To Kim Hong: The life and career of the one-time "Cai Luong Beauty"

To Kim Hong was born in 1950. She is the only daughter of talented musician Kim Anh. The first role of artist To Kim Hong on the stage of the Capital troupe was the role of the empress in the play "The Night of Sulk in the Cold Palace".

In the Capital delegation for three years, she followed her father to Kim Chung 5, Kim Chung 6, Kim Chung 2, then to Thai Duong... A fond memory is when she returned to Kim Chung 5 - one of the great states at that time, she was given the role of poison and dangling. It was the role of the princess in The Madman and the Princess. This role brought her some success.

After 1975, on the stage of Saigon 1 Reform Luong troupe, artist To Kim Hong continued to resonate with his diverse acting abilities through roles such as: Sculpture Boat play Phung Nghi Dinh, Luu Yen Ngoc play Manh Le Quan, Hanh play Moon to the top of the mountain, Mrs. Huyen play Clam Shellfish Hon ... In the stage of troupe 2.84, To Kim Hong again has roles associated with his name such as: Pho Y Lei Vu, Phuong Thanh play Wedding dress in front of the temple gate... In 1993, To Kim Hong received the title of Elite Artist.

Answering the question, she considered herself lucky to follow the singing career under the guidance of her father, musician Ba Kim Anh in Soc Trang, To Kim Hong said: "My father taught me to sing in a deep, lyrical voice. Every season, everyone talks about my mother, and I prefer to mention my father. Because he instilled in me a warm love for the stage when I was a child. In my family, my mother taught me about culture, because she was an elementary school teacher, and my father taught me to sing, put introspection into the lyrics, so that the character's identity touched the listener's heart," Su Kim Hong recalled.

Looking at the journey of striving for an art career has passed, Dr. To Kim Hong said that life and people change day by day. The artist, too, must update new circumstances to make the performance more lively. She always follows the performing arts activities of the stage in the mass media.

In the theater world, many female artists have been awarded titles such as: Kim Lan "Khoi of the Southern Stage"; Thanh Tung "Theatrical Lady"; Shen Thuy Hang "The Beauty of Binh Duong"; Russian bar "Queen of the stage"; Snow White "Reformed Liang"; Diamond "Maiden"; America "Queen of Swordsmanship" ... and she was the "Reform Beauty."

For To Kim Hong, this title speaks of the audience's affection for the artist, including her being awarded the title of "Beauty of Cai Luong". The beautiful word here contains two elements, beautiful in stature and beautiful in performance. The title therefore reminds her to be careful when appearing in public. Her principle is to live sincerely, go on stage wholeheartedly and put yourself in the role.

Faced with the current state of theatre, she noticed that some young people see the profession as an actor as simple. They think that taking shortcuts is easy to fame, but in folklore, there is a saying: "Precious lake is not precious lake" - that is, when aiming for professionalism, there is no need for quantity but a minority of elites. Talent search competitions are increasing, but the elite must be forged. There must be standards to determine what is elite, top-notch. We neglect the professional runway, and as a result, the stage is turned away by the audience," she said.

Speaking of young actors, she did not dare to advise, but only dared to speak her mind: "The beauty of reform is the noble title that the public has bestowed on me. I've always yearned to contribute, but it's hard for me alone to bring spring to the stage. Young people have many opportunities, prove their ability, do good for the profession."

In terms of personal life, To Kim Hong used to have a happy time when he had a frugal life with his partner - artist Nam Hung.

Artist To Kim Hong - Nam Hung has been charmed since participating in the performance at Saigon 1 Cai Luong troupe.

For Su Kim Hong, what she loves about her husband is filial piety, devotion, and devotion to friends and colleagues. However, he was at times quite short-tempered, and his grievances were straightforward. And she, who was afraid of collision, often followed behind him to calm him down. She said he once said, "I really have you, I can't do anything." Each time, Su Jinhong only laughed and said, "I know how to crow, so I don't talk anymore. In the past, whenever I was mad, I wanted to go out a little bit for relief. But I didn't know where to drive, where to go, so when I got to the door, looked up and down for a while, I didn't know where to go, so I went back into the house."

The artist said she was never jealous of him. When he was still alive, during the summer holidays, she also accompanied him to the old lands - the place where his beautiful love affairs in his youth were kept. She always respected his past memories — respecting a part of her life that she wasn't there to cherish and preserve their present days together.

In her youth, she didn't like life in her youth, she didn't want to go anywhere, she just liked to stay at home. Su Jinhong said she always kept in mind: "Happiness is not far away. It's right at your fingertips, if you recognize and appreciate it."

In 2020, artist Nam Hung died of a violent illness. Before he died, Su Jinhong was the one who worried about him until his last breath.

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