big in Cambodia

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big in Cambodia

Korea’s strong

Commitment to the Kingdom

A POST PluS SuPPlemenT On The OccASiOn Of

SOuTh KOreA’S nATiOnAl dAy

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Can you describe the histo- ry of South Korea-Cambodia relations and how have they developed over the years?

Korea and Cambodia established diplomatic relations in 1970, but those ties were severed in 1975 when the Khmer Rouge regime took power. The two countries resumed diplomatic ties in 1997, and the normalisation of diplomatic relations has led to the remarkable growth in our bilateral ties across the full range of political, economic development and cultural cooperation.

In particular, the exchanged visits by Prime Minister Hun Sen and the former Presi- dent Lee Myung-bak in 2009 strengthened the basis for the bilateral cooperation. Fur- thermore, Prime Minister Hun Sen’s visit to Korea and sum- mit meeting with President Park Geun-hye last December provided the opportunity to expand the scope and deepen the level of cooperation between the two countries.

South Korea has been a ma- jor source of development as- sistance to Cambodia. In what areas does the South Korean government provide most of its support? And in what areas has it seen the most improvement?

Korea’s development assistance focuses on four priority sectors – agriculture and rural development(technical cooperation in agriculture, and the transmission of New Village Movement); health and medical sector(construction of hospitals and medical facilities, support to development of health policies); transport and green energy infrastructure (development of master plan study on various industrial fields); and human resources development (support to the development of high level human resources, focusing on skilled labour force).

These priorities were set based on the country partnership strategy (CPS), which reflects Cambodian government’s development plan and Korea’s experience of

economic development and poverty reduction.

The health sector seems to be the area where we have seen the most improvement for now. In particular, KOICA’s supports to “mother-and- child” health care have greatly contributed to reducing both maternal and infant mortal- ity in Cambodia. Further- more, the projects such as the strengthening of Siem Reap Provincial Hospital, Batheay Referral Hospital and National Pediatric Hospital and the establishment of Preah Angduong Eye Hospital enhance exchanges of medical expertise and know-how.

When it comes to devel- oping infrastructure, what are some of the projects the Korean Government has been involved in and how does this promote regional integration?

The Korean Government, through its EDCF (Economic Development Cooperation Fund), exerts its efforts to establish [infrastructure] in Cambodia. Especially in the transport sector, Korea is involved with construction and renovation projects of road networks including National Road No 2, No 22, No 48 and rural roads.

Alongside with the establishment of the AEC, Cam- bodia has the potential to become a major logistics hub for Southeast Asia by connect- ing Thailand and Vietnam. In this sense, I believe that these projects would certainly help the regional integration as well as the development of Cambodia.

Can you describe the aim of the New Village Movement Project, its history and how is it being undertaken?

There are many similari- ties between Cambodia and Korea. Like Cambodia, Korea went through a civil war and a period of poverty in the 1950s.

Therefore, Korea better under- stands what Cambodia needs for its development, more so than any other country and tries to share its experience

and knowledge from its own development process.

In this regard, Korea is supporting Cambodia’s New Vil- lage Movement Project (SMU:

Saemaul Undong).

Inspired by Korea’s community-based rural development movement in the late 60s and 70s, which was the driving force behind Korea’s modernisation and rapid economic growth, the New Village Movement focuses on promoting the villagers’

voluntary participation in rural communities in Cam- bodia, through development of SMU masterplan, offering policy consultations, training Saemaul leaders and operating 30 pilot project villages.

As Korean ambassador to Cambodia, what are some of the goals you wish to ac- complish?

My major mission as an ambassador is to enhance bilateral relations between Korea and Cambodia in all areas-politics, economy, development cooperation and culture, etc.

In particular, I would like

to take the current economic cooperation to a higher level, establishing institu- tional frameworks for bilateral economic cooperation and expanding business opportunities for both Korean and Cambodian entrepreneurs. In this vein, we are now studying to launch the Joint Economic Committee, designed to ac- celerate the journey towards the co-prosperity of the two countries by working out more efficient and effective systems to boost trade and investment.

When it comes to busi- ness, what is the current level of bilateral trade? And how much has it increased over the years?

