[LINK] The 'Ugly Korean' in Mongolia

[rfmcdonald]

Over at the Marmot's Hole, the phenomenon of Korean misbehaviour in Mongolia is explored at length. It's the same old story: the wealthier and larger country is seen as exploiting its weaker partner both economically and culturally, while the weaker country's citizens are badly mistreated and sexually exploited. It's a shame that this is happening, since there's a good ratinoale for closer relations between South Korea and Mongolia:

Economic, political, security, cultural and personal ties between Korea and Mongolia are vibrant and growing stronger. Korean businesses are providing much needed investment in Mongolia and Korean tourists pouring welcome foreign currency into the country, while Korean pop culture is leaving its mark on Mongolian culture, particularly among the youth. Meanwhile, some 20,000 Mongolians work in South Korea, the largest single Mongolian expat community anywhere. For Mongolia, Korea provides a model of development as the Central Asian state struggles to find its legs in the world economy, while Mongolia’s relative success in its transformation from a communist one-party state to a multi-party democracy with a market economy may provide lessons for a post-Kim Jong-il North Korea. Strengthening security ties between Korea and Mongolia help provide the latter with a way out of its traditional dependence on ties with its two giant neighbors, China and Russia, while Korea’s successes in escaping its entrapment by its own neighboring giants provide lessons for Mongolian foreign policy planners. Mongolia also provides an escape route for North Korean refugees that make it out of China. While I’d prefer to avoid characterizing the Korean-Mongolian relationship as one of “big brother, little brother,” with its condescending overtones, there’s obviously a large role Korea can play in Mongolia, and to a large extent, it’s already playing it. It’s just a shame that a minority of “Ugly Koreans” can cause so much damage in terms of popular views of one another.