Cambodia (/kæmˈboʊdiə/ (listen);[11] also Kampuchea /ˌkæmpʊˈtʃiːə/; Khmer: កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: Kâmpŭchéa [kampuciə]), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of 181,035 square kilometres (69,898 square miles), bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, Vietnam to the east, and the Gulf of Thailand to the southwest. The capital and largest city is Phnom Penh.
"Nokor Reach" originated from a folk poetry usually performed with chapei in ancient era for storytelling and to disclose any recent events.[2][3]
The music of "Nokor Reach" was composed between 1938 and 1939 by Prince Norodom Suramarit during the reign of King Sisowath Monivong with help of Sir J. Jekyll and Sir François Perruchot,[1][4] the Royal Palace's musical instructors. The lyrics were not finished until 20 July 1941 by Choun Nath, a few months after King Norodom Sihanouk's coronation. In the same year, it was adopted then reconfirmed in 1947 as a national anthem for the country.[5]
In 1970, the monarchy was abolished by the Khmer Republic, thereby replacing the state's national anthem as well. After the communists' victory in 1975, former royalist symbols, including "Nokor Reach", were reinstated for a short while. The Khmer Rouge then replaced it with "Dap Prampi Mesa Chokchey" ("Glorious Seventeenth of April") in January 1976.[6] After the royalist party FUNCINPEC defeated the former communists (Cambodian People's Party) in the 1993 elections, the royalist state anthem was restored.