According to current statistics, the volume of two-way trade amounted to $750 million, a 14 times increase from $54 million in 1997. The major export items from Cambodia to Korea are garment related products, rubber, agricultural products. Major import items from Korea are garment materials, used cars, cellphones and medical products.

Under the Employment Permission System, how many Cambodians have gone to live and work in South Ko- rea? How has this benefitted Cambodia’s labour force and strengthened ties between the two countries?

Currently, about 40,000 Cambodian workers live and work in Korea through the EPS program. I think this can help the Cambodian economy in many aspects. First, those Cambodian workers can earn money in Korea that is more than enough to support their families and help their livelihood. At the same time, after they come back, they can share their know-how learnt in Korea and contribute to their motherland’s development.

Also, for the Korean economy, Cambodian workers are very important, as they provide a very much needed labour force, especially for those industries suffering from a shortage of labour.

What are some of the things that attract Korean investors to Cambodia?

I think there are several factors to be considered. First, the Cambodian economy continues to show a high rate of growth and the economic outlook is very positive. Sec- ond, there is little discrimina- tion against foreign investors, except real estate businesses.

Third, its strategically beneficial location as the centre of the Indochina peninsula can also be attractive to investors.

How many South Korean businesses are operating in the Kingdom?

According to the Korea EXIM Bank’s data in 2015, 748 Korean businesses are operating in Cambodia. Most of investments go to the areas such as garments, construction, real-estate, restaurants and tourism. Currently, investments in banking and agriculture sectors are also increasing.

Are there any specific issues that are hindering

South Korean investment into Cambodia? What changes could be implemented in order to promote deeper trade relations?

Though investments from Korea are increasing, Korean business people still encoun- ter many challenges in Cam- bodia- insufficient infrastructure, bureaucracy and low transparency of the adminis- tration and sharp increase in minimum wage, etc.

The Cambodian government’s efforts to improve those business environments would be crucial to attract more direct investments from Korea.

With more flights than ever operating between Cambo- dia and Korea, how has this impacted tourism?

There are direct flights from Korea to both Phnom Penh and Siem Reap every day.

During the high season, from November to March, up to five or six flights operate daily between Korea and Cambodia.

The increase of direct flights between Korea and Cambodia has been accompanied by growing visits by Korean tour- ists. In 2013, about 430,000 Ko- reans visited Cambodia, which is the third largest number next to Vietnam and China.

How do you foresee the development between the two countries growing in the future?

Despite relatively short peri- ods of the diplomatic relationship, Korea and Cambodia have developed strong partnerships in many areas such as politics, direct investment, cultural exchange and development cooperation.

There is a genuine friendship between the two countries at all levels – from high-level officials to business people and NGOs – and the two countries consider each other as a priority partner with shared values and experiences. In this sense, I am confident that Korea and Cambodia will continue to deepen and broaden the partnerships of trust and happiness for the generations to come.

Q&a with ambassador Kim Won-jin on the

relationship between Cambodia and South Korea

S

INCE South Korea’s Economic Development and Cooperation Fund provided its first loan to Cambodia in 2001, EDCF’s total commitment in Cambodia has reached $600 million across 18 projects. Cambodia now ranks fourth in terms of accumulated loan commitments among 52 partner countries of EDCF as of 2014.

In 2013, a framework arrangement was agreed between the Cambo- dian and Korean governments with a maximum commitment of

$200 million, approving five new projects with a commitment of

$230 million. These investments have helped to foster stronger diplomatic and economic ties

between Cambodia and Korea.

EDCF’s policy in Cambodia is based on the country partnership strategy led by the Korean prime minister’s office, in line with the priorities of the Cambodian Rectangular Strategy Phase and the National Strategic Develop- ment Plan. Accordingly, EDCF has focused its support on infrastructure development in Cambodia, such as transport and water resources, with the aim of achiev- ing economic growth and poverty reduction.

Of the18 projects planned so far, nine projects are related to road construction and improvement, focusing on rural road networks that remained in poor conditions. The

areas range from southern regions (Kampot and Takeo), central regions (Tonle Sap Basins), to north- western provinces (Sisophon and Samrong). Six projects are involved

in the water sector, mainly divided by water resource improvement in Siem Reap and Krang Ponley and dam construction in Sala Ta Orn, Monkol Borey and Dauntri.

