Mong caught national attention in Thailand in August 2008 when he won the Thailand Rocket Folding Championship as a 12-year-old student of Ban Huay Sai School in Chiang Mai province.
However, he was almost denied the chance to represent Thailand in the All Japan Origami Airplane Competitionn in Chiba, Japan, as he was stateless person, born to Shan migrant worker parents in northern Thailand. He was provided a temporary travel documents by the Thai government, which enabled him to compete in the event and he won third place in the male under-12 individual category.
His life story was made into a movie called, “A Time to Fly”, which was shown in local theatres in the past few months.
On Sunday, Mong Thongdee, who became a Thai citizen in 2018, will attend the graduation ceremony after securing his degree from Rangsit University’s Faculty of Communication Arts, Department of Film. Mong Thondee is currently working as a cameraman for a short-film crew. He believes that determination can lead to success.
