First book on Party chief published overseas

Author Cho Chul-hyeon (R) presents a copy of his book to a Vietnam News Agency reporter in Seoul. Photo: VNA)

The book closely follows the significant stages of the Party chief's career, providing detailed information about his youth and university years, which are not widely known. It also includes many articles the Party General Secretary wrote while working as a reporter for the Communist Review, the official publication of the Communist Party of Vietnam.

In an interview with the Vietnam News Agency's correspondents in Seoul, the author shared that the longstanding relationship between the two countries has sparked a special interest in Vietnam among Koreans. The Party General Secretary particularly attracted Cho's attention because Trong is a leader with a background in literature, a rarity among global leaders. In the RoK, they often come from law, economics, or political sciences.

Impressed by the Vietnamese leader’s exceptional skills in writing commentaries and essays, the author delved deeper into his life, starting from his school days. His research process, which began in 2014, faced challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, as the two countries celebrated the 30th founding anniversary of diplomatic relations, Cho made multiple trips to Vietnam and began writing the book intensively for a year and a half.

According to him, plans are in place to translate the book into Vietnamese to make it accessible to local people. The author expressed his desire that the book will help younger generations in both nations better understand the Vietnamese leader.

Cho noted that since its release nearly a month ago, approximately 6,000 copies have been sold. A Korean businessman investing in Vietnam purchased 1,200 copies as presents to Vietnamese students studying the Korean language. Meanwhile, several Korean companies have also shown interest in the Vietnamese version to present it to their employees and their partners in Vietnam./.