Cambodian people are exceptionally kind and open to visitors given the horrors they had to endure in the past. By nature, Cambodians are gentle and will avoid anger, conflict, and simmering tempers at all costs.
Shouting, raising your voice and aggressive arguing will get you nowhere in the Kingdom because it causes loss of face, and may even lessen any chances of resolution.
Remember to keep your calm, and a smile goes a mile. Similar to people from other Southeast Asian countries, the mellowness of Cambodians are forged by a strong belief in Buddhism teachings.
The Cambodian people’s characteristics and behaviors are also under the influence of Confucianism, which focuses on love and respect for the family, commitment to education, hard work, loyalty, and obligations to the communities, etc.
If you have the chance to embark on an Indochina tour, you will notice that Cambodian people are very sophisticated and they hide so much more under their warming smiles.
If you know about the tragic past of Cambodia, you will come to admire the smiles on people’s faces. During the Khmer Rouge years, Cambodian gentleness and warmth were undermined to some degree, but it’s still very much alive because compared to the Vietnamese, who are known to be fighters, Cambodian norms discourage aggressiveness, anger, and conflict.
You can hardly find alcoholism, crime, open confrontation, and conflict within communities because the Cambodian sense of commitment to a common good for their society is very strong.
Cambodians used to have a “live for today” attitude that is somewhat similar to Laotian people and people from Southern Vietnam.
One of the most-used expressions is “it doesn’t matter” because Cambodians have a sense of acceptance, the same with people from countries that are under the influence of Theravada Buddhism. People tend to be more accepting of what they have, and care more about karma than determination.
This can reduce the amount of stress that people have, but as a result, the sense of competition in people is also lowered. Cambodians generally avoid confrontation and they don’t want to show that they are angry in public.
Aggressive people are considered boorish and crude and outward expression of anger can damage one’s name.
They will express their attitude through a third person and try their best to avoid face to face confrontation. The fact that people are taught to keep their extreme emotions like anger and passion in check can sometimes be good and sometimes harm them.
In addition, people also think very highly of Buddhist beliefs, maintain a deep reverence of the royal family, and stay loyal to their friends and family.
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