Ban Ki-moon, Secretary General of the United Nations, is of Vietnamese Origin

Image via TEIMUN

I’ve been waiting to write this for a while, but have been hesitating because the majority of the sources available on this story came from Vietnamese government-run news outlets. I didn’t disbelieve the story, but I wanted to find some sources other than VCP websites, along with those available sources, to cover the story.

Well, there’s BBC, which is alright, and I’ve waited long enough to see that there are no disputes against the information put out there by Vietnam’s government news sites. So now, it’s fair enough for me to go on covering this story with confidence that it isn’t some propaganda bullshit or idiotic hoax. It’s true, and it’s spectacular. Ban Ki-moon, the South Korean, and the current Secretary General of the United Nations, is of Vietnamese origin.

This interesting piece of news was revealed during the U.N. Secretary’s visit to Hanoi in May of 2015, but was kept quiet until late October of 2015. During his stay in Vietnam, Ban Ki-moon paid a special visit to the Phan Huy residence in Vietnam’s capital city. While there, the U.N. chief burned some commemorative incense at the family shrine, before penning a note in the family record book. In the note, he thanks the Phan Huy family for preserving the shrine, and states that he himself hails from the Phan ancestral line. He concludes his note by promising to try and carry on the teachings of his ancestors.

From the Vietnamese state-run Thanh Nien News, here is Mr. Ban’s message:

“I am deeply humbled to visit and pay my deep respect to this house of worship of Phan Huy Chu [which he wrote in Sino-Vietnamese] and other [Phan] family members.”

“Thank you for preserving this house of worship.”

“As one of the [Phan] family, now serving as Secretary General of UN, I commit myself that I will try to follow the teachings of ancestors.”

Here’s the photo via the same source, and includes the translation from English written by Ban, to Vietnamese:

And here is a picture, via the same source, of the U.N. chairman with the Phan Huy family during his visit in May:

Pretty neat news. And apparently, Ban Ki-Moon’s Vietnamese name is Phan Co Van. Also pretty cool.

In visiting the Phan Huy family shrine, and in penning that message in his own words to declare that he is of Vietnamese ancestry, it is fair to assert here that the U.N. Secretary General has Vietnamese roots.

Well, there you have it. Ban Ki-moon has Vietnamese ancestors, and hails from the Phan family. He is the chief of the United Nations, an international organization, he does work that benefits mankind and humanity, and he has Vietnamese roots. I’d say that this is some nice news.

Sources:

BBC, Thanh Nien News, Tuoi Tre News