Philip Jones Griffiths Photos Show Vietnam Daily Life in 1980

According to Saigoneer, Welsh photographer Philip Jones Griffiths documented daily life in Vietnam in 1980, five years after the war ended. His photographs captured moments of recovery and routine across the country. Featured scenes include the interior of a general store in central Hà Nội. At a rural school in northern Vietnam, the yard still held trenches once used as bomb shelters. In the countryside, farmers worked together digging irrigation canals in a field. In Huế, local residents sectioned off an outdoor space. These photographs record everyday moments during a period of postwar transition.

Griffiths had an unusual path into photography, as reported by Saigoneer. He had no formal photography training and originally studied pharmacy. A part-time job as a photographer for the Manchester Guardian introduced him to the craft, which became a lifelong passion. In 1961, Griffiths freelanced for the London-based Observer, covering the Algerian War and then the conflict in Vietnam from 1966 to 1971. His 1971 book, Vietnam Inc., presented candid images of the country to a global audience. His 1980 photographs revisited Vietnam nearly a decade after the book was published.