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Two unpublished books tell the story of Cambodia in the 1950s, between history and family life
AN Studio has just announced the release of two major historical works on Cambodia, now available in EPUB and print formats. These works are sure to interest enthusiasts of Cambodia, its people, history, and culture, exploring the years 1952 to 1954, a key period marked by the kingdom's independence.

Partenaire Presse
Nov 183 min read


Commemoration: In Memory of the Cambodians Who Fought in the Trenches in 14-18
Let us recall that on November 11, 1918, the armistice ending the guerre de 14-18 was signed. The First World War, which caused more than 18 million deaths, saw the participation of thousands of volunteers from the French colonial empire. Among them were also Cambodians.

Christophe Gargiulo
Nov 116 min read


Cambodia & History: The kingdom's long and difficult road to independence
On this Sunday, November 9, 2025, the Kingdom of Cambodia commemorates the 72nd anniversary of the proclamation of its independence from the French colonial power. This national day, a symbol of sovereignty and rebirth, holds special significance for the Cambodian people. Through official ceremonies, parades, and tributes paid to His Majesty King Father Norodom Sihanouk, the architect of national freedom, the entire country celebrates the pride of its heritage and the continu

Christophe Gargiulo
Nov 88 min read


The truth about Cambodian refugees in Thailand during and after the Khmer Rouge
In April 1975, the Khmer Rouge regime took over Cambodia, plunging the country into four years of absolute terror and unprecedented genocide. The fall of Phnom Penh was followed by a policy of terror, organised famine, forced labour, mass executions and forced displacement.

Editorial team
Oct 153 min read


History: The long shadows of refuge, stories of Cambodian refugees in Thailand
In the late 1970s, as the brutal Khmer Rouge regime plunged Cambodia into horror, hundreds of thousands of Cambodians fled their country, finding precarious refuge in camps on the Thai border. These camps, such as Khao I Dang and Sakéo, appeared to be temporary havens in the face of genocide, but their reality soon proved to be far more complex and painful.

Chroniqueur
Oct 153 min read


The first mentions of Cambodia on world maps: meeting the first cartographers
On 10 October 2025, the SOSORO Museum hosted a fascinating lecture by Professor Olivier de Bernon entitled ‘The first mentions of Cambodia on world maps’. This lecture took an enlightened look at those who first sketched the Cambodian kingdom on maps, revealing both the fascination of these pioneers and the glaring limitations of their understanding of the territory.

Editorial team
Oct 154 min read


Cambodia & history: Xavier Brau de Saint-Pol Lias, A travel aristocrat at the heart of Indochina
In the XIXᵉ century, when Europe was still vibrating to the rhythm of the great explorations and dreams of the Orient, one name resonated in scholarly and adventurous circles: that of Xavier Brau de Saint-Pol Lias.

Editorial team
Oct 135 min read


Cambodia & Khmer Rouge: The tragic fate and legend of Sean Flynn
The name Sean Flynn immediately conjures up a double legend: son of the legendary actor Errol Flynn, hero of the adventure films of Hollywood's golden age, and intrepid photojournalist who mysteriously disappeared in the middle of the fighting in Vietnam. His story, a blend of glamour, action, bravery and tragic disappearance, still fascinates journalists, historians and adventure enthusiasts today.

Editorial team
Oct 64 min read


Cambodia & History: Paul Doumer, the little-known architect of French Indochina
In French colonial history, some names resonate more loudly than others: Jules Ferry, Albert Sarraut and Lyautey. But one of the most striking figures, although less mentioned today, remains Paul Doumer. Governor General of Indochina from 1897 to 1902, and future President of the French Republic, he was above all a rigorous, pragmatic and authoritarian administrator, whose actions had a profound impact on Vietnam, Laos and above all Cambodia.

Editorial team
Oct 14 min read


History & Society: Cambodia, the birth of a Constitution
Cambodia will celebrate today the 32nd anniversary of the Constitution, promulgated on 24 September 1993.

Christophe Gargiulo
Sep 247 min read


The History of Cambodian Archaeology: Between Discovery, Colonialism and Renaissance
Cambodia, the cradle of one of South-East Asia's most fascinating civilisations, is now world-renowned for its exceptional archaeological heritage, particularly the site of Angkor Wat, a powerful symbol of Khmer identity

Editorial team
Sep 164 min read


Ernest Doudart de Lagrée: Pioneer and builder of the French protectorate in Cambodia
At the heart of the 19th century, as the European powers sought to extend their influence in Asia, an exemplary figure stood out for his courage, his erudition and his decisive role in colonial and scientific history: Ernest Marie Louis de Gonzague Doudart de Lagrée.