This year, EDCF will pave its way to strengthen development cooperation with Cambodia by opening its representative office in Phnom Penh in November. In addition, bilateral governments will sign the amended framework arrangement by increasing the maximum commitment by $300 million. Approval of two new projects are also expected: Road No 3 improvement project and an irrigation project in Bantey Meanchey. For the coming years, EDCF will further contribute to Cambodia’s economic development by diversifying its sector approach and improving development effectiveness.

EDCF, operated by the Export-

Import Bank of Korea (herein- after Korea EXIM Bank), was established in 1987 to support developing countries in their efforts to achieve industrialisation and economic stability. As a pillar of Korea’s ODA, EDCF supports concessional loans to the countries to implement development projects in various sectors, such as transportation, energy, water sup- ply, sanitation and education. The Korean government entrusted the Korea EXIM Bank with EDCF operation and management, and the bank comprehensively manages the fund’s activities from appraisal to evaluation, as well as loan agreement execution and advisory services.

eDCF is building the infrastructure backbone of Cambodia

Kim Won-jin, South Korean ambassador to Cambodia. SUPPLIED

GMS improvement of National Road 56. SUPPLIED

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S

INCE its establishment in 1991, the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) has been responsible for grant aid programs and has orchestrated Korea’s official development assistance.

KOICA has set up 47 overseas offices in 46 developing countries; accordingly, the KOICA Cambodia Office opened in Phnom Penh in 2003, distributing grants of $155 million from 1991 to 2014.

This year, the Cambodia office has given $24 million in assistance, making Cambodia KOICA’s second largest partner after Vietnam in terms of aid volume.

KOICA has a broad spectrum of assistance programs mainly consisting of development projects, capacity development programs for government officials, a volunteer program named

“World Friend Korea” and public-private partnership (PPP) programs.

In each of these categories, KOICA Cambodia has completed 42 development projects, invited a total of 2,580 government officials to Korea, dis- patched 385 volunteers and implemented 120 public-private partnership (PPP) projects. In response to the high demand from Cambodia, KOICA carries out development projects in four main sectors.

First, in the agriculture and rural development sector, KOICA aims toward promoting community development by improving water management infrastructure, empowering farmers, creating jobs and developing local economy.

Since 2014, KOICA has implemented a self-supporting rural development project with Saemaul Undong (SMU)’s participatory approach, also known as the New Village Movement.

In support of the New Village Move- ment, KOICA will focus on developing a national master plan, set up a central training institute for community leaders and launch community demand-driven projects to empower 30 model villages in Kampong Speu, Thbong Khmum and Takeo provinces. All projects are sched- uled to happen by 2018 and are based on the premise of individual voluntary participation, which will be achieved through the principles of diligence, self-help and cooperation. Furthermore, the SMU rural development project will provide an essential outlet for the sus- tainability of not only the rural areas but every community in Cambodia.

KOICA’s second priority is Cambodia’s health sector. As a part of its efforts to improve quality of and access to public health care, KOICA has successfully established five public hospitals: the National Pediatric Hospital, Preah Ang Duong Eye Hospital, Maternal and Child Medical Center in Siem Reap Provincial Hospital, Batheay Referral Hospital and the Korea-Cambodia Friendship Hospital in Kampong Chhnang.

To broaden horizons and extend the scope of health projects, last year, KOICA

started to support Cambodia Health Sec- tor Support Programs with other major donors in order to operate the health equity fund, a pro-poor health financ- ing scheme that targets identified poor households and funds service delivery grants.

Furthermore, KOICA also supports the development of transport and industrial infrastructure with a goal of building the foundation for an eco-friendly and sustainable economic growth. The major on-going project in this sector is a feasibility study on waterway improvement for port logistics development in Cambodia.

Human resource development is another critical task for KOICA. As KOICA’s landmark project, the Cambodia-Korea Cooperation Center (CKCC) at the Royal University of Phnom Penh provides better learning environments to students, faculties, researchers and local residents.

CKCC offers various educational programs focused on information and communication technology, and Korean language courses. It acts as the cultural exchange hub between Korea and Cam- bodia. In this sector, KOICA will continue to employ all its resources to share Ko- rea’s knowledge, skills and experiences, such as in various development projects including the establishment of the Civil Aviation Training Center.

