Saint Paul Tong Viet Buong was born in 1773 in Phu Cam, Diocese of Hue. He came from a family with a tradition of revering God. His grandfather and father were Catholic, serving the Nguyen Dynasty for many generations.
Later, Saint Buong became a palace guard of the Hue court. He had two wives and twelve children. As an upright official, he was promoted to the rank of imperial palace guard and was praised many times by King Minh Mang. Despite being busy with court affairs, he always maintained and taught the Catholic faith to his children.
In 1832, after reviewing a list of Catholic soldiers, the king did not see his name because he had been expelled from the army. The king ordered him to be imprisoned at the Tran Phu prison. Here, he was shackled, tortured, and repeatedly tempted to renounce his faith in order to restore his titles, but he remained steadfast in the Catholic faith.
Due to his meritorious service to the court, his trial was conducted discreetly to avoid public unrest. On October 23, 1833, the death sentence was carried out at the Tho Duc execution grounds in the evening. His remains were buried in the Phu Cam church.
On May 27, 1900, Saint Paul Tong Viet Buong was beatified. On June 19, 1988, he was officially canonized a saint.