Vietnamese Cambodians (
Khmer: យួន,
Yuon) refer to ethnic
Vietnamese living in
Cambodia. They mostly reside in southeastern parts Cambodia bordering Vietnam or on
boathouses in the
Tonlé Sap lake and
Mekong rivers. The first Vietnamese came to settle modern-day Cambodia from the early 19th century during the era of the
Nguyễn lords, and most of the Vietnamese came to Cambodia during the periods of
French colonial administration and the
People's Republic of Kampuchea administration. During the
Khmer Republic and
Khmer Rouge governments in the 1970s, the Vietnamese were targets of mass genocides thousands of Vietnamese were killed and many more sought refuge in Vietnam. Ethnic relations between the
Khmers and Vietnamese are poor, and the Vietnamese have been the main target of
xenophobic attacks by political parties since the 1990s. Most of the Vietnamese are stateless residents of Cambodia, and as a result they face difficulties in getting access to education, employment and housing.