Minnesota Cambodian temple to celebrate $1M ‘Great Gate’ that was years in the making
Sie Song, seen on July 12, 2025, came to Minnesota about a year and a half ago to help with Watt Munisotaram's Great Gate.
Dymanh Chhoun | Sahan Journal
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Audio transcript
INTERVIEWER: This weekend, monks and other visitors from all over the world will gather near the small town of Hampton. It's just south of the Twin Cities. It's home to the Watt Munisotaram, which is the largest Cambodian Buddhist Temple in the United States. And in a new photo essay, Sahan Journal multimedia journalist Dymanh Chhoun shares scenes from the construction of this large, ornate gate at the temple's entrance.
And he reports the gate is almost complete after years of fundraising and construction. And I'm glad to say that he joins me here in the studio to talk about it. Welcome.
DYMANH CHHOUN: Thank you for having me. This is my first time here. I listened to you guys since I was 18. This is amazing. So happy that you guys have me here.
INTERVIEWER: Oh, it's great that you're here. OK. Now start by setting the scene and describing the temple for us.
DYMANH CHHOUN: The temple remind me of a little bit of Cambodia. And that was the reason why I always try to go there every time there's a celebration, there's a new year, any kind of event. Because I've been to Cambodia three times. And when you go there-- my first time ever been there, I got off, and everybody looked like me. And I grew up and lived in America for almost 32 years. Everybody don't look like me over here, you know?
So the temple gave me that little taste of Cambodia. And so this Great Gate that we're going to talk about remind me of that. It's like, right when I go past that Great Gate, I feel like I'm in Cambodia.
INTERVIEWER: So now is this the largest entry gate of Cambodian temple?
DYMANH CHHOUN: In America.
INTERVIEWER: In America.
DYMANH CHHOUN: Yeah, in America.
INTERVIEWER: OK. So describe it for us.
DYMANH CHHOUN: OK. So this Great Gate is amazing. It's beautiful, a lot of artwork. It's about 52 high, and the length is about 20 feet. Imagine that. And all cement-- but before you do all that outside, you got to do a lot of process inside. And that is a lot of work related to molding, related to pouring rubber and clay altogether. All this is a lot of process. It takes forever. That's why it takes that long from 2017, the day they want to do it, the day they started, until now, 2025.
INTERVIEWER: So tell us about your photojournalism. When did you start taking your pictures in the process?
DYMANH CHHOUN: I first pitch out the story-- I had to tell you a little bit about Sahan Journal. I had to pitch this story. And I was a little nervous and scared because I imagined what I'm going to see and what I'm going to get. But sometimes when you get there, you don't see and get what you want to capture. So I had to tell my photo editor about it. And then she told me, OK, let's try it out. And so I got there--
INTERVIEWER: Good editor-- that's a good editor.
[LAUGHTER]
DYMANH CHHOUN: Tricia. Her name is Tricia. She's amazing. And so I got over there. And I started seeing people working, not just normal people, but monk. Monk was over, there dressed up with that orange clothing, and then they just dressing up. And they all working together. And I look at it, and I'm like, wow, this is almost half done.
And so I went up and started taking pictures-- close up, wide shot. And I'm asking them questions. I talked to someone all the way from Chicago that come over here to volunteer. And I interview someone that is a monk that been here for about a year to help out. And then I also interviewed someone else that just been doing this at the temple for over 10 years.
INTERVIEWER: Wow. So, briefly, tell us what people can expect.
DYMANH CHHOUN: You can expect something you've never seen before. If you are a regular Minnesotan, you never seen this anywhere in this country. So if you go right into the gate or right when you get there, you will see this beautiful gate. That's the first thing you're going to see. And then along the gate, you will see posters. You will see artwork. You will see a lot of new stuff happening.
Even there's a place, a stair for you to go up to the main temple. And now they have amazing artifacts or artwork on that stair for you to take pictures. So if you want to take pictures, get ready.
INTERVIEWER: Well, thanks for taking your time. I really appreciate it. Dymanh Chhoun is a multimedia journalist for Sahan Journal. You can find his photo essay on the Great Gate at mprnews.org.
And he reports the gate is almost complete after years of fundraising and construction. And I'm glad to say that he joins me here in the studio to talk about it. Welcome.
DYMANH CHHOUN: Thank you for having me. This is my first time here. I listened to you guys since I was 18. This is amazing. So happy that you guys have me here.
INTERVIEWER: Oh, it's great that you're here. OK. Now start by setting the scene and describing the temple for us.
DYMANH CHHOUN: The temple remind me of a little bit of Cambodia. And that was the reason why I always try to go there every time there's a celebration, there's a new year, any kind of event. Because I've been to Cambodia three times. And when you go there-- my first time ever been there, I got off, and everybody looked like me. And I grew up and lived in America for almost 32 years. Everybody don't look like me over here, you know?
So the temple gave me that little taste of Cambodia. And so this Great Gate that we're going to talk about remind me of that. It's like, right when I go past that Great Gate, I feel like I'm in Cambodia.
INTERVIEWER: So now is this the largest entry gate of Cambodian temple?
DYMANH CHHOUN: In America.
INTERVIEWER: In America.
DYMANH CHHOUN: Yeah, in America.
INTERVIEWER: OK. So describe it for us.
DYMANH CHHOUN: OK. So this Great Gate is amazing. It's beautiful, a lot of artwork. It's about 52 high, and the length is about 20 feet. Imagine that. And all cement-- but before you do all that outside, you got to do a lot of process inside. And that is a lot of work related to molding, related to pouring rubber and clay altogether. All this is a lot of process. It takes forever. That's why it takes that long from 2017, the day they want to do it, the day they started, until now, 2025.
INTERVIEWER: So tell us about your photojournalism. When did you start taking your pictures in the process?
DYMANH CHHOUN: I first pitch out the story-- I had to tell you a little bit about Sahan Journal. I had to pitch this story. And I was a little nervous and scared because I imagined what I'm going to see and what I'm going to get. But sometimes when you get there, you don't see and get what you want to capture. So I had to tell my photo editor about it. And then she told me, OK, let's try it out. And so I got there--
INTERVIEWER: Good editor-- that's a good editor.
[LAUGHTER]
DYMANH CHHOUN: Tricia. Her name is Tricia. She's amazing. And so I got over there. And I started seeing people working, not just normal people, but monk. Monk was over, there dressed up with that orange clothing, and then they just dressing up. And they all working together. And I look at it, and I'm like, wow, this is almost half done.
And so I went up and started taking pictures-- close up, wide shot. And I'm asking them questions. I talked to someone all the way from Chicago that come over here to volunteer. And I interview someone that is a monk that been here for about a year to help out. And then I also interviewed someone else that just been doing this at the temple for over 10 years.
INTERVIEWER: Wow. So, briefly, tell us what people can expect.
DYMANH CHHOUN: You can expect something you've never seen before. If you are a regular Minnesotan, you never seen this anywhere in this country. So if you go right into the gate or right when you get there, you will see this beautiful gate. That's the first thing you're going to see. And then along the gate, you will see posters. You will see artwork. You will see a lot of new stuff happening.
Even there's a place, a stair for you to go up to the main temple. And now they have amazing artifacts or artwork on that stair for you to take pictures. So if you want to take pictures, get ready.
INTERVIEWER: Well, thanks for taking your time. I really appreciate it. Dymanh Chhoun is a multimedia journalist for Sahan Journal. You can find his photo essay on the Great Gate at mprnews.org.
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