Khan Russey Keo: History
=== Two legends of the Royal Chronicles: the origins of the Emerald Buddha ===
There are two occurrences of Russey Keo in the Cambodian Royal Chronicles.
The first occurrence is in the story of legendary king Baksei Chamkrong; Baksey Chamkrong escapes from Angkor and finds refuge on Phnom Baset, southwest of Oudong, before fleeing to the island of Russey Keo where he was surrounded by his opponents.
The second occurrence of Russey Keo mentions this area as the settlement of Buddhagosa, who landed on Russey Keo after a storm disrupted his travels sailing from Langka to Laos. It is during this trip that he was travelling with various treasures, "jewels of sacred fire", such as several sacred texts of the Pali canon the Ounalom, Buddha's synophrys or unibrow, which gave their name to two local pagodas Wat Ounalom and Wat Langka. The Khmer King Batum Soryavong then came to help these settlements, and invited the monk to settle in Angkor with the statue of the Emerald Buddha, the Phra Kaeo Morakot, etiologically giving its name to the area.
Russey Keo, on the banks of the Tonle Sap River, is where the Dutch merchants established in the 17th century, given its name to one of the neighbourhoods of the district, Hoaland. The Catholic missionaries established their first parish called Saint Joseph's Catholic Church through a gift of land from King Norodom in 1867. Russey Keo district, soon became a gathering point for Annamites of all religious persuasions, the home of Phnom Penh cathedral and many pagodas.
Russey Keo has experienced dramatic urban development since the 1990s, including land reclamation. In March 1991, the People's Committee of Phnom Penh recommended the dredging of zones in Russey Keo, and in May 1991, the Cabinet Council of Ministers of Cambodia authorized the pumping of sand to enlarge the city. These developments have also giving rise to forced evictions and a certain number of land disputes, as those between collective groups of people and their Chief of Village who allegedly sold communal land and kept the money. Among these major developments, Camko City is an urban development zone being developed by a consortium spearheaded by World City Co., Ltd of South Korea in the Russey Keo district. It has a projected investment valued at $2.063 billion.