Associate Professor and People's Teacher Nguyen Quoc Hung - an exemplary educator

Associate Professor Nguyen Quoc Hung and his wife on the occasion of his 80th birthday celebration at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities (April 27, 2016)

Associate Professor Nguyen Quoc Hung, a People's Teacher, belongs to one of the generations that inherited and contributed to building the tradition of the former Hanoi University, now the University of Social Sciences and Humanities. These are teachers who possess both high professional competence and high moral character, earning the love and respect of generations of students.

Associate Professor Nguyen Quoc Hung was born in 1936 into a petty bourgeois intellectual family in Hanoi. After completing primary school in Hanoi, he attended secondary school in Tan Trao - Tuyen Quang (1949-1951), and then studied at the Central Campus of the Central College of Social Sciences (Nanning, China).

Professor Vu Duong Ninh and Associate Professor Nguyen Quoc Hung

After graduating from the Teacher Training College (Level III), he was assigned to teach at the secondary school in Ninh Binh town. In mid-1957, he transferred to work at the Education Zone of Inter-Region III. From 1958 to 1960, he worked at the Son Tay Education Department.

In 1961, he was sent to study History at the Lenin Pedagogical University in Moscow. In 1964, by state decision, he was one of the students who had studied social sciences in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe to return to Vietnam, continuing his studies at the Faculty of History, Hanoi University, and was a student in the first cohort of the World History specialization (1965-1966).

In 1966, after graduating, he was retained at the Department of History, Hanoi University. He was assigned to teach modern world history, and later taught specialized topics on imperialism... to fourth-year world history students.

Associate Professor Nguyen Quoc Hung, People's Teacher, his wife, and Associate Professor Vu Van Quan (Head of the History Department) on his birthday celebration.

With his previous teaching experience, Associate Professor Nguyen Quoc Hung was very aware of the importance of preparing lesson content. To teach the assigned topics, he invested considerable effort in self-study to acquire additional knowledge in related fields such as the economics and finance of imperialism. Perhaps the self-learning, self-reliance, and perseverance developed in the environment of the former Central University Campus helped him to develop such a high level of self-learning ability.

By 1986, following the Sixth National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the Party's reform policies and international integration guidelines demanded a comprehensive and in-depth study of international relations. Associate Professor Nguyen Quoc Hung, with his keen professional insight, recognized the need to introduce research and teaching on International Relations at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels to contribute to Vietnam's international integration and multilateral diplomacy policies. He was particularly interested in international organizations such as the United Nations and ASEAN. After the establishment of Hanoi National University in 1993, he was assigned to lead the International Relations group within the General Studies program.

Associate Professor Nguyen Quoc Hung and Dr. Luu Tuan Anh (Head of the Department of Oriental Studies)

In 1993, he, along with Professor Phan Huy Le and Associate Professor Le Quang Thiem, joined the executive board to prepare for the establishment of the Faculty of Oriental Studies. After the Faculty of Oriental Studies was officially established in 1995, he transferred to work there, assuming the position of Vice Dean and Head of the Department of Japanese Studies, contributing significantly to the development of the nascent field of Japanese Studies in Vietnam.

From a very young age, Associate Professor Nguyen Quoc Hung has been dedicated to education and training. At the age of 19, he was entrusted with the position of Principal of a secondary school in Ninh Binh town. This demonstrates that he possesses not only strong professional and pedagogical skills but also excellent management abilities.

Since working at Hanoi University, he has also been entrusted with positions such as: Acting Head of the History Department (1983-1984), Deputy Head of the History Department (1983-1990), Deputy Director of the Asia-Pacific Research Center (1990-1995), Deputy Head of the Oriental Studies Department (1995-2000), and Head of the Japanese Studies Department (1995-2005). Regardless of his position, alongside his professional work, he invested in fundamental professional development and the training of successors. He always demanded that younger generations continuously read and learn, transforming their training into self-training, updating lecture content and research, and he himself always set an example for the younger generation to follow. A prominent characteristic of his work principles is the demand for extreme meticulousness. Furthermore, he always paid attention to fostering unity within the department and cultivating character in the younger generation: hard work and honesty.

In addition to his administrative duties, he also devoted time to publishing numerous works that laid the foundation for research in modern world history, the history of international relations, the history of the Soviet Union (Russia), and the history of Japan. Notable examples include textbooks on Modern World History (1984, 1998), The October Revolution and the National Liberation Movement (1987), the United Nations (1992), International Relations in the 20th Century (2000), A Brief History of the Russian Federation 1917-1991 (co-authored), Ho Chi Minh - An International Fighter (2005), International Relations - Theoretical Aspects and Issues (co-authored) (2006), History of Japan (2007), the United Nations and UN peacekeeping forces (co-authored with Nguyen Hoang Quan, 2008)... He participated in compiling history textbooks (world history section) for high school students such as the 9th grade History textbook, the 12th grade History textbook... In addition, he participated in compiling the Vietnamese Encyclopedia (4 volumes).

Associate Professor Nguyen Quoc Hung also discovered, collected, and translated Nguyen Ai Quoc's speech at the Third Congress of the Red International of Trade Unions (1924), which was included in the complete works of Ho Chi Minh. He was the first to translate and introduce important international documents such as the Declaration of the Three Great Powers at the Tehran Conference in 1943, the Agreement of the Three Great Powers on the Far Eastern Issues at the Yalta Conference in February 1945, the document on the military surrender of Nazi Germany on May 8, 1945, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the United Nations (1948).

For all his contributions to the field of education, he was awarded the title of Associate Professor by the State in 1991, the title of Excellent Teacher in 1997, and the title of People's Teacher in 2008.

* Some beautiful photos of Associate Professor and People's Teacher Nguyen Quoc Hung during his lifetime with friends, colleagues, and students: