[KS] Re: Korea-mania in China

[glk10 at columbia.edu]

Dear All,

We should not exclude Mongolia from this discussion—while spending 
the past 4 months in Ulaanbaatar, I was amazed at the visibility of 
things (South) Korean—even more so than last year.  Although SK music 
has not really caught on (and except for a dance song or two, I’m not 
sure if it ever will), other forms of pop culture have.  Mongolians 
have been drawn to their TVs to watch dubbed SK mini-series, for 
instance.  I can remember more than one time getting into a taxi 
(basically any car that stops) when the driver was listening to a 
radio station playing the audio of the series.  Many of the small 
boutiques sell “Solongos” clothing and accessories from Seoul and 
stores offering South Korean cosmetics are quite ubiquitous.   The 
largest video shop in the city (full of Korean movies) is owned by a 
Korean expat.  And just two months ago in UB, a South Korean venture 
opened what is undoubtedly the most “modern” shopping center in 
Mongolia—complete with the country’s first escalators.  With 90% of 
its products originating from SK, the store (as well as other SK 
businesses) will help promote the Korean fad in Mongolia.   

Sincerely,
George Kallander

______________________________________________________________________
George Kallander
Ph.D. Candidate
Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures
Columbia University
glk10 at columbia.edu