Wikipedia

Dương Văn Ngộ

In this Vietnamese name, the surname is Dương, but is often simplified to Duong in English-language text. In accordance with Vietnamese custom, this person should be referred to by the given name, Ngộ.

Dương Văn Ngộ (Vietnamese: [jɨəŋ˧˧ vaŋ˧˧ ŋow˨˩˨]; 3 March 1930 – 1 August 2023) was a Vietnamese postal worker and polyglot public letter writer known for being the longest-serving and last public letter writer and translator in Vietnam. During his three decades of work as a letter-writer, Ngộ wrote thousands of letters. He retired in 2021 from his desk in the Saigon Central Post Office following 70 years of work in the Vietnamese postal service.

Dương Văn Ngộ
Ngộ in 2017
Born(1930-03-03)3 March 1930
District 6, Saigon, French Indochina
Died1 August 2023(2023-08-01) (aged 93)
NationalityVietnamese
Known forBeing the longest-serving and last public letter writer and translator employed by VNPT
Children6[1]

Early life and career edit

I think of this as my life, and only death can stop me from thinking about it.

– Dương Văn Ngộ on his profession[2]

Ngộ was born on 3 March 1930[3][4] in Phú Lâm, District 6, Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City) as the fifth of six children in a family with Hoa (Vietnamese Chinese) ancestry.[1][5] His father worked in the trades while his mother did not hold a steady job, instead mending sacks on an ad hoc basis for money.[6] In 1942, Ngộ became one of the few impoverished students accepted to the prestigious Petrus Ký High School (now Lê Hồng Phong High School For The Gifted).[1] At 16 years old, he became interested in the mail and began working at the Thị Nghè district post office. Starting in 1948, he became an official employee at the Saigon Central Post Office, sorting letters into boxes. Later, Ngộ would take on other roles, and was temporarily transferred to the Ministry of Transport and Post.[7] When he was 36, the post office arranged for him to learn English and French,[8] although Ngộ claims his French proficiency dates to an excellent primary school education.[9] For English education, the post office's board of directors organized special tutoring from an American pilot at the Vietnamese-American Association.[9][10]

 
Ngộ at his post in April 2011

Although eligible to retire and collect a pension in 1990, Ngộ instead requested assignment to the public letter-writing service (also known as letters for hire), which had only six people at the time.[11][2] Eventually, all of the other writers died, leaving only Ngộ.[11][7][12] He convinced the post office to give him a desk at the end of the hall where he could offer his services.[7][13] Each weekday, Ngộ worked from 8 in the morning to 3:30 in the afternoon writing letters and providing tourist information.[14][15] He was commonly seen with a black bag, which contained various materials including dictionaries for his work.[7][16][17]

Ngộ was able to parse letters written in German[16] and could read and write them in French, English, and his native Vietnamese.[15][16] Since 1990, he had written letters to recipients worldwide.[10][18] Ngộ saw his profession as a labor of love and a way to publicize and promote Vietnam.[8] While the shift to digital telecommunications had reduced his customer base, Ngộ remained popular with visitors and tourists, many of whom wanted to take pictures with him.[15][19]

In 2021, he was forced to retire due to his age and weakening senses, although he still attempted to sneak in and continue working.[20][21]

Personal life edit

Ngộ married a woman also born in 1930.[6] They had six children: two sons and four daughters. One daughter has an intellectual disorder, and relies on her elder sister for care.[22] He boasted that all of his children performed well in their studies.[23]

Ngộ died on 1 August 2023, at the age of 93.[24][25]

Recognition edit

Ngộ gained various titles and nicknames from the Vietnamese press for his work[21][10] and was officially recognized by the Vietnam Records Book Center as the longest-serving public letter writer in 2009.[15][13][26] Afterwards, many people came to the post office to see him in action, noting that he was the last writer in Saigon[27][28] and then Vietnam in general.[29][30] In 2016, he received a prize and 20 million VND from the Kova Priza Committee.[31] He later became featured in international media outlets.[29][32][9] He met with Herman Van Rompuy, then-President of the European Council, in 2012.[30]

