Visitors to the Fresno Cambodian Night Market are treated to the sights, sounds and taste of a traditional event originating in Southeast Asian. Photo by Frank Lopez

In 2014, Fresno Police Sgt. Danny Kim travelled where he never wanted to return — his Cambodian homeland.

Kim, 47, had not been back to his native Cambodia since his family escaped the Khmer Rogue regime, which ruled from 1975 to 1979 under brutal dictator Pol Pot. Pot’s program of punishing minorities and political enemies resulted in the Cambodian genocide — the death of 1.5 to 2 million people.

When Kim was a month old, his family was forced into a Khmer Rouge death camp. After three agonizing years, they managed to reach a refugee camp in Thailand around 1978. At age 11 — after living in the refugee camp for seven years — Kim and his family came to the U.S. in 1986.

They settled in San Antonio, Texas, for a time before moving to Long Beach — then a bustling site for refugee programs. Next it was Stockton, where Kim earned an associate’s degree. Then he made the move to Fresno on his own, where at age 22 he was hired by the Fresno Police Department.

Kim returned to Cambodia in 2014 to accompany his father, who was too frail to travel alone. During that trip, he experienced first-hand his own culture — especially the bustle and activity of a typical Cambodian street market in the evening.

“A night market is an event over there because it allows people to get together at the end of the week, celebrate and relieve stress,” Kim said. “To me, a night market in Fresno is a resiliency program.”

Kim returned to Cambodia annually until the pandemic hit — helping the community where he was born with charity work with help from his wife.

Here at home, Kim was able to build relationships with the Fresno Cambodian Buddhist Society, to bring more attention to the culture with community leaders. Kim wanted to help provide opportunities for local businesses to make extra income.

The idea? Bring the Cambodia night market experience to Fresno. That happened in 2019 at the Buddhist temple at 2533 N. Valentine Ave. north of Clinton Avenue with traditional Cambodian music and dancing, vendors and food. Initially, the Cambodian Night Market was held each Friday, with a large turnout offering support.

It was a hit, garnering worldwide attention online. Kim said a Cambodian man in New Zealand wrote a song about it. A Cambodian-French family even came over for a visit.

The Fresno Cambodian Night Market Facebook page also received praise and positive comments from Cambodian people around world for retaining culture and tradition for the next generation.

When COVID hit, the Cambodian Night Market was postponed until July 2021. Because of staffing and funding limitations, it is held the first Friday of each month.

Kim said that he did face some challenges when first organizing the Cambodian Night Market back in 2019. Some of the small Southeast Asian business owners were apprehensive to take part, Kim said, fearing that not enough people would show up.

According to Kim, a majority of the Southeast Asian businesses are owned and operated by people not well versed in business laws and regulations, which he attributes to fear of being punished for lack of knowledge and language barriers that could stifle communication.

He has noticed this in the Latino business community as well, saying that business owners are reprimanded for breaking rules that they might not even be aware of.

He also faced an uphill battle in convincing the Buddhist temple staff to buy in to his idea. Kim stressed that the market would benefit business owners and attract more nearby neighbors in the community to the temple.

“When people in the community know each other, they’re less likely to commit crimes against one another,” Kim said. “By introducing the community to Cambodian culture and ethnicity and tradition, we can build a relationship and bond.”

The Cambodian Night Market is currently still being held on the first Friday of the month from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.. Kim still encourages all of the public to visit, and for vendors to reach out to become a part of the night market.