To make artistic creation a cultural bridge between Vietnam and France

In addition to the delegation from the French Ministry of Culture, the event was also honored to welcome Ms. Nguyen Pham Duy Trang, Secretary of the Central Youth Union, President of the Central Council of Young Pioneers; Ms. Eva Nguyen Binh, President of the French Institute in Vietnam; Mr. Bui Tuan Nghia, Director of Kim Dong Publishing House.

The first comic book creation contest (2024) is part of the project "Comics in Vietnam and Cambodia: Mobilizing French expertise and experience" with a total budget of 135,000 Euros, co-organized by the French Institute in Vietnam and Kim Dong Publishing House.


Director of Kim Dong Publishing House Bui Tuan Nghia pledged to continue to closely coordinate with the French Institute in Vietnam to further expand cultural cooperation activities, for a creative generation of young Vietnamese. (Photo: Ngoc Anh)

Director of Kim Dong Publishing House Bui Tuan Nghia pledged to continue to closely coordinate with the French Institute in Vietnam to further expand cultural cooperation activities, for a creative generation of young Vietnamese. (Photo: Ngoc Anh)

In his opening speech, Director of Kim Dong Publishing House Bui Tuan Nghia said that the award ceremony took place in a special context, when French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife paid a State visit to Vietnam at the invitation ofPresident Luong Cuong. This is an event of great significance in Vietnam-France relations, especially when the two countries have just officially upgraded their relationship to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in October 2024.

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According to Mr. Bui Tuan Nghia, this cooperation project aims to spread the spirit: Bringing artistic creation, specifically comics, to become a cultural bridge between artists, readers, young Vietnamese people and the French creative community.

Mr. Bui Tuan Nghia also mentioned the long-standing, increasingly consolidated and strongly developed cooperative relationship between Kim Dong Publishing House and the French Institute in Vietnam. In particular, 2024 marked an important turning point between the two sides with the first joint organization of the Comic Creation Contest, opening a playground for young Vietnamese authors to demonstrate their talents and nurture their creative dreams.

"We are committed to continuing to work closely with the French Institute to further expand cultural cooperation activities, for a creative generation of young Vietnamese, towards the long-term goal of making the cultural and creative industry a driving force for development in Vietnam," emphasized the Director of Kim Dong Publishing House.

French Minister of Culture Rachida Dati hopes to further promote cultural exchange and promotion activities in France in Vietnam. (Photo: Ngoc Anh)

Affirming that culture always plays a key role in the Vietnam-France cooperation relationship, Minister Rachida Dati wishes to further promote exchange activities and promote French culture in Vietnam as well as bring the culture of the S-shaped country to the beautiful Central European country.

In particular, the award ceremony is also an opportunity to honor the cultural cooperation between the two countries in the publishing industry, especially in the comic genre - a type of literature that the French people especially love.

"The power of comics is their ability to reach a wide audience, as a form of popular culture, suitable for all generations. The ninth art is often the first door that brings the public closer to art and culture," Culture Minister Rachida Dati pointed out.

According to Ms. Dati, over the past three years, the French Institute has supported many projects to promote the dissemination of French books in Vietnam. In 2024 and 2025, the focus will be on the field of comics, with the aim of building a comics industry in Vietnam, through the mobilization of expertise and experience from the French side.

On this occasion, Kim Dong Publishing House also launched two collections of stories: “Essay on Balut Eggs” and “Red Pencil, Lockdown in Foreign Land & Comic Rental Shop”. This is a collection of award-winning works in the first Comic Writing Contest (2024).

French Minister of Culture Rachida Dati and Ms. Nguyen Pham Duy Trang, Secretary of the Central Youth Union, Chairman of the Central Council of the Young Pioneers, presented the first prize to contestant Tran Khac Khoan with the work "Essay on balut eggs". (Photo: Ngoc Anh)

The first prize winning work - “Essay on Balut Eggs” - tells the story of a boy writing an essay describing his mother’s job of selling balut eggs. From there, that simple story touched the heart of an artist, reviving in him memories of his father. The book is printed in Vietnamese and French in a unique two-way reversal. According to artist Ta Huy Long - a member of the jury, the work was highly appreciated thanks to “the professional way of expressing the narrative, the way of developing the theme, the rhythm of the story”. Author Tran Khac Khoan has brought a story close to current life, connecting young readers and allowing adults to see themselves in it.

Some images in the work "Essay about balut eggs". (Photo: Ngoc Anh)

Sharing withThe World and Vietnam Newspaper , author Tran Khac Khoan said he chose the story about balut eggs with the desire to convey a message about cultural differences.

"Balut is a very common dish in Vietnam, but for many Westerners, it can be scary. However, the problem is: When our cultural identity is different from the rest of the world, do we have the courage to "embrace" that difference? And are people from other cultures willing to learn how to respect that difference properly?", Mr. Tran Khac Khoan emphasized.

Panorama of the award ceremony. (Photo: Ngoc Anh)

In addition, “Red Pencil”, “Lockdown in Foreign Land” and “Book Rental Shop” bring three stories from three authors with different styles. It is an adventure to a magical world thanks to the power of a red pencil, associated with many cultural elements that are distinctly Vietnamese; a record of the difficult Covid-19 period in a foreign land but helps people grow up a lot; or a memory of an old book rental shop in a small market that is part of the childhood memories of every boy and girl of the 8X and 9X generations.

The works are diverse in theme and style, demonstrating the creativity and enthusiasm of authors of all ages, promising to bring a breath of fresh air to the domestic comic market.

The award ceremony is also an opportunity to honor the cultural cooperation between the two countries in the publishing industry, especially the comic genre. (Photo: Ngoc Anh)

Following the success, the second Comic Creation Contest (2025) is currently accepting entries until the end of June. This is not only an opportunity for comic authors and artists to showcase their talents, but also contributes to building the comic creation community and developing this art book genre in Vietnam.

Some pictures at the event: