Vietnam's first journalism school

Mr. Phan Huu Minh (left cover) introduces the location of Huynh Thuc Khang Journalism School to the working delegation of the Quang Nam Provincial Journalists Association (late April 2025). Photo: HUU PHUC

Sowing the "seeds" of journalism

At the end of April 2025, a working delegation of the Quang Nam Provincial Journalists Association organized a trip to visit the Huynh Thuc Khang Journalism School (located in Tan Thai commune, Dai Tu district, Thai Nguyen province).

The road from Thai Nguyen city to this national relic is about 20km, but it feels very close because we were attracted by the introduction of Mr. Phan Huu Minh - former Editor-in-Chief of Thai Nguyen Newspaper, former Director of Thai Nguyen Radio and Television Station, then worked at the Vietnam Journalists Association , now retired.

Mr. Minh talked about the history of the formation of this relic site with pride as if he had just completed a mission he was passionate about.

During the long years of fighting against French colonialism, the Viet Bac mountains and forests sheltered our soldiers and people, and Thai Nguyen was considered a safe zone of the revolution.

From the demand of "writing like fighting", President Ho Chi Minh directed the Viet Minh General Department and the resistance press corps to open the first journalism class in the country named Huynh Thuc Khang Journalism School - former acting President.

“
Mr. Huynh was a man who could not be swayed by wealth, discouraged by poverty, or discouraged by power. All his life, he did not need fame, position, or benefits, nor did he care about wealth. All his life, Mr. Huynh only fought for the freedom of his people and the independence of his country.
Uncle Ho wrote about patriot Huynh Thuc Khang when he passed away.

So in Bo Ra hamlet (Tan Thai commune), a simple school was built with a thatched roof, chairs and desks made of temporary wooden panels.

According to the documents of the Vietnam Press Museum, on April 4, 1949, the class opened with 42 students, who were propaganda officers and information and propaganda officers who both held pens and guns to fight. It is worth noting that the school only organized one course until July 6, 1949, when it closed.

Participating in the lectures were comrades Hoang Quoc Viet - Secretary of the Viet Minh General Department, Editor-in-Chief of the Cuu Quoc newspaper; General Vo Nguyen Giap - Commander-in-Chief of the Vietnam People's Army, former editor of the Tieng Dan and Le Travail newspapers; Nguyen Van Tao - Minister of Labor, former editor of the French Communist Party's Humanilé newspaper and La lulle newspaper in Saigon in 1934 - 1935; Vu Dinh Hoe - Minister of Justice, former editor of Thanh Nghi newspaper and editor of Doc Lap newspaper.

Photos of Huynh Thuc Khang's journalism class in the past are hung at the Vietnam Journalism Museum. Photo: HUU PHUC

In addition, many other famous writers, poets, and journalists also participated in teaching. After completing the short course (more than 3 months), the students "put down their pens and went to war".

Thus, Huynh Thuc Khang Journalism School is the first training facility for resistance journalism personnel in the history of our country's journalism.

In 1975, Thai Nguyen province built a dam to raise water level in Nui Coc lake, many households relocated, the name of Bo Ra hamlet still remains but it is not impossible that some of the original locations where Huynh Thuc Khang Journalism School was built were submerged under the lake.

Mr. Phan Huu Minh said that when he was still working at the Thai Nguyen Security Zone, the State had almost completed all the relic sites related to the fields of culture, cinema, history..., but the Huynh Thuc Khang Journalism School in 1949 was still quiet, no one mentioned it because the collected documents and images were quite scattered.

“Some former students of the school who were lucky enough to be brought here when I was a reporter for a local party newspaper all remember that the school was located at Bo Ra - Dai Tu commune. Through a lot of collected information, especially from the book “Road to Bo Ra” by author Andrew Hardy published by the French School of the Far East in 2008, the names Bo Ra and Goc Mit were mentioned. Finally, the national historical relic stele - Huynh Thuc Khang Journalism School was also erected in Dai Tu commune” - Mr. Minh said.

A great personality in journalism

The location of Huynh Thuc Khang Journalism School is located in the planning of Nui Coc Lake National Tourist Area, with an area of nearly 900m2 with the following items: memorial stele house, traditional stilt house, exhibition room, area to recreate journalism practice class and a bas-relief depicting 48 portraits of the board of directors, lecturers and students of the first course.

Chairman of the Quang Nam Provincial Journalists Association Le Van Nhi and representatives of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism offered flowers at the Huynh Thuc Khang Journalism School on April 27, 2025. Photo: HUU PHUC

In the exhibition room, a 24x42cm printing machine weighing more than 600kg, a typewriter, a pen, zinc plates, issues of Nhan Dan, Cuu Quoc, Su That newspapers... have been restored.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the class on April 4, 1949, comrade Hoang Quoc Viet - Secretary of the Viet Minh General Department said: "The class named after Mr. Huynh Thuc Khang is to remember and follow the example of the patriotic veteran who was also a long-time, famous journalist, setting an example for the students of diligence in learning, a progressive organizational mind, an indomitable spirit, which are the basic qualities of a journalist."

History books record that on August 10, 1927, Huynh Thuc Khang published the newspaper Tiếng Dân (La Voix du Peuple), initiating a public struggle through speech.

In 2017, the Vietnam Journalists Association coordinated with Thai Nguyen province and the Vietnam Press Museum to implement the project to restore the Huynh Thuc Khang Journalism School. On March 28, 2019, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism decided to rank the Huynh Thuc Khang Journalism School as a national historical relic. In early 2024, the Vietnam Journalists Association cooperated with the People's Committee of Thai Nguyen province to start the project to restore and embellish the national historical relic and on August 9, 2024 - on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the school's founding, the project was inaugurated and handed over to the locality.

In the years 1927 - 1928, when he was still the President of the Central Vietnam House of Representatives, through the newspaper Tiếng Dân, with articles with sharp arguments, Mr. Huynh requested the promulgation of a constitution, reduction of land tax, poll tax, opening more schools...

In 1943, Tieng Dan newspaper ended its operation, but during the 16 years with Huynh Thuc Khang as the editor-in-chief, Tieng Dan affirmed that its "manifesto" as a newspaper was always for the people and the country.

These days of June, the press team is even more proud as the country celebrates the 100th anniversary of Vietnam Revolutionary Press Day (June 21, 1925 - June 21, 2025).

In his hometown of Quang, this is also the 19th time the Provincial People's Committee has organized the Huynh Thuc Khang Journalism Award, further reminding the current and future generations of journalists to constantly improve their professional qualifications and skills, and especially to always maintain a "bright mind, pure heart, sharp pen" to serve the Fatherland and the People.

In Thai Nguyen province, 2025 is the second year this locality has organized a press award similar to Quang Nam, further affirming the great personality of journalist Huynh Thuc Khang.

Source: https://baoquangnam.vn/truong-bao-chi-dau-tien-cua-viet-nam-3156962.html