"Don't Want to Be Seen for Looks" Dancer Who Declined Beauty Pageant Focuses on Promoting Cambodian Traditional Culture

Focusing Solely on Promoting National Traditional Culture

A Cambodian beauty who became famous online has attracted attention for reportedly refusing to participate in a beauty pageant. Currently working as a classical dancer locally, she is fully dedicated to promoting Cambodia's ancient culture.

On the 5th (local time), Hong Kong's South China Morning Post (SCMP) introduced Sokea Kimrang, a famous Cambodian dancer and influencer. She was born in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, and is a dancer who performs the traditional dance 'Apsara.' Locally, she is also involved in promoting the ancient Khmer Empire culture.

Sokea Kimrang, a traditional Cambodian dancer and influencer [Image source=Instagram]

Apsara is a traditional dance that originated in the Cambodian royal court, characterized by delicate movements performed to traditional music. Especially important are the hand and finger movements, each of which carries deep meaning. Kimrang has undergone rigorous training for 10 years since childhood to master this dance. She is currently 24 years old.

Kimrang has performed multiple times overseas in countries such as Japan, Thailand, France, Germany, and China, and as a result, she enjoys considerable popularity on social media platforms like Instagram. Her Instagram account has over 133,000 followers, and recently she posted a video on the short-form streaming platform TikTok attempting traditional Cambodian makeup.

Some have reportedly encouraged her to participate in beauty pageants. However, Kimrang declined, stating, "Appearing in movies or participating in beauty pageants could be perceived sexually and may damage my honor." Instead, she expressed her commitment to focusing on promoting Khmer traditional culture.

In fact, Kimrang's schedule is said to be very busy due to numerous domestic and international performances. In September last year, she performed a dance at Aoraki Mount Cook, New Zealand's highest peak, and in the same year, she performed at the 32nd Southeast Asian Games held in Cambodia.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.