In addition to the four priority sectors, the KOICA Cambodia office explores new areas of cooperation such as culture,

financial industry. From 2014 to 2016, KOICA will continue to work on the project for security market development with a goal of promoting capacity building for the Cambodian government, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Cambodia and the Cambodia Securities Exchange to attract more firms.

Another fresh attempt is the restora- tion and conservation project for Preah Pithu Temple of Angkor Complex, which commenced this year.

KOICA also works closely with international organisations.

This year, KOICA supports three projects: a UNICEF project on improving maternal and newborn health among deprived populations, a UNESCO project on preservation and digitalisation of Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum and a UNIDO project that creates jobs in electronic waste to support job creation.

KOICa leads in the pursuit of skills

and opportunity

Design of the Civil Aviation Training Center at Phnom Penh International Airport. SUPPLIED Construction of an irrigation system in Kampong Cham province. SUPPLIED

From left to right: Country Director of KOICA Cambodia Baek Sook-hee, Ambassador Kim Won-jin, Dr Lou Ly Kheang and Prime Minister Hun Sen meet at the opening ceremony of Preah Ang Doung Eye Hospital. SUPPLIED

Preservation and conservation project at Preah Pithu temple. SUPPLIED

aDVerTOrIaL KOICA’s key areas of aid:

1) Development projects

2) Capacity development programs for government officials

3) Volunteer programs named “World Friend Korea”

4) Public-private partnership (PPP) programs

Key implementations for the New Village Movement until 2018:

1) National master plan 2) The central training institute for community leaders

3) Demand-driven projects to empower 30 model villages in Kampong Speu, Thbong Khmum and Takeo provinces

T

HE Embassy of the Republic of Korea believes that the exchange of culture is the key tool in deepening the friendship between Cambodia and Korea. Just as the embassy prepared colourful events in the first half of this year, such as the 2015 K-Pop World Festival, the 2015 Quiz on Korea and the Cambodia-Korea Fellowship Classical Music Concert, the embassy will also prepare more amusing events over the rest of 2015.

First, the Embassy will hold Korea Day for Cambodian workers at the Olympic Stadium (the National Football Stadium and the National Basketball Court) on December 13, which aims to provide Cambodian workers employed at Korean com-

panies with a chance to experience Korean culture and to have a fun with their colleagues.

Second, the embassy will hold the Korean Ambassador’s Cup Taekwon- do Competition 2015: Hope for 2023”

at Booyoung Taekwondo Center from November 5 to 6.

The taekwondo competition aims to foster young taekwondo athletes in Cambodia. We wish that this competition will contribute the development of taekwondo in Cambodia.

Third, the “Ninth Korean Film Fes- tival: Special Director Lee Jun-ik” will be held at the Legend Cinema in Toul Kork from November 27 to 29. Direc- tor Lee Jun-ik will visit Cambodia for the film festival, and his five films will be screened for free.

embassy gives Cambodia a taste of Korean culture

T aekwondo match at the Korean Ambassador’s Cup 2014. SUPPLIED

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Natalie Leung

I

F YOU have a business idea and want to pitch it, then send it to the Korea Trade-Investment Promo- tion Agency (KOTRA), which helps build not only your business, but also the startup culture in Cambodia.

KOTRA, a state-funded trade and investment promotion organisation operated by the South Korean government, has long worked to promote young entrepreneurship in both its own countries and other countries with the Global Young Businessmen (GYB) program.

The startup incubator has nurtured young entrepreneurship in Indonesia, Vietnam and United Arab Emirates since 2013. This year, the program comes to Cambodia, where the competition “Next Business Leader in Cambodia” has been organised in May under the program.

Ten teams out of 37 were selected to enter the final competition. During the six-month incubation period, all teams can receive business training including in marketing and accounting.

In addition to the funding support of

$200 for each team every month, the 10 participating teams can grow with assistance in the form of offices, mentoring and networks.

For extra funding, however, participants have to find their own investors to raise their own funds like startups do in real business environment, which dif- ferentiates the competition from others like it.

“Most people take part in business competitions and win prizes or gifts, then that’s it. I don’t know how many of them will start their businesses afterwards,”

said general manger of KOTRA Daniel

Park. “But for our program, members would at least try to own their business after the training courses, gaining business experience.

