Pham Ngoc Canh (Hanoi) was known as the only Vietnamese who married a North Korean woman, Ri Yong-Hui. Over the years, their love story has been celebrated as a touching tale of devotion, with both willing to sacrifice their youth to be together.

Vuong Duy Bien, former Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, and Chair of the Vietnam-North Korea Friendship Association, confirmed the news.

Pham Ngoc Canh passed away on February 26, and his visitation ceremony was scheduled for March 2 at the Long Bien Funeral Home of Duc Giang General Hospital in Hanoi. Bien stated that the association would send a delegation to pay tribute to Canh.

“I met Pham Ngoc Canh a few months ago, and he was still healthy at that time. I never expected him to depart so suddenly,” Bien remarked.

The fairy-tale romance between Pham Ngoc Canh and his North Korean wife gained widespread recognition years ago. They married when Pham Ngoc Canh was 54 and Ri Yong-Hui was 55, after more than 30 years of separation and persistent longing.

In 1967, Pham Ngoc Canh was among 200 Vietnamese students sent to North Korea for education. A few years later, he met Ri Yong-Hui at a laboratory in a fertilizer factory on North Korea’s eastern coast.

Drawn to the beautiful young woman, Pham Ngoc Canh boldly approached her and asked for her home address. Meanwhile, Ri Yong-Hui was intrigued by rumors among colleagues that a Vietnamese man working at the factory was fond of her.

At subsequent meetings, Ri Yong-Hui’s heart melted for Pham Ngoc Canh.

On his first visit to Ri Yong-Hui’s family, Pham Ngoc Canh wore traditional North Korean attire, took a three-hour bus ride, and walked an additional two kilometers to reach her home. Along with handwritten letters, their bond grew increasingly strong.

However, their path to love was fraught with hardships and challenges. Due to prohibitions in both countries against citizens marrying foreigners, they could only meet in secret, exchanging restrained letters with the one they loved. Later, Vietnam lifted this ban, but North Korea maintained its restriction.

In 1973, Pham Ngoc Canh returned to Vietnam. In 1978, during a business visit to North Korea, he had the chance to meet Ri Yong-Hui. The joy of their reunion was overshadowed by the painful realization that they might never see each other again.

The two ceased correspondence at the end of 1978. In 1992, Pham Ngoc Canh traveled to North Korea as an interpreter for a Vietnamese sports delegation but was unable to meet Ri Yong-Hui.

Back in Hanoi, he discovered a letter she had sent him, learning that she still loved him.

In the next years, Pham Ngoc Canh relentlessly endeavored to marry Ri Yong-Hui. He once rallied friends to donate seven tons of rice to send to North Korea.

He wrote three letters to the North Korean leader, recounting his love story with Ri Yong-Hui and pleading for the opportunity to marry and spend his life with her.

After completing each letter, he photographed it as a keepsake, ensuring the subsequent letters did not repeat the same ideas.

Through these and many other determined efforts, Pham Ngoc Canh demonstrated his profound love for Ri Yong-Hui and his ardent desire to marry her.

Canh tried every possible way to reunite with the lover. He submitted a petition to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and requested assistance from the ministry. In 2002, when learning that the then State President Tran Duc Luong and Foreign Minister Pham Dy Nien were scheduled to hold talks in North Korea, Canh sent a letter asking for their assistance. 

His wish finally came true. Seven months after the talks, Canh gained permission to marry Ri Yong-Hui. In that year, Canh was 54 years old, and his wife 55.

The day when they reunited was also the day of their wedding at the Vietnamese Embassy in North Korea. A second wedding ceremony in Vietnam followed shortly thereafter.

Pham Ngoc Canh lived with his wife in a modest house in the Thanh Cong collective residential area (Hanoi). To this day, their beautiful love story remains a celebrated anecdote admired by many people.

Thanh Minh