He has been described as a hallmark of the Saigon Central Post Office.[33]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c Ngô, Đồng. "Sài Gòn và ký ức của ông lão gần nửa thế kỉ viết thư tình".
  2. ^ a b Trần, Mai. "Chứng nhân của những cánh thư".
  3. ^ "Ký ức về cụ Dương Văn Ngộ: Người dành hơn nữa thế kỷ viết thư tình ở Bưu điện Thành phố". Thoixua.vn. 29 January 2022. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  4. ^ "Cuối năm, gặp ông lão "nối kết thế giới bằng cây bút mực"". Cand.com.vn. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  5. ^ "Người viết thư thuê cuối cùng ở Sài Gòn" [The last public letter writer of Saigon]. Công an nhân dân.
  6. ^ a b Đức, Cương (30 June 2016). " "Người dùng bút mực "kết nối thế giới"" [He who uses his fountain pen to "connect worlds"]. Công an nhân dân (Public Security News).[permanent dead link]
  7. ^ a b c d Phạm, Hữu (2 July 2019). "Người Sài Gòn chung tình: 70 năm gắn với bưu điện, cụ ông U90 vẫn viết thư" [The love of Saigon: Having served 70 years for the postal service, he still writes letters even as he reaches 90]. Thanh Niên (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  8. ^ a b Mỹ, Phượng (18 August 2016). "Cụ ông 86 tuổi dịch thư ở bưu điện Sài Gòn" [At 86, he still translates letters at the Saigon post office]. VnExpress (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  9. ^ a b c Phương, Dung; Huỳnh, Giao (22 September 2019). "Ông Ngộ – Người cuối cùng giữ hồn cho những lá thư tay". VOH (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  10. ^ a b c Tâm, Phúc (30 October 2016). "Gặp người viết thư tình xuyên thế kỷ ở Bưu điện trung tâm Sài Gòn" [Meeting the "love letter centurion" in the Saigon Central Post Office]. Pháp luật Plus (Legislation Plus/Ho Chi Minh City Law Newspaper) (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  11. ^ a b Duy, Phong (24 February 2017). "Giữa Sài Gòn hoa lệ, có một ông lão gần 90 tuổi vẫn ngày ngày thầm lặng kết nối cả thế giới". Vietnammoi. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  12. ^ Ehlers, Fiona (7 March 2007). "A Day with Saigon's Last Public Letter Writer". Der Spiegel. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  13. ^ a b Sơn, Nghĩa (6 March 2016). "Kỷ lục gia viết thư thuê lâu năm nhất Việt Nam" [The longest-serving public letter writer of Vietnam]. Vietnam Pictorial. Vietnam News Agency. ISSN 1606-027X.
  14. ^ Hương, Giang; Thu, Thảo. "Góc trời riêng của người viết thư thuê cuối cùng ở Sài Gòn".
  15. ^ a b c d Thành, Hoa (19 June 2019). "Cụ Dương Văn Ngộ – người mẫu đặc biệt của Bưu điện TPHCM". Sài Gòn tiếp thị. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  16. ^ a b c Hoàng, Dương. "Người viết thư thuê xuyên thế kỷ" [Public letter writer across the century].
  17. ^ Kim, Loan. "Người viết thư tay". Archived from the original on 12 May 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  18. ^ Anh, Vân (18 August 2016). "Trúng số bạc tỷ cũng không bỏ nghề viết thư thuê" [Winning billion dong lottery could not make him quit his public letter writing job]. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  19. ^ Pigg, Susan (22 September 2007). "Saigon's man of many words". Toronto Star. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  20. ^ Kim, Vân (12 April 2021). "Ông cụ viết thư thuê cuối cùng ở Sài Gòn sức khỏe đã yếu, nghỉ việc vẫn lén con bắt xe buýt lên bưu điện". Gia đình.net. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  21. ^ a b Tiến, Luyến (30 April 2021). "Người viết thư thuê lâu năm nhất Việt Nam" [Longest serving "letter for hire" writer in Vietnam]. Báo Dân sinh (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  22. ^ "Chuyện cảm động về người viết thư tay xuyên thế kỷ ở Sài Gòn" [Touching story about the public letter writer across the century in Saigon]. Kyluc.vn. 9 July 2019. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  23. ^ Vĩnh, Phú. "Chuyện cảm động "kỷ lục gia" viết thư thuê" [Touching story of public letter writing record holder].
  24. ^ Ngan, Ngoc (2 August 2023). "Saigon Post Office's letter writer dies at 94". VnExpress. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  25. ^ "Cụ ông viết thư tình xuyên thế kỷ ở Bưu điện TPHCM đã qua đời". Kenh14.vn. 2 August 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  26. ^ Mỹ, Phượng (22 August 2016). "Chuyện về Kỷ lục gia 86 tuổi viết và dịch thư ở bưu điện Sài Gòn". Kỷ lục.vn. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  27. ^ Lê, Vân. "Người đưa tin cuối cùng ở Sài Gòn" [The last messenger of Saigon].
  28. ^ Nguyễn, My; Tấn, Cương. "Người dịch thư thuê cuối cùng ở Bưu điện thành phố".
  29. ^ a b Valerie, Plesch. "Vietnam's last public letter writer, 'a witness of Saigon'".
  30. ^ a b T, T.D. "Hội ngộ ở bưu điện".
  31. ^ Quốc, Linh. "Cổ vũ nghị lực vượt khó và đam mê khoa học".
  32. ^ Hà, Linh. "Báo chí Arab kể câu chuyện về người viết thư tay thuê cuối cùng ở Việt Nam".
  33. ^ Thu, Hoa. "Duong Van Ngo, a public letter writer at the Saigon Central Post Office".

External links edit

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