While there are many competitions where participants can only set up their businesses after they win the funding from the competition, KOTRA’s competition starts with providing a $200 startup grant to each team to carry out their business plan in one week, aiming to help its members to set up their own companies.

After one team dropped out from the competition, three teams stood out from the nine teams because of their business strategy and profit, including the teams of graduate student Meon Savoeun and university student Hang Viseth.

Everyone can sell soft drinks, but Meon turned it into a successful business plan by contributing part of his profits to charity. Meanwhile, Hang proved that large investment is not necessary by us- ing less than $50 to make more than $100 in profit simply by selling taro desserts.

“Most of the team made profit in the first round. This shows that if people want, they can make profits and create jobs without investing a huge sum of money,” said Park, adding these are the role models that Cambodia needs.

“In South Korea, in addition to the rich resources available to new startups, there are many successful businessmen as role models for young people to look up, showing people that setting up their business can be one of the ways to success,” said Park.

In Cambodia, however, Park noticed even more than 70 per cent of university students choose business-related subjects as their major, and many of them choose to work at banks or large

companies, “I have talked to many young people about entrepreneurship, but many of them said that they don’t have enough money, their thinking of business needs money.”

Hang’s friends may even think that owning their businesses sounds unreal- istic. “When I talked to my friends about my business plan, they just laughed at me, saying I was dreaming,” said Hang. “ Most of my friends only care about how to study hard, they do not think about starting up a business, even some do but they never take actions.”

Hang, nevertheless, likes to act rather talk. After the first round of the competition, he and his teammates worked on another business “Mario”, making their own Korean-styled lunch boxes and providing delivery service.

Finding it hard to ask restaurants to provide delivery service for orders less than $10, Hang successfully pitched his idea of offering cheap or even free lunch box delivery to an investor, earning

$50,000 seed money for his business.

After spending one month on research and learning to make Korean food, Hang

stated his business days ago and has already received nearly 20 orders.

Meanwhile, with his experience in marketing industry before, Meon also managed to find an investor for his company V-Direct Marketing to provide marketing services including marketing research, business consulting and promotion.

“I have to build my own dream, if I don’t, someone will hire me to build their dreams,” said Meon.

It may sound like a cliche, but process is more important than outcome in this competition. All the teams, with many of them being students, can gain important experience in running a business.

They can even bring their businesses to another level by cooperating with Korean teams if needed.

Still the prize is equally tempting. A judging panel consisting of members from education and business sectors and organiser will select the qualified teams, which can receive an investment worth up to $50,000 from the Korean company Joybells Co, Ltd.

However, if no team is qualified, the company would not make any investment. “It is not a donation, it is an investment, they [investors] want people with real business minds,” said Park, who believes this program can provide a platform to match local startups with Korean companies according their needs.

Incubating Cambodia’s

startup culture

.The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), helps nurture Cambodia’s startup culture. SUPPLIED

Working alongside Korean advisors, Cambodians can fine-tune their business ideas. HONG MENEA Natalie Leung

T

HE Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a United States-led trade agreement that is still under negotiation, may change the playing field of overseas investors in Cambodia, as Mi-Ho Jon, director general of the Korea Trade & Investment Promo- tion Agency worried in a recent interview with Post Plus.

After the bankruptcy of Lehman Broth- ers in 2008, which induced a financial crisis that swept through global financial markets, South Korean investment in oversea markets including Cambodia was put on hold.

But with the global economy’s recovery from the crisis and renewed investment, many Korean investors have returned to Cambodia to develop local industries including the garment sector in Cambodia.

Seeing large potential in Cambodia, South Korean investments in the country reached $4.46 billion as of March 2015, making South Korea, the second largest investor in Cambodia after China, according to CDC statistics.

In addition to Cambodia’s low labour costs, Jon said investors also enjoyed tax incentives as Cambodia is one of the beneficiaries of the EU’s Everything but Arms scheme. The EBA is a trade regime installed to support the 49 least developed nations in the world, including Cambodia, with duty free access to the EU for exports of all products, except arms and ammunition.

Vietnam, however, may have an edge over Cambodia upon the immi- nent completion of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, as Vietnam is among the 11 countries in Asia and the Pacific benefit- ting from the deal. At the same time, Vietnam has, in principle, inked a trade agreement with the European Union, which will be finalised soon. With tax incentives for trade with Europe and the United States, investors might choose Vietnam over Cambodia in manufactur- ing of goods for export.

