Kampuchea Krom

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Kampuchea Krom (Khmer: កម្ពុជាក្រោម, Kâmpŭchéa Kraôm [kampuciə kraom]; "Lower Cambodia") is the region variously known as Southern Vietnam, Nam Bo, and the former French Cochinchina.^[1] Bordering present-day Cambodia, the region is positioned in Cambodian irredentist narratives as a "once-integral part of the Khmer kingdom that was colonised by France as Cochinchina in the mid-nineteenth century and then ceded to Vietnam in June 1949".^[2] This narrative persists despite historical cessations to the ruling Nguyễn Lords of the period, with the latest one occurring in 1770. In the present day, the region roughly corresponds to the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam.

Kampuchea Krom continues to be home to many ethnic Khmer Krom, with some Khmer estimating their numbers to be between seven million and over ten million,^[2] despite the government's census of the population of Khmer Krom in Vietnam at 1.32 millions by 2019. It’s a hope that a rough of ten of millions would receive their freedoms as they are fighting hard at the UN. The Khmer term "Kampuchea Krom" can be translated as "Lower Cambodia".^[2] An alternative name for the region is "Kampuchea Lech Tuek" (កម្ពុជាលិចទឹក Kâmpŭchéa Lĭch Tœ̆k [kampuciə lɨc tɨk]), which roughly corresponds to "Flooded Cambodia".^[2]