BẮC GIANG — A farmer in the northern province of Bắc Giang has overcome difficulties in his life to offer a free-of-charge Korean language class.

Phạm Văn Yên’s class opened last June at his home at Đồi Lánh Village, Đông Sơn Commune in Yên Thế District and has attracted many young people interested in going to the Republic of Korea (RoK) to work.

Both Lê Văn Huy, 18, and his farther Lê Văn Hoàng, residing in the nearby commune of Hương Vĩ have attended the Korean language class. He was excited with the class, saying "I feel learning here is simple, easy to remember and to understand”.

Huy is going to study in the RoK at an engineer training school, with the desire “to learn modern technology to serve the country after finishing the course”.

Meanwhile, Huy’s father is learning Korean language for a future trip to Korea to visit his son.

At first, Yên taught family members, then the class expanded to others. The free-of-charge evening class runs open three days a week, with free notebooks and documents for students.

So even though the farmer has no knowledge of teaching, his simple way of communicating is easy to understand and remember for students.

His wife, Quản Thị Chuyên, supported his work by arranging housework and social affairs.

Yên got married in 1993 when he was only 20 years old and Chuyên was 17.

Both families were very poor, and their parents didn’t give the young couple any money.

They firstly grew cassava in the forest for three years. Struggling, he decided to go the RoK to work with a labour export company in Hải Dương, LOD Company under the Ministry of Construction.

In 1999, Yên left family to work in the RoK and returned eight years later to work as an interpreter for a foreign-invested company in Hải Phòng City.

In 2009, he again decided to return to his native land in Đồi Lánh Village to run a household business.

He and his wife opened a grocery store, developed a pig farm and ran a lorry company.

He was also trusted by local people to be the village’s head from 2009 to 2010.

Despite his many fingers in many pies, he couldn’t support his family economy and a “lack of business knowledge cause economic loss,” he explained, and once again he went to Japan to work from 2011 to 2014.

Back in Việt Nam after three years, he invested his savings of VNĐ300 million into another pig farm.

However, at that time, the price of pig had suddenly dropped so his business faced bankruptcy.  

After 2014, Yên researched the agriculture market and planted a small acreage of sugarcane and now the sugarcane area covers three hectares in Đông Sơn Commune.

Along with well-grow sugarcane, he also planted six hectares of taro.

He focused on high-quality seeds, and eventually earned from VNĐ350-400 million (US$15,200-17,400) from sugarcane and taro per year.

Lưu Cẩm Tiên, chairman of Farmer’s Association of Đông Sơn Commune, highly appreciated Yên’s volunteer work for the community.

“Every summer, Yên’s family gives free sugarcane juices to local children.

“On the occasions of local festivals, or commune meetings, Yên will provide free sugarcane juice.  

Yên is also considered a “seed provider” who has given free high-quality seeds to all farmers living in the commune.

To top it all off, the farmer was honoured by Yên Thế District People’s Committee last year under the ‘Learning and following Uncle Hồ Chí Minh’s ideology, morality and style’ movement’. — VNS