Deportation of Koreans in The Soviet Union - Relationship With Korea Today

Relationship With Korea Today

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the newly independent Central Asian republics established diplomatic relations with both North and South Korea. Extreme economic crises in North Korea have, however, prevented it from competing with the South in developing its ties to Central Asia and the Koreans now living there.

Travel between Kazakhstan and South Korea has grown significantly since the establishment of their diplomatic ties in 1992, and Korean Companies such as LG, Samsung, and Daewoo have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in the economies of the former Soviet republics in Central Asia.

Teachers from South Korea have traveled to Central Asia and Russia to teach at schools and universities there, and the Republic of Korea has established educational centers in Almaty, Tashkent, and Bishkek, providing Korean language courses. Diplomatic relations were established between the Republic of Korea and Kazakhstan on January 28, 1992. Bilateral trade between the nations amounted to $698 million in 2008, the main items of which are automobiles, TV and electronics goods, machinery, engineering products, uranium, ferroalloys, rolled non-alloy steel and iron, gold, and copper. Roughly 100,000 Koreans currently live in Kazakhstan.