HOF035: Bunkorn YUN

Bunkorn Yun was born in 1953, in the province of Takeo in Cambodia. He was the son of a wealthy family. During his youth, he spent his years with Buddhist monks during his high school studies.

Young man, Bunkorn received his bachelor’s degrees from the University of Phnom Penh. When the war broke out in 1975, like many other Cambodians, he had to leave the capital city. Still in Cambodia, he agreed to work as an agricultural technologist, a position offered by Khmer Rouge officials.

A few years later, troubled by the political and economic changes in the country, he decided to escape to Thailand. He created compasses to guide his journey to the country. When he arrived in Thailand, the police imprisoned him and treated him as a slave. During his few months of imprisonment, Bunkorn and his friends raised enough money to pay for their transportation to Bangkok. In Bangkok, they went to the French Embassy to ask for help. Embassy officials encouraged them to report to the Surin refugee camp. Once settled in the camp, he was offered the responsibility of running a farm in the area.

After several months, Bunkorn was welcomed to Canada in March 1979. He wrote a story about his experiences in Cambodia during the Khmer Rouge regime and told his story to Father Robert Venet who was a missionary in Cambodia.

Today, Bunkorn lives in Montreal, Quebec. He is developer-real estate developer at his company.

 

 

Bunkorn’s Escape from the Khmer Rouge

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