Exploring a corner of Cambodian-Japanese “Culture”

This article is part of the series of article “CULTURE” in collaboration with “Nyonyum Magazine”.

What do you imagine when you hear the word “Japanese culture” and “Khmer culture?” Culture is a value created and circulated by people in a region or society. Every day, each of us participates in the creation of a new culture through various forms and activities, by learning from our neighbors and sharing our knowledge and ideas with others. The Japan Foundation is operating a cross-cultural exchange program overseas and developing a new culture with Khmer Smile Magazine, which is introducing Cambodian people to Japan, to inform about Japanese and Cambodian culture from different angles as a part of the “International cultural exchange” activities.

Pursuing the borders in the world

Lim Sokchanlina

by contemporary artist Lim Sokchanlina

Lim Sokchanlina is an artist who is active in a broad range of fields such as  photography, video, site-specific installations, and performance. In 2017, his works were exhibited in the program called “SUNSHOWER: Contemporary Art from Southeast Asia from the 1980s to Now” co-organized by the Japan Foundation Asia Center and  The National Art Center, Tokyo and Mori Art Museum in Japan. He was also invited to the “Singapore Biennale 2019”. We had an opportunity to meet this person who continues to actively create arts, and ask him about his passion for creation.

KiZUNA Connected Through “Filter”- Intangible and invisible Message in Art

This article is part of the series of article “CULTURE” in collaboration with “Nyonyum Magazine”.

Born in France and raised in Canada, FONKi, a 31-year-old Cambodian, creates drawings of subjects such as portraits and stone statutes, using techniques of street art and of delicate and detailed depiction. In this interview with FONKi, the artist tells us how he created his current art style and how he worked on KiZUNA memorial mural in collaboration with Japanese artists.

Landing in Cambodia on the wave of fate: Head Coach of U-19 National Team, Mr. GYOTOKU Koji

[Photo Credit: FFC]

The Cambodian U-19 team defeated the Thai and Vietnamese U-19 teams at the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) championship led by the head coach, Mr. GYOTOKU Koji, who has been dispatched by the Japan Foundation Asia Center in collaboration with the Japan Football Association (JFA) to Football Federation of Cambodia (FFC). Mr. GYOTOKU also led the team to the victories against Thailand​, the Northern Mariana Islands and Brunei in 2019 in the preliminary of Asian Football Confederation (AFC). These victories brought Cambodia to the AFC Finals, for the first time since 1974, held in Uzbekistan. (*The finals were supposed to be held in 2021, but later, it was cancelled due to the spread of COVID-19). Expectation for good performance of U-19 team is growing in Cambodia as the popularity of football is rising.

We will check out further about Mr. GYOTOKU!

A passionate man who vowed to devote his life to the movie, Director Huy Yaleng ហ៊ុយ យ៉ាឡេង (Age 41)

Huy Yaleng
(Fathers) Interaction with fans at the time of screening, 2020

A Cambodian movie theater that was temporarily suspended due to the effects of the new Coronavirus infection. While the movie theater is finally reopening and the returning of audiences, this year too, the Japan Film Festival, sponsored by The Japan Foundation Asia Center, will be held in November, and Japanese movies including the latest work will be on screening. On the other hand, while “horror movies” are popular in Cambodia, ‘Dumbei Kon – Fathers” (In short, “Fathers”), which describes a modern Cambodian family, has appeared before the arrival of Covid19 pandemic, However, it has caught the hearts of the younger generation of spectators. We asked the Director, who is creating a new trend in the Cambodian film industry, about the world of Cambodian film.