Announcer Kien Cuong (Photo: VOV)

Kien Cuong, whose real name was Han Duc Trong, was born in 1932 in Hanoi. He joined the revolution in 1945. After participating in the Northwestern, Hoa Binh, and Dien Bien Phu Campaigns in the 1950s, Kien Cuong returned to Hanoi and started working at VOV as an announcer.

Like Viet Khoa, Tuyet Mai, and Nguyen Tho, Kien Cuong was a household name for generations of VOV listeners. His delivery of commentaries during the resistance war became a symbol of the ideological struggle.

Dong Manh Hung, Head of VOV’s Editorial Secretariat, said Kien Cuong had an elegant and gentle style, but his voice was powerful. Thus, when he read current affairs and commentaries during the resistance war, his voice showed the inner strength and righteousness of the Vietnamese people to domestic and foreign compatriots.

“Kien Cuong and other legendary announcers like Tuyet Mai and Viet Khoa became the pride of Vietnam’s broadcasting industry,” said Hung. 

What made Kien Cuong stand out was that he replaced the normal reading style with a speaking style. It’s not easy to read something you didn’t write yourself, but Kien Cuong managed to do it with a friendly, natural, clear voice and style. He once explained to new broadcasters that an announcer must fully understand the text, so the announcer must have a good background knowledge, including the geography of Vietnam.

During the war, then VOV General Director Tran Lam arranged Kien Cuong a house at 5 Tran Phu street, near the VOV studio, to make it easier for him to come to work.

“Kien Cuong had a lot of experience and was a popular voice on VOV, especially in during the resistance war. In his daily life, Kien Cuong was friendly, modest, and always willing to help us with his expertise,” said radio presenter Viet Hung.

Kien Cuong (in white polo shirt) and some other senior VOV announcers. (Photo: VOV)

Kien Cuong was considered a living dictionary. He collected dictionaries and spent hours looking up and researching the meanings of words. His broad knowledge helped him a lot in his work as a radio announcer. One war veteran burst into tears when he first met Kien Cuong, who was his idol.

“Kien Cuong, Tuyet Mai, Viet Khoa, and Phuong Chi were senior broadcasters of the Voice of Vietnam. Kien Cuong had a very clear voice and a very humble lifestyle. As a VOV broadcaster he was honored for his contribution to Vietnam’s resistance war for national liberation,” said Truong Cong Hoa, a former journalist at VOV.