Pen Ron

Pen Ran  also commonly known as Pan Ron in some Romanized sources intended for English-speaking audiences, was a Cambodian singer and songwriter who was at the height of her popularity in the 1960s and early 1970s. Known particularly for her western rock and soul influences, flirtatious dancing, and risque lyrics, Pen Ran has been described by the New York Times as a "worldly, wise-cracking foil" to the more restrained Cambodian pop singers of her era. She disappeared during the Khmer Rouge genocide and her exact fate is unknown.

Pen Ran disappeared during the Khmer Rouge genocide of the late 1970s and her exact fate is unknown. Her younger sister Pen Ram said that she survived until the Vietnamese invasion of late 1978/early 1979 when the Khmer Rouge launched their final series of mass executions. Given the goal of the Khmer Rouge to remove foreign influences from Cambodian society, Pen Ran's individuality probably ensured her death. In a 2015 BBC documentary on the band Cambodian Space Project, who have covered many of Pen Ran's songs, it was alleged by an interview subject that she was tricked by the Khmer Rouge into performing one of her songs, after which she was led away and executed. Starting in the late 1990s, interest in Pan Ron's music was revived by the album Cambodian Rocks and similar CD compilations, while the documentary film Don't Think I've Forgotten described her as one of the most influential artists of her era.