According to Jon, because of Vietnam’s future trade agreements, Cambodia may become less competitive, and Korean investors might be reluctant to make new investment.

Trans-Pacific Partnership may affect

Cambodian trade with Korea, KOTra says

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900

Trade between Cambodia and South Korea 2013 and 2014

2013 2014 2015

Info graphic produced with data supplied by KOTRA.

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Moeun Nhean

W

HILE more Cambodians

venture abroad looking for higher paying jobs, those who have found work le- gally in Korea say that it has allowed them to support their families back home.

Chear Mengheang, who first travelled to Korea for work in 2011, has been able to earn enough to send money home to his younger siblings and grandmother in Tbong Khmum province.

“I always send over half of my salary from Korea back home,” Mengheang said. While he said that he does not know if his family can be deemed wealthy, they have been able to invest his earnings.

“My younger brother has a motorcycle to ride, and after he got married, they launched a moto repair shop in my home [province]. With my earnings, my young- est sibling can attend school regularly,”

he said.

Mengheang is just one of 4,000 Cam-

bodian migrants working in Korea this year under an employment scheme between the Cambodia’s Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training and the Korean government. Since 2007, the program has sent some 42,000 Cambodians to work in Korea, primarily in agriculture.

Workers like Mengheang receive between $1,000 to $1,500 a month, which has helped to improve economic relations between both countries.

Data from Acleda Bank showed the bank handled $70.1 million in trade pay- ments from Cambodia to South Korea during the first eight months of the year.

Money transfers from South Korea received by the bank totalled $130.3 million during the same period.

To qualify to work in Korea, however, Cambodian workers must pass an exam at the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training to receive legal migrant status before they can be hired by a Korean company.

Moving to Korea is also not without

its challenges. Mengheang said that the Korean winter was a shock after spending his entire life in tropical Cambodia, but he eventually got used to it.

“In Korea, I will never forget the first winter I experienced,” he said. “It was so cold, it made my bones hurt.” But with

proper accommodation and the right clothing to resist the elements, he has gotten used to the changing seasons.

Agricultural worker, Sim Sothy, 30, from Kandal province said he has also found working in Korea to be financially beneficial, sending home $600 each

month. However, like Mengheang, he has also faced challenges.

Since Sothy first arrived to Korea over three years ago, he has changed jobs twice when he was unsatisfied with the work and his boss’s behaviour. Feeling that his skills were not being used, Sothy sought out other jobs.

“My new boss is a respectable man who cares about our living, and I also enjoy this work very much,” he said of his new job planting chilli peppers.

Sothy said that although most Korean bosses are respectable individuals and like Cambodian migrants, “there are still some greedy bosses, as well.”

However, he said that he appreciates the strong legal protection for workers in Korea in case they have problems.

“Jobs in Korea have timely hours, rules and tasks to be completed, and it works very well,” Sothy said. “We must obey Korea’s law, and our bosses must comply as well.”

Khmer

labourers in Korea send

benefits home

A South Korean pepper farm. The majority of Cambodians in Korea work in agriculture. SUPPLIED

Sim Sothy (Centre) with his Korean boss and wife. SUPPLIED

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Rebecca Heliot

W

ITH Korea’s

culture rag- ing through the countries of Asia through K-pop, food and business, the Cambodia-Korea Co- operation Center (CKCC) brings Korean culture to the Kingdom through training courses, events and cultural exchanges.

This year, at the Korean Harvest Moon Festival held last Wednes- day, girls and boys dressed up in hanbok dress for the Korean tradi- tional clothing competition, while dancers moved to the rhythm of drums in their samul nori performance and students even entertained the crowd with their own K-Pop concert, mixing three or four famous songs throughout the show.

Next on stage, taekwondo students dressed in white robes and green or yellow belts, to show off their fighting skills with a skilled routine of breaking boards with only their kicks. Korean language students then picked their brains for answers during the Korean

culture quiz.

The event was complete with the scent of sweet bean paste, honey and rice as tables laid out song pyeon – Korean rice cakes – to truly bring in the essence of the Korean to the capital.

Besides the Korean Harvest Moon Festival, CKCC organises programs throughout the year to actively participate in the development of the Kingdom.