Christophe Gargiulo
Sep 103 min read


Cambodia & History: Étienne Aymonier, discoverer and mediator of the Khmer and Cham worlds
At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, amid the turmoil of colonial conquests and the exploration of distant lands, a remarkable figure emerged, who was in turn a soldier, linguist, explorer and scholar: Étienne François Aymonier (1844-1929). A man of many talents, he was the first scientist to methodically survey the ruins and decipher the inscriptions of the ancient Khmer kingdom—now Cambodia, Thailand, Laos and southern Vietnam—and to study the little-known Cham civil

Editorial team
Aug 274 min read


Khao-I-Dang: a complex refuge marked by abuse and crime
On the border between Thailand and Cambodia, the Khao-I-Dang (KID) refugee camp was established between 1979 and 1993 as the oldest and most iconic sanctuary for Cambodians fleeing the war and atrocities of the Khmer Rouge regime.

Editorial team
Aug 203 min read


Phnom Penh, 1972-1975: A unique perspective by Colin Grafton unveiled at the SOSORO Museum
Until 31 August 2025, the SOSORO Museum in Phnom Penh invites visitors to take a striking journey into Cambodia between 1972 and 1975, through the lens of British photographer Colin Grafton. This temporary exhibition, the result of close collaboration between the museum and the photographer, unveils a series of rare photographs that reveal the daily life, streets, and atmosphere of a country on the brink of collapse.

Editorial team
Aug 183 min read


A pilgrimage to Angkor: Pierre Loti's enchanted journey through the majestic ruins
At the beginning of the 20th century, Pierre Loti's travelogue ‘Un pèlerin d'Angkor’ (A Pilgrim at Angkor) played a major role in the French imagination, offering a poetic and melancholic immersion into the mystery of the ruins of Angkor.

Editorial team
Aug 123 min read


Lights of Exoticism: The flamboyant life of Jules Agostini, engineer, explorer and photographer from the ends of the earth (1859–1930)
Born in 1859 in the hamlet of Arbarella, on the rugged and proud island of Corsica, Jules Agostini grew up in fin-de-siècle France, with a vivid imagination for distant lands and the strangeness of other places.

Editorial team
Aug 74 min read


The evolution of the Kingdom of Siam in relation to the Khmer Empire: rivalries and cross-influences
The history of the Kingdom of Siam (now Thailand) is deeply linked to that of the Khmer Empire, both through a dynamic of military confrontation and through an extraordinary cultural and institutional heritage. Their shared evolution has helped shape the identity and geopolitics of the entire continental region of Southeast Asia.

Editorial team
Aug 62 min read


Journey to the heart of Cambodia of yesteryear: Reflections of a Bordeaux sailor on a land of untapped promise
At the end of the 19th century, a French merchant navy officer based in the port of Bordeaux wrote a rare and valuable account: a travel letter to Cambodia, then an independent kingdom under the absolute rule of a monarch described with striking frankness.

Editorial team
Aug 63 min read


Cambodia & History: Louis Delaporte, the visionary who brought Angkor to Paris
In the annals of 19th-century exploration, few figures are as daring and paradoxical as Louis Delaporte. A naval officer, artist, explorer and, above all, a fervent defender of ancient Khmer art, Delaporte left a mark that has stood the test of time, much like the bas-reliefs he designed under the Cambodian sun.

Christophe Gargiulo
Jul 234 min read


Cambodia & Books: ‘Little Brother...’, the journey of a child through war and hope
Publié pour la première fois en 1985, Little Brother d'Allan Baillie est un roman pour enfants poignant qui explore avec délicatesse les réalités déchirantes de la vie sous le régime khmer rouge au Cambodge à travers les yeux d'un garçon de 11 ans nommé Muong Vithy.

Editorial team
Jul 213 min read


Cambodia & the Khmer Rouge: The quest for memory and hope in Stung Treng
The landscape of Stung Treng province in northern Cambodia, peaceful with its converging rivers and lush vegetation, defies imagination when compared to the darkness that once enveloped it.

Youk Chhang
Jul 214 min read


Émile Gsell: The lens that captured the forgotten splendor of 19th-century Indochina
Émile Gsell (1838–1879) was one of the pioneers of photography. This self-taught French artist brought to light the majestic ruins of Angkor and the rich cultural mosaic of Southeast Asia at a time marked by expanding exploration and colonial encounters.

Christophe Gargiulo
Jul 164 min read


Indochina & Cambodia: Pierre Paul Marie Benoît de La Grandière, Master of Colonial Diplomacy
In the annals of French colonial history, few figures embody the ambitions, contradictions, and complexity of the 19th-century imperial project as much as Pierre Paul Marie Benoît de La Grandière.

Editorial team
Jul 85 min read
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