mrs. Ngo, the former announcer for VOV's English service whose alias was Hanoi Hannah, was given the title emeritus artist and a medal for her contributions to the development of radio.  

A: In 1965, when American soldiers poured into southern Vietnam, VOV, in cooperation with the Department for Propaganda of the Defense Ministry, began broadcasting a program aimed at American soldiers. Mrs. Ngo was tasked with presenting this program along with several other announcers. The first story was “A small talk to American GIs”. This 5-6 minute bit became part of the daily English program. It was later lengthened to 15 and then 30 minutes and later developed into a full-blown program for American soldiers complete with American music.

B: On the air, Mrs. Ngo introduced herself as “Thu Huong, calling American Servicemen in South Vietnam”. Many soldiers, after listening to Ngo’s talks, sought ways to resist the unjust war and return home. When the war ended, Ngo’s program ended as well. But many American journalists came to Vietnam to interview her and many war veterans kept recordings of her radio programs.

A: On our website at vovworld.vn, we have posted a program recorded in 1968 by presenter Trinh Thi Ngo and her colleagues at VOV studio. This program was re-broadcast from Havana, the capital of Cuba. At that time, when Vietnam was in a fierce war of resistance against the US, the program addressed American troops and friends of the Vietnamese people to promote friendship and provide the truth about the situation in Vietnam. Let’s listen to a piece of that program recorded in 1968.

B: That was an audio clip recorded by Trinh Thi Ngo, the well-known announcer for Radio the Voice of Vietnam during the American war. Now, here’s more feedback from our listeners: Simon Capone listened to VOV in Australia on the frequency of 9840 khz on September 29. He wrote: “I enjoy tuning in to VOV very much. It always has a good signal and I really enjoy the programs. The presenters are always upbeat and provide real enjoyment in listening.”

A: Thank you for your compliment, Simon. We’ll send a QSL to confirm your reception report. From Florida, the US, Richard Nowak emailed us to say that the show came in loud and clear on 7315khz from 0h to 0h27 UTC on October 3. He listened with a Hallicrafters S40A hooked up to an indoor active loop antenna. He rated SINPO at all 5s.

A Dong Ho painting of children playing

B: Richard said he was interested in the Sunday Show, presenting 12 typical kinds of Vietnamese folk paintings and their importance in Vietnamese culture. The paintings represent thousands of years of history.

A: The ancient paintings reflect the culture, lifestyle, and society of historical periods. They reveal how people perceived society and nature. In the Sunday Show, we could only give you an overview of Vietnam’s folk paintings. In our Culture segment, we take a more in-depth look at each type of painting. Please visit our website to read about the folk painting genres of Kim Hoang, Dong Ho, and Hang Trong, and devotional paintings of ethnic groups in Vietnam’s northern region.

Hang Trong's paintings of 4 ladies playing 4 types of musical instruments

B: Debakamal Hazarika, our regular listener in India, emailed us on September 27 to say: “I listened to your edition of Society. On this program you talked about the contributions of young volunteers in support of tourism. The young volunteers guide foreign tourists who are visiting Hanoi for the first time. Today’s program informed me about the young volunteers’ great work. The program was informative and helpful.”

A: From Bangladesh, Jahangir Alam said he enjoys listening to VOV’s English program every day. He likes the Vietnamese language, lifestyle, culture, and cinema. He would like to know who are the best actresses and actors in Vietnam.

Ninh Duong Lan Ngoc won the Golden Kite award for Best Actress

B: The Golden Kite is the highest award for films, actors, actresses, and directors in Vietnam. In 2016, the movie Jackpot, based on the true story of Lanh, a lottery ticket seller in the southern province of Dong Thap, won the Golden Kite for best feature film. Actress Ninh Duong Lan Ngoc, who plays the role of Ut Thom in Jackpot, won for Best Actress.

A: In the TV Series category, the Golden Kite went to the series Forever Young – a co-production of Vietnam Television’s Film Centre and the Republic of Korea’s CJ E&M Pictures. The Golden Kite award for Best Actress in a TV Series went to Nha Phuong as Linh in Forever Young. Actors Viet Anh and Quang Tuan were both named Best Actor in a TV Series for their roles in When the Birds Come Back, and The Song of Sun.

B: We have been talking about the Golden Kite Award for best Vietnamese movies, actresses, actors, and directors. Thank you, listeners, for tuning in to our program and sending us feedback. We’ll verify your reception reports and hope you’ll receive our QSL cards soon.

A: We welcome your feedback at English Section, VOVworld, Voice of Vietnam, 45 Ba Trieu Street, Hanoi, Vietnam. Our email address is englishsection@vov.org.vn. Thank you for listening to VOV on shortwave and online and for visiting our website. Good bye until next time.