“Korean culture has hit many [Asian countries] very hard and we give them the opportunity to experience the real thing. They see it on TV, but through [these

events], they can actually experience it,” said CKCC director Thavouth Khoun.

CKCC has operated in Cambo- dia since April 2013, when it was founded with a $7.4 million grant from the Korean government and private donors.

Finding a niche in Phnom Penh, it regularly provides information and communica- tions technology (ICT) training, taekwondo lessons and Korean language classes.

To date, the CKCC’s ICT program has trained 2,000 students in software development and computer literacy. The ICT program focuses on five main subjects:

Android application and IOS application development, web and

software development, and Java programming.

Although the school is open to all students, Khoun said that CKCC encourages students from the countryside who have little to no experience with computers to participate so they can learn essential tools needed in the job market.

“We are proud of that because students increase their capacity and once they graduate, they have something extra to put on their CV,” said Khoun, adding that although they do not provide academic degrees, they do provide a certification. “Most of our students are university or high school students,” Khoun said. “However, some students come only to learn

the ICT program and go on to start their own business or go to work [straight away].”

Because the technology sector is constantly growing and changing, CKCC only hires professors who can keep up with rapid change. Their professors perform daily research to stay ahead of the curve.

Apart from the technology- based classes, the CKCC also has Korean-language classes, which aim to expand students’ career opportunities. In addition, CKCC is dedicated to hosting various events throughout the year that are celebrated in Korea.

For example, CKCC has also hosts food tasting events regularly where students, faculty and the public are invited to watch live

cooking demonstrations to appreciate the skill needed in perfecting a recipe. Khoun explained that NGOs often bring in students that can apply these cooking skills for employment, or their personal lives.

He added that while CKCC is still relatively new, the centre is continually trying out new events and programs best suited to aid in the Kingdom’s development, a point that is important to him.

“Korea and Cambodia [relations] is very important because Korea has a historical past with war and development, so it’s important for Cambodia to look at that and see [we] can move [this]

country further and faster,” said Thavouth.

Cambodians embrace

Korean culture

Contestants line up on stage in their hanboks to see who wins the Korean traditional clothing competition. SUPPLIED

‘Korean culture has hit many [Asian countries]

very hard ... [now]

they experience the real thing.’

THAVOUTH KHOUN, director of the Cambodia- Korea Cooperation Center Moeun Nhean

O

N THE tenth anniver- sary of the National Polytechnic Institute of Cambodia (NPIC) this May, the Korean government and the Royal government of Cambodia raised $27 million to construct the most cutting-edge technical school in the Kingdom.

Muong Phsay, vice president of academic affairs at NPIC, said that since the founding of the school in 2005, the school has

expanded enormously.

“In addition to the combin- ing of academic buildings, labs and workshops, the school is equipped with study equipment and materials for many skills and professions, similar to the stan- dard of educational establish- ments in advanced countries.”

Fourteen major subjects have been included in the curriculum, and students can study towards a certification, associate degree or bachelor degree in any of the fields. Study programs include

engineering, civil construction, telecommunications, computer sciences, Korean, English and many more.

NPIC also provides vocational training, which, according to Muong, is in high demand in Cambodia’s market and region- ally across Southeast Asia.

Muong added that NPIC gives students the opportunity to receive scholarships to study abroad in Korea, an opportunity that is in the process of being extended.

“Since the inauguration of NPIC, we have received good cooperation from Gyeongju University in Korea and [the Ko- rean International Cooperation Agency]. Now, we have received 12 more universities in Korea as well as some organisations repre- senting the Korean government,”

he said.

“[As of] 2015, 58 students and lecturers got scholarships to study in Korea ranging for their bachelor, master or doctorate degrees.”

The cooperation with Korean universities and organisations also allows the NPIC to host professors and students from Korea to share lectures to the students here.

“After our students graduate, 90 per cent get employed with a decent wage and play a contributing role to society,” Mu- ong said. “We, as lecturers and leaders of NPIC, are very proud when we see that the students graduating from our school are recognised for their high quality.”

Muong recalled how in 2005, when the school was first established, NPIC only received 248 students. However, this year, 2,300 students have enrolled in courses. With a maximum capacity of 1,700 students that the university’s master plan allows, the government has plans of constructing extra buildings for the school, he said.

