Quoc Dung

Quoc Dung (1951-    ) is a famous Vietnamese songwriter and musician.  He is also known for being the husband of singer Bao Yen.   

He was born in Thailand in 1951.  Both of his parents were of Vietnamese origin who had been living and working abroad at the time of his birth.  At the age of 3, Quoc Dung's parents decided to return to Vietnam and resettled in Saigon.  While he was only 10 years old, Quoc Dung was admitted as a student at the Saigon Academy of Fine Arts.  After completion of high school, he studied at the Saigon Conservatory of Music.

Tuyết Lan and Quốc Dũng
 in the 1973 film, Trường Tôi

Quoc Dung first gained national attention at the age of 15 when he made his first television appearance in South Vietnam playing the mandarin as a solo.  Two years later, he published his very first written song, Em Da Thay Mua Xuan Chua.  Quoc Dung would then become one of the most prolific young songwriters among the young adults demographics in South Vietnam during the early 1970s prior to the Fall of Saigon.  Among his other popular songs he had written during this period included Mai, Con Gio Thoang, Ben Nhau Ngay Vui, Bien Mong, Ngai Ngung and Diep Khuc Mua Xuan.  He had also found success as part of a pop music duo with singer/actress Thanh Mai.  And in 1973, Quoc Dung had starred in his first feature film, Truong Toi, alongside Thanh Lan, Bang Chau and Thanh Mai.

Thanh Mai and Quoc Dung Prior to 1975

After the Fall of Saigon, Quoc Dung remained in Vietnam and eventually became one of the most prominent musicians in Vietnam.  He continued to write and publish a string of widely popular songs in Vietnam after 1975 such as Hoang Vang, Chuyen Ba Nguoi and Cali Chieu Hoi Ngo.  In 2005, Quoc Dung was reunited with Thanh Mai as a duo performing a medley of his songs, Que Huong va Mong Uoc, Bien Mong and Ben Nhau Ngay Vui, on volume 78 of Paris By Night, produced by Thuy Nga Paris and filmed in Toronto, Canada.

He lives in Ho Chi Minh City with his wife, singer Bao Yen.  The couple are proud parents of two grown sons, Khai Ca and Bao Chau, both of which are now also musicians.