By Eugene Lee
Despite being a six- or seven-hour flight away, Central Asia for many in Korea remains terra incognita, an exotic land. However, in reality it is close and attractive to Korea.
Among many others, I find two reasons to that attract immediate interest: the presence of a Korean diaspora and the current economic clout pursued by governments in the region. Even if the first few Korean families arrived in the region in the mid-1920s, a huge spike began from a major forced deportation by Stalin from the Soviet Far East to the then Soviet republics of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan in the summer of 1937.
By the end of several waves of these deportations, according to the documents 171,781 ethnic Koreans (36,442 families, but the exact number is still being disputed) were thrown in 124 cargo and cattle train cars and relocated.
Many of these ethnic Koreans were involved in the construction of North Korean statehood, and some even worked as North Korean ambassadors and diplomats. For example, the main negotiator who signed the armistice ending the Korean War was General Nam Il who was sent to Pyongyang in 1946 from Uzbekistan under the name of Nam Yakov Petrovitch. Many Soviet Koreans maintained Soviet passports along with resident documents in North Korea and China and were actively engaged in political affairs of both countries.
The next historic turn was the breakup of the Soviet Union, which led to normalization of relations between Central Asian states and South Korea, and effectively introduced a new actor in shaping Korean diaspora populations. The competition for the influence over the Korean diaspora in Central Asia between North and South Korea spread quickly into various areas, even academia and culture. As South Korea began to establish Korean Cultural Centers in the early 1990s, its influence increased and eventually ties with Pyongyang were swiftly replaced with an upgrading of relations with Seoul. These ties today present a very good platform for further cooperation.
In Uzbekistan, for example, the Korean diaspora have been able to gain a fully fledged organizational registration and have a number of Korean education centers around the country.
South Korea is one of Uzbekistan's key foreign economic partners and the Korean diaspora play a large role in facilitating the relationship. The reorientation in relations towards South Korea was made by then President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov. In return, after a long assessment by the South Korean government and businesses, Seoul chose Uzbekistan as a destination for investment and trade, counting its massive domestic market which is as big as those in other Central Asian states put together.
Meanwhile, with the implementation of the "industrial trainees" programs in South Korea, or, with the use of cheap labor from developing countries through a quota, the number of Koreans from Uzbekistan began to grow not only at plants, factories and construction sites but also in South Korean universities. In parallel to that, the number of young spouses from Uzbekistan became a majority of spouses from all Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries.
The economic acceleration became more rapid after President Shavkat Mirziyoyev succeeded the old-school communist leader Karimov in 2016. Undergoing a political transition, Uzbekistan is opening up its economy gradually and its society is hungry for change. South Korea and Uzbekistan already maintain diplomatic relations. However, I see a big potential in the spheres of governance, healthcare and education ― in which South Korea has substantial experience ― which can meet the Uzbekistan government's demands for their reforms. The administrative transition has since changed the overall orientation of the country and set off on a search for a proper model for economic development. South Korea, which is already involved in the effort through various development assistance programs, can seek deeper and more profitable involvement in this.
Eugene Lee (mreulee@gmail.com) is an adjunct professor of international studies at the Graduate School of Governance at Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul.
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Among many others, I find two reasons to that attract immediate interest: the presence of a Korean diaspora and the current economic clout pursued by governments in the region. Even if the first few Korean families arrived in the region in the mid-1920s, a huge spike began from a major forced deportation by Stalin from the Soviet Far East to the then Soviet republics of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan in the summer of 1937.
By the end of several waves of these deportations, according to the documents 171,781 ethnic Koreans (36,442 families, but the exact number is still being disputed) were thrown in 124 cargo and cattle train cars and relocated.
Many of these ethnic Koreans were involved in the construction of North Korean statehood, and some even worked as North Korean ambassadors and diplomats. For example, the main negotiator who signed the armistice ending the Korean War was General Nam Il who was sent to Pyongyang in 1946 from Uzbekistan under the name of Nam Yakov Petrovitch. Many Soviet Koreans maintained Soviet passports along with resident documents in North Korea and China and were actively engaged in political affairs of both countries.
The next historic turn was the breakup of the Soviet Union, which led to normalization of relations between Central Asian states and South Korea, and effectively introduced a new actor in shaping Korean diaspora populations. The competition for the influence over the Korean diaspora in Central Asia between North and South Korea spread quickly into various areas, even academia and culture. As South Korea began to establish Korean Cultural Centers in the early 1990s, its influence increased and eventually ties with Pyongyang were swiftly replaced with an upgrading of relations with Seoul. These ties today present a very good platform for further cooperation.
In Uzbekistan, for example, the Korean diaspora have been able to gain a fully fledged organizational registration and have a number of Korean education centers around the country.
South Korea is one of Uzbekistan's key foreign economic partners and the Korean diaspora play a large role in facilitating the relationship. The reorientation in relations towards South Korea was made by then President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov. In return, after a long assessment by the South Korean government and businesses, Seoul chose Uzbekistan as a destination for investment and trade, counting its massive domestic market which is as big as those in other Central Asian states put together.
Meanwhile, with the implementation of the "industrial trainees" programs in South Korea, or, with the use of cheap labor from developing countries through a quota, the number of Koreans from Uzbekistan began to grow not only at plants, factories and construction sites but also in South Korean universities. In parallel to that, the number of young spouses from Uzbekistan became a majority of spouses from all Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries.
The economic acceleration became more rapid after President Shavkat Mirziyoyev succeeded the old-school communist leader Karimov in 2016. Undergoing a political transition, Uzbekistan is opening up its economy gradually and its society is hungry for change. South Korea and Uzbekistan already maintain diplomatic relations. However, I see a big potential in the spheres of governance, healthcare and education ― in which South Korea has substantial experience ― which can meet the Uzbekistan government's demands for their reforms. The administrative transition has since changed the overall orientation of the country and set off on a search for a proper model for economic development. South Korea, which is already involved in the effort through various development assistance programs, can seek deeper and more profitable involvement in this.
Eugene Lee (mreulee@gmail.com) is an adjunct professor of international studies at the Graduate School of Governance at Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul.
