What started as 'Angkor Chat' to become Cambodia's national messenger

Expanding the messenger into a comprehensive mobile life platform with shopping, payments, content and more

Senior Cambodian government officials attend local announcement, expressing their excitement

Korean IT company Union Mobile is accelerating its project to create a national messenger for Cambodia. The company is expanding its existing messenger app 'Angkor Chat' to a comprehensive digital life platform 'Angkor Life' and holding a launch event in Cambodia to revitalize the service.

On the 22nd (local time), Union Mobile held a presentation of 'Angkor Life' at Hayat Regency Hotel Phnom Penh, located in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and announced its future business and marketing plans. The event, which was attended by UnionMobile's CEO Hee-seung Lee, senior Cambodian government officials, and local and international industry representatives, presented the blueprint for UnionMobile's national messenger business in Cambodia.

UnionMobile's upcoming project, 'Angkor Life', was born out of the need for a local messenger in Cambodia. UnionMobile has been working with key Cambodian government officials for more than two years to plan and develop the project.

Union Mobile originally developed the messenger app Angkor Chat, but has decided to expand its services to Angkor Life, a mobile life platform that provides various functions such as messaging, shopping, payment, streaming, delivery, taxi, reservation, and games in one app.

UnionMobile aims to make a splash in the Cambodian market, where WhatsApp, Telegram, and Facebook Messenger are dominant, with localization as its top advantage.

The name “Angkor,” a word that symbolizes Cambodia, and the logo design, which depicts the Lom Dewlap flower, the national flower of Cambodia, are familiar to locals, and the service fully supports Khmer, the official language of Cambodia, to ensure convenience. “We created 'Angkor Life' by applying advanced Korean IT technology to Cambodian sensibilities,” said Lee Hee-seung, CEO of UnionMobile, explaining the background of the naming and logo design in consideration of local sentiments.

The convenience of using various services in a single app is the core of 'Angkor Life' that Union Mobile is touting as its advantage. “We integrated three popular mobile services, community, commerce, and content, with a focus on user convenience,” said Lee. Through messengers and social media, users share information and form communities. Information about good products, services, and content is shared through online communities, and information about good products or services leads to purchases, which requires payment. 'Encore Life' has organized its core services so that information, products, and purchases can be interconnected,” said Mr. Lee.

'Encore Life' will be equipped with chat (messenger), shopping (open market), games, streaming (OTT), payment, delivery, taxi, and reservation services. It will integrate and interconnect the three major service communities, commerce, and content. Union Mobile is committed to providing more advanced services with domestic and international partners.

After establishing itself in the Cambodian market with 'Angkor Life', Union Mobile is planning to enter the neighboring Southeast Asian markets. “We are developing AI translation technology, which is already 80% complete,” said Lee. We will grow it into a platform where users and operators in Cambodia and neighboring countries can actively communicate and engage in economic activities,” said Lee.

The event was attended by a number of senior Cambodian government officials.

Senior Minister Om Yentieng, who chairs the National Anti-Corruption Committee, said, “After people, roads, water, and electricity, digital technology is important. In the face of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, Cambodia is also striving to respond to the digital transformation of its economy and society. Digital technology is the foundation for Cambodia's goal of becoming a high-income country by 2050.” ”Social media apps such as Facebook, Telegram, and Instagram are popular, but they are all foreign programs. 'Angkor Life' is now available to make domestic communication more sustainable and convenient,” he said, declaring the official launch of ‘Angkor Life’.

Mr. Yoon Ha-cheong, KOTRA Phnom Penh, expressed his hope that 'Angkor Life' will become a successful example of cooperation between Korea and Cambodia. “Korea ranks sixth in the world in digital competitiveness and is engaged in digital cooperation with Cambodia in various fields,” said Yoon. ”Angkor Life is an app that incorporates Korea's advanced technology and will contribute to changing Cambodia's digital life.”