Le Duc Hoang
Can you share what prompted the creation of JiH, Hoang?
To be honest, nothing other than the love for Hue and the desire to share Hue's culture and history with everyone, especially among the youths. We want people both in and outside of the country, including the people of Hue themselves, to understand and cherish the close stories and heritage that surround their lives. In every corner, every street in Hue, there are stories and historical values waiting to be discovered.
Through these efforts, JiH aims to contribute a voice to preserving these legacies, especially the ancient royal residences, ancient architectural structures, and the cultural beauty of Hue that is at risk of being forgotten.
What about your talk shows about Hue's culture?
Promoting and introducing Hue's cultural and historical aspects is always the guiding principle for JiH's activities. Over the past three years of formation and development, JiH has conveyed those beauty through various means, from images and articles to practical field trips. The “Hue talk” was created not only to continue the promotional activities but also to provide a platform for JiH to listen to the perspectives and dialogues of those participating.
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| JiH members (left) introducing Hue's culture and heritage to visitors. |
Additionally, JiH has noticed that the majority of the guests who participate Hue talk are individuals born and raised in Hue. The topics of “Hue talk” are designed with the intention of helping Hue people gain a deeper understanding of Hue's traditional values that they may have overlooked for a long time.
Not only selecting interesting topics, your talk shows also managed to invite reputable speakers and established a brand name since then. Is it right?
JiH's intention is to ensure that our posts go beyond general introductions and delve deeply into specific issues with an objective standpoint.
The second “Hue talk” event in mid-September is an example. It revolved around the topic of Hue's royal residences. After drafting the basic content, JiH recognized the opportunity to connect with Mr. Tran Van Dung, who had explored over 60 different royal residences in pursuit of his doctoral thesis. Fortunately, he agreed, and we organized a highly successful talk about the royal residences.
Through these events, what are your goals and messages for the youth?
“Hue talk” aims to deliver its content to a diverse audience, not only adults already well-versed in cultural aspects but also the youths seeking traditional Hue values as well. Typically, in these “Hue talk” sessions, the older, experienced invitees share their knowledge, and the younger not only learn from the guest speakers but also from their fellow guests. This can provide young people with a better awareness of the values of where they live, allowing them to feel, experience and contribute to the preservation and promotion of Hue’s cultural values in various ways.
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| Members of “Journeys in Hue” group |
Tell us about the tours you've designed for Hue's travel enthusiasts
JiH designs its tours based on three years of exploration, discovering lesser-known destinations in Hue, ranging from the city center to the suburbs.
These tours could be history tours to learn about the Nguyen Dynasty in just one day or cultural tours lasting 1 to 3 days with many experiences from joining folk games to enjoying cuisine... Through these tours, we aim to promote to everyone more about Hue and to share lesser-known facts about Hue.
JiH also accommodates guests by offering personalized journeys that suit their individual interests, family, or group preferences. JiH then provides suggestions and support to ensure guests have the most comprehensive and comfortable experience.
What's the goal of organizing these tours?
Slow traveling to experience Hue deeply is always the value JiH wants to convey to everyone who come to Hue to travel. This aligns with sustainable tourism and heritage preservation, fostering the city's development.
Thanks to this approach, the “Journeys in Hue” fanpage on Facebook consistently attracts a significant following, generating curiosity among travelers. From there, we decided to establish a travel company. Despite being active for just a year, JiH has already organized hundreds of tourist groups to explore Hue.
Particularly, some of our guests are remarkable; like the one from Ho Chi Minh City in the last two years visited Hue five times and actively sought out Hue's craft villages to experience and meet skilled artisans. Or, there were also two female guests who, after participating in a 5-day JiH tour, decided to settle down in Hue.
In the future, do you plan to expand your talk show events and promote your Hue discovery tours to a wider audience?
(Smile) That's a given! JiH is just getting started. We have numerous plans and ideas to realize. Only when we can organize larger talk shows and tours with hundreds of enthusiastic participants will JiH truly consider itself successful.
Regarding talk shows, we hope to conduct them more frequently, moving beyond a 1- or 2-month schedule with 30 participants to a weekly series of cultural events showcasing Hue's cultural beauty. These events won't just involve guest speakers invited by JiH but also open up opportunities for participants to become conversation leaders themselves.
Are there any difficulties in organizing these talk shows?
From a personal perspective, JiH finds that “Hue talk” sessions are well-received, with the number of registrations consistently exceeds double our expectations. However, due to constraints related to space, finances, and human resources, we are currently limited to about 30 participants for each event. If we have enough capacity and resources, JiH and its co-organizers hope to expand the reach of these “Hue talk” events to a larger audience, especially to those who love Hue and its culture.
Can you reveal some of the upcoming talk show topics?
The upcoming “Hue talk” topics will seem familiar but with a unique and interesting twist. Try to imagine what a garden house in Hue has, some of the upcoming “Hue talk” topics will revolve around these themes.
Finally, what broader goals do you have in sharing and promoting Hue's cultural heritage, people, and values?
JiH aspires to be an inspiration, a representation of a group of passionate, tireless young individuals spreading their love for Hue. We hope to create a community and support many teams of young people in spreading their influence in various fields such as tourism, fashion, photography, and cuisine.
Thank you, Hoang, for the conversation!