For additional information, please contact 023 96 15 193, email: [email protected] , website: www.npic.edu.kh.

established with a $27 million grant from Korea, NPIC celebrates 10 years of success

Muong Phsay, VP of academic affairs at NPIC, standing in a well equipped classroom. SUPPLIED Study programmes at NPIC include engineering, civil construction, telecommunications, computer sciences, Korean, English and many more. SUPPLIED

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Eve Watling

I

N THE room of a bar- bershop-turned-dance studio in the outskirts of Phnom Penh, a group of 15 teenagers gather around small iPod speakers. They’re chatting and fiddling with their Supreme brand t-shirts and platform sneakers, but when a song comes on, they suddenly snap to syn- chronised attention, beginning a complicated dance routine to the K-pop song which rattles through the speakers.

The teenagers are members of Elaztix, a Phnom Penh-based dance group who specialise in

“covering” the dance routines in K-pop music videos. Elaztix formed in July of this year, when three separate dance groups merged and auditions were held for further members – keeping in line with the K-pop preference of seemingly squeezing in as many people as possible into a single group.

Already, Elaztix have become a local Facebook hit thanks to their homemade dance videos, tinted in washed out Instagram hues and featuring the members in

matching, Korean-inspired outfits. Their latest video, in which the female group members dance in a gym to AOA’s Heart Attack, has been shared over 650 times – which is especially impressive considering Elaztix’s oldest members are just 19- years-old.

K-pop dance cover groups have been around for a while, but Elaztix believe they are the only such group in Cambodia.

“A lot of dance groups here focus on hip hop, but we want to make something different,” says a 19-year-old dancer who goes by the name D.R. “We see so many popular dance groups from other countries, and we want that in our country too.”

“We chose the name Elaztix, because elastic can bend like a snake,” says fellow dancer G.O., who is also 19-years-old. “It also means we’re friendly and stick together and are adaptable to any situation.”

In a series of portraits intro- ducing each band member on their Facebook page, G.O. lists BTS, Infinite, Big Bang and Got7 as his favourite groups. When asked where Elaztix’s love of

K-pop comes from, he says that,

“We love the hair styles and the colourful outfits. K-pop is the most popular music with kids our age, and people at school always ask us to cover their favourite songs. We like the pop stars because they look so beautiful, and they train for five years [before joining a band].

They work really hard, and we appreciate them.”

“A lot of K-pop bands come to Cambodia and play on Koh Pich,” D.R. adds. “Once I travelled to Thailand to see [the group] 2NE1 perform. It was amazing – like flying!”

Elaztix’s enthusiastic embrace of K-pop has earned them their

own fans. Amongst them is Honglong, a 22-year-old student who has been following Elaztix since seeing them perform live at the Cambodia-Korea Coopera- tion Center. Over Facebook, he describes their dancing as “cool and powerful”.

The groups’ homage to K-pop is simple: they decide on a video by a group vote, and then learn the dance moves. Once they have the routine down, they find outfits and film the dance, before posting the video on Facebook, mostly to instant likes and ador- ing comments. Yet despite their fast-earned popularity, there are still some hurdles in their path.

“The hardest moves are flips,”

says G.O. “We don’t dare to do them, and we don’t have anyone to teach us either. Nobody teach- es us any of the dance moves; we just watch the videos and then learn it ourselves. We also watch and correct each other when we make a mistake.”

There’s no Korean Svengali behind this self-made troupe, so money, resources and support are another issue. “It’s hard to find places to film our videos,”

says G O. “We’re not famous enough yet, and people think we’re just kids messing about.

It’s also hard to find the right clothes, and it’s expensive because we only wear them once.

We’re just kids – we don’t have

jobs yet so our parents give us the money.”

However, D.R. points out that even parental funding is not often forthcoming. “Our parents think dancing won’t benefit our future and want us to study instead, even though we only practice on the weekends,” he says.

Nevertheless, members of Elaztix wants to see their group grow in popularity and recruit even more dancers. Last year, some members performed with their previous groups in a dance competition in a K-pop festival in Phnom Penh, and the group plans to compete again this year.

“And this year, we want to win!”

laughs D.R. shyly.

Meet the dance group bouncing to the sound of Korean pop

Young Cambodian dancers show off their K-pop dance skills. VIREAK MAI

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