A coincidence ... this 'Korn'-cidence?

Hun Sen (L) when he was still one of the communist leaders of the People's Republic of Kampuchea, Sdach Korn's bust (R) as seen by a contemporary sculptor.

Thursday, March 29, 2007
History: Hun Sen finances a book on Sdach Korn

By Leang Delux
Cambodge Soir
Unofficial Translation from French by Luc Sâr

Click here to read Cambodge Soir’s original article in French

The Prime Minister financed and provided a foreword to a book about Sdach Korn, a Cambodian historical figure, 5,000 copies of which were distributed out. He wants to rehabilitate this ordinary man who toppled his king and ruled during the 16th century, a man to whom the Prime Minister feels much affinity to.

The Prime Minister is now launching into history book publishing. Hun Sen financed a recently printed book dedicated to Preah Sdach Korn – an ordinary man who toppled his king and ruled over Cambodia during the 16th century – and to which Hun Sen provided a foreword. Almost 5,000 copies of the book written by Ros Chantrabot, the vice-president of the Cambodian Royal Academy, were distributed in various libraries in the country.

Sdach Korn, an ordinary man who became a king, is often compared to Hun Sen, a comparison which Hun Sen readily accepts. Sdach Korn was born from a “cast” that no longer exist nowadays, that of the families of Buddha servants, in comparison to Hun Sen who spent part of his youth at the Neakavoan pagoda, located along the Pochentong Boulevard. Both Sdach Korn and Hun Sen were born in the year of the dragon. Finally, both hold in common the fact they were born as ordinary men, and they have both climbed to the summit of power. “People say that I am reincarnation of Sdach Korn,” Hun Sen likes to recall.

As the brother-in-law of King Srey Sokunboth, Korn fell out of the King’s favor when the latter dreamt about a naga (dragon) which toppled him and destroyed the palace. The following day, the King saw an appearance: 2 nagas were floating above Korn’s head. The fortunetellers immediately confirmed his strange premonition: a man born in the year of the dragon would plunge the kingdom into chaos and he would topple the throne. Sentenced to death by the king, Korn was able to escape and formed an army to topple Srey Sokunboth. Becoming the new king, Sdach Korn reestablished order in the society and introduce the first currency in Cambodia, the sleung which is still being printed nowadays by the National Bank as tourist souvenirs.

However, nowadays, Sdach Korn suffers from an ambiguous reputation: he is sometimes seen as a man who is thirsty for power and who does not hesitate to take it by force, and sometimes he is seen as a peaceful monarch who brought prosperity to the kingdom. The prime minister financed in part this book in order to rehabilitate the memory of this little-known historical figure. In his foreword, Hun Sen couldn’t stop praising his intellectual guide whom he presents as the true inventor of individual freedom, and the first theoretician on class struggle. “One can consider Sdach Korn as a world-class hero: he was the first to put into practice the freedom principle, well before France – which is known as the country of Human rights, and where rights and freedoms were initiated not until the 18th century. Sdach Korn also used the theory of class struggle to build the country, whereas Karl Marx, the father of communism, did not publish his theory until the 19th century,” Hun Sen explained. He considers Sdach Korn to be the catalyst for the first democratic revolution in Cambodia. In order to rally people to his cause, Sdach Korn promised them to abolish the “cast” of families of Buddha servants which was hereditary, as was the custom since several centuries ago.

In his introduction, Ros Chantraboth pointed out 3 episodes in the history of the kingdom where an ordinary man toppled the throne. During the 13th century, Trasak Pa’em (sweet cucumber) killed King Sihanouk Reach, whom he mistook for a thief. He married the king’s daughter and took over the throne. During the 16th century, it was Korn’s turn to rise against the palace, and during the 20th century, Marshall Lon Nol toppled Norodom Sihanouk. “These 3 events are not natural and their causes are complex. The majority of the population supported these coup d’état. The consequences must be drawn for the new generations [to learn about],” he wrote. According to Ros Chantraboth, a professor in political science, Sdech Korn’s chapter is the least studied about, and this led him to work on it. He insisted that [the writing of this book] has no demagoguery aim. “I work on it since 1993. I specialized myself in political science to understand the theories and political strategies, to learn how my ancestors’ country was built. I want to know the factors which destroy and weaken our nation,” he explained.

Several initiatives involving Sdach Korn are currently being undertaken: in addition to this book, and the printing of the old currency, the sleung, the prime minister announced last year, his willingness to develop a tourist site at the location of Sdach Korn’s former city, north of Kompong Cham.