K-culture meets the Silk Road as Korean brands and lifestyles take root in Mongolia

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K-culture meets the Silk Road as Korean brands and lifestyles take root in Mongolia

Published: 17 Apr. 2025, 16:53

LEE SOO-JUNG
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Korean convenience store chain GS25 is seen in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, on April 16. [LEE SOO-JUNG]

ULAANBAATAR — Turn any street corner in the Mongolian capital's downtown, and you can spot Korea's leading convenience store chains — CU and GS25.

Korean influence is certainly having an impact on urban Mongolians, from daily essentials to language and pop culture.

When asked questions in English, locals replied in fluent Korean. K-pop could be heard blasting in convenience stores, and Korean bakery chain Tous Les Jours was seen throughout the city.

The Korea JoongAng Daily was greeted by a familiar scene when visiting a CU store on Amarsanaa Road in downtown Ulaanbaatar on Monday.

Korean instant noodles and local snacks are available at a CU store in Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia on April 14. CU is a Korea-origin convenience store chain. [LEE SOO-JUNG]

The CU store had outdoor signage and an interior layout identical to CU stores in Seoul. As well as a counter plastered in yellow-green and snacks displayed near the counter, the store's signage came in a mixture of purple and yellow-green, just like in Korea.

The nationality of the employees and some of the products on the shelves were the only differences. Along with staples of Korean convenience stores such as Korean instant noodles, beer, rice balls and almonds, the store had some locally sourced products.

As of the end of March, CU had 467 branches in Mongolia, indicating Korea's growing presence in the country.

Is this Ulaanbaatar or Seoul?

A parking lot at an Emart branch in Khan Uul District in Ulaanbaatar is packed with cars. [LEE SOO-JUNG]

In the city’s Khan Uul District, hypermarket chain Emart was bustling with locals regardless of age when the Korea JoongAng Daily visited on Monday afternoon. The parking space was full, and the shelves for Korean foods were relatively empty.

Emart, a leading Korean retailer owned by the Shinsegae Group, has five branches across Ulaanbaatar and aims to open five more by 2030. The retailer entered the Mongolian market in 2016 in partnership with Altai Holding, a Mongolia-based retail group that operates and manages Emart branches in Mongolia.

Inside the store, some students swiftly grabbed banana-flavored milk made by Korean food manufacturer Binggrae from the fridge before it sold out. Only a few packages of fish cakes produced by another Korean food company, Chungjungone, were left, while other food piled up.

Little Korean-made banana-flavored milk is left compared to local dairy products in the fridge at Emart branch in Khan Uul District in Mongolia on April 14. [LEE SOO-JUNG]

“I visited Emart every day when I was in Korea, and that experience led me to shop at Emart in Mongolia,” Khulan, a young woman who stayed in Korea for six months last year, said in Korean while shopping for groceries at the retailer.

A spokesperson from Emart headquarters in Korea told the Korea JoongAng Daily that Mongolian consumers display a high preference for Korean culture, adding that its Mongolian branches allow local people to indulge directly in Korean culture.

Korean influence becomes a lifestyle

Students buy Korean instant noodles at the Emart branch in Khan Uul District, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia on April 14. [LEE SOO-JUNG]

However, Emart has the grander ambition to shape mindsets and behavior "in a healthier way," said Javzmaa Lkhagvasuren, CEO of Emart in Mongolia.

Mongolian Emart executives added library-themed spaces to Ulaanbaatar. In this space, Mongolian visitors can freely read Korean and Mongolian books displayed on the shelves. There were books for children and for visitors with deeper academic interests, such as professional journals. New books are added to their collection each year.

“I believe that providing an environment where consumers can easily read books will empower them and the country at the same time,” Lkhagvasuren told reporters, adding that the strategy helped increase consumer satisfaction.

Lkhagvasuren also said Mongolian branches plan to list 100 healthy dishes and reduce the amount of liquor in the stores.

High-rise Korean-style apartments are seen behind red brick buildings in Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia on April 14. [LEE SOO-JUNG]

While Emart tries to reshape Mongolian lifestyles, Korean influence has also reached their homes.

About a mile from the Emart branch, high-rise apartments along the Tuul Gol River that crosses the southern part of urban Ulaanbaatar showed that contemporary Mongolians are settling into Korean-style apartments. This trend has been observed since the 2010s, Kim Ki-sun, a professor of Mongolian studies at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, said.

Apartments in Korea are largely box-shaped buildings of 15 to 20 floors with several units on each floor. Apartment complexes usually have several buildings with public amenities such as gyms, saunas and libraries for residents.

There were several Korean-style apartment buildings under construction in Ulaanbaatar. The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency said some 10 apartment complexes in the Mongolian capital were built by Korean construction companies.

“Mongolians who have been in Korea are fascinated by convenient amenities in Korean apartments, such as gyms, saunas and playgrounds for children,” Kim said, noting that locals admire Korean apartments.

Kim said Mongolian students, migrants and laborers who have lived in Korea, estimated to be around 350,000 over the last 35 years, played a crucial role in spreading Korean-style apartments in Mongolia. He noted that their experience in Korea made construction companies duplicate structures and features of Korean apartments in Ulaanbaatar.

Sister cities, Seoul streets

A road in Ulaanbaatar is named Jung District Street, as the stone shows on April 14. Jung District is located in central Seoul. [LEE SOO-JUNG]

Acceptance of Korean culture can be attributed to the long shared history and friendly relations between the two countries, Mongolian experts said.

Ulaanbaatar has a 2.1-kilometer-long (1.3 miles) road called “Seoul Street.”

A pavilion decorated with Korean roof tiles stood in an open space. Lamps along the street were decorated with Seoul's city symbols. Several Korean eateries had signboards written in Korean, including the one selling grilled pork.

The street name was coined after Seoul and Ulaanbaatar became sister cities in 1995, a millennium after the royal court during the Koryo Dynasty (918-1392) reportedly sent 10 students to Mongolia in 995. According to Prof. Kim, the record marks the start of the two nations' shared history.

“Korea is one of Mongolia's most prioritized and friendly neighbors,” said Dashdorj Sainbilegt, a Korean studies professor at the National University of Mongolia.

She also said young Mongolians perceive Korea as geographically close since travel times within Mongolia are almost equal to the two or three hours it takes to fly between Seoul and Ulaanbaatar.

“More than 1,000 undergraduates take Korean language courses yearly,” said Sainbilegt. “Elementary and junior high schools in Mongolia now provide Korean language classes as an elective course.”

Korean language courses have become widely available, ranging from college academic courses to short-term evening courses offered by the three King Sejong Institute branches in Mongolia. Korea's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism manages the institute to support Korean linguistic education overseas.

Still, Mongolians believe that there is unexplored potential for synergy between Korea and Mongolia.

Sainbilegt said she hopes Korean influence will expand beyond consumer culture and the service industry as the traditional nomadic country urbanizes.

“I hope Korean corporations will actively participate in Mongolia’s infrastructure-building projects to transfer their expertise and train the Mongolian work force, ultimately strengthening bilateral ties between the two countries."

BY LEE SOO-JUNG [[email protected]]