New Village Movement Loch Kimchheang

Having received fund and technical support from the government of the Republic of Korea (South Korea) to implement the New Village Movement project in Cambodia in 2009, Kampong Thnal became a role model village in Prey Veng province as well as all over the country (Buth, 2015). Through three core spirits of New Village Movement or Saemaul Undong (SMU) that are “diligence”, “self-help and “cooperation”, villagers were successful in improving their living conditions. According to Buth (2015), Kampong Thnal village where 90 percent of villagers migrated abroad struggled for their better lives. However, due to implementation of this project, almost 90 percent of those migrated villagers had returned to the village.