연합뉴스
| yna@yna.co.kr 2026-09-11 08:02:48
By Park Hyeon-soo
ALMATY, Kazakhstan, TOSHKENT, Uzbekistan, BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, Sept. 11 (Yonhap) -- Seoul Mun, a street modeled after the gates and tiled roofs of traditional Korean royal palaces and the Taegeuk symbol, comes alive every night along a canal running through central Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan.
The street is a representative commercial and cultural complex symbolizing exchanges and friendship between South Korea and Uzbekistan. Lined with Korean fusion restaurants, K-beauty shops and K-dessert cafes, it has become a popular destination not only for Tashkent residents but also for foreign visitors.
The area evokes Seoul's Cheonggyecheon stream, but is much larger and more elaborate.
As visitors walk along Seoul Mun, familiar K-pop songs, including BLACKPINK Rose's "APT.," play alongside musical fountain shows held every hour, delighting both the eyes and ears.
A 15-minute walk away is Seoul Park, a traditional Korean-style garden covering about 8,000 square meters. It opened in May 2014 following a sister-city agreement between Seoul and Tashkent.
A monument commemorating the settlement of ethnic Koreans was erected at the park entrance in 2017 to mark the 80th anniversary of their settlement. A stone bridge crossing a pond, traditional walls and flower-covered steps blend together, making the park a cultural and historical hub for local residents and the Korean community.
The park serves as a center for Korean ethnic and cultural activities, hosting Lunar New Year and Chuseok events, ethnic Korean cultural programs and Korea-Uzbekistan cultural exchange festivals.
◇ Korean-language fever grows with Korean Wave: "I dream of studying and working in Korea"
Tashkent Bucheon University was jointly established by Bucheon University in South Korea and Uzbekistan's Ministry of Preschool Education and opened in 2018. It has about 2,500 students and offers 12 departments, including education, business administration, information technology and multimedia.
Anilova Jasmine, a third-year business administration student, said without hesitation, "My first dream is to work at the South Korean Embassy."
She learned Korean almost entirely on her own while listening to K-pop and hopes to earn a master's degree in South Korea before finding a job there.
Her classmate, Hurmila, dreams of joining a Korean cosmetics company. Her interest was sparked by using K-beauty products and being impressed by their quality.
Camilla Sultanova, who graduated from the university four years ago and now works there, is considering studying for a master's degree in South Korea.
A male business administration student won first place in the Uzbek preliminary round of KBS' "Quiz on Korea" and will compete in the final in South Korea in October.
For these students, Korean is more than just a foreign language. Many study Korean separately at private academies in addition to their university classes, while watching K-dramas is considered an effective way to develop practical conversational skills.
The university is also responding to the trend by offering Korean cultural programs during the semester, including kimchi-making, K-pop dancing, hanbok experiences and samulnori, a traditional Korean percussion performance.
In partnership with the Jasaeng Medical Foundation, it also sends 30 students to South Korea each year for a three-week short-term training program. An E-7-M visa program is also operated to connect students with jobs in the root industries.
Jo In-na, head of international exchange and external cooperation at Bucheon University and a fourth-generation ethnic Korean, received a scholarship from the Overseas Koreans Foundation and earned a master's degree in South Korea.
"Students should be given more opportunities to learn directly in South Korea rather than limiting themselves to local education," she said.
◇ Students at Kazakhstan's national university use Korean as a stepping stone for careers
Students at Al-Farabi Kazakh National University in Almaty, Kazakhstan, were also mapping out concrete career paths with Korean as a stepping stone.
Alua Kharisova, 20, a third-year Korean studies student, began studying Korean after being captivated by the unique and beautiful shapes of Hangul that she encountered online as a middle school student.
She participated in a dual-degree program between Al-Farabi Kazakh National University and Kangnam University and spent a year studying in South Korea through June, visiting national museums and art galleries.
"I want to pursue a master's degree in business administration after graduation and work for a K-beauty company in South Korea," she said. "I'm so interested in cosmetics that I carefully check the ingredients whenever I buy them."
Onda-son, 21, another third-year student in the department, chose Korean studies after seeing Korean listed by Kazakhstan's Foreign Ministry as a language in demand.
After spending a semester as an exchange student at Dongguk University, she hopes to become a diplomat handling Korea-related affairs at Kazakhstan's Foreign Ministry after graduation.
Nazerkhe Khamitova, a full-time lecturer, also became interested in South Korea's society, economy and politics after encountering Korean dramas as a child. What began as a hobby of studying Korean in high school eventually led to research and a career in Korean studies.
She is researching how South Korea's experience in digitizing cultural heritage can be applied in Kazakhstan and also participated in producing Kazakhstan's first Korean-language textbook.
Across Central Asia, a growing number of millennials and Gen Z who grew up watching K-pop and K-dramas are learning Korean, preparing to study and work in South Korea, and dreaming of going there.
◇ Son Heung-min, BLACKPINK, "Squid Game": Korean stars already part of everyday life
The influence of the Korean Wave extends beyond university campuses to adults as well.
Natalia Timirbayeva, a reporter for Kaktus Media, a leading local media outlet in Kyrgyzstan, recently presented the results of a survey of Kyrgyz teenagers and young adults on "stars representing South Korea" at a meeting with local journalists hosted by the South Korean Embassy in Kyrgyzstan.
The Korean star most frequently named by male respondents was soccer player Son Heung-min. Among female respondents, BLACKPINK, G-Dragon, Rosé and Jennie were overwhelmingly popular.
Respondents in their late 20s and older chose BTS, the actors from the drama "Squid Game" and novelist Han Kang, winner of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature, as faces representing South Korea.
BTS-related content is popular on local media channels, where news about the members' military enlistments and discharges, as well as performances, quickly becomes a topic of conversation.
Kim Kwang-jae, South Korea's ambassador to Kyrgyzstan, said he has also experienced the social impact of K-pop firsthand. He cited an instance in which K-pop music was played at a protest in Kyrgyzstan, helping to ease the atmosphere, and said, "Young people's love of K-pop is also having a positive effect on social integration."
Local reporters even asked Ambassador Kim to invite famous Korean singers, including BTS, to events marking the 90th anniversary of the settlement of ethnic Koreans in Central Asia in 2027.
The way the Korean Wave influences young people goes beyond preparing to study or work in South Korea. At a dance studio in Bishkek, another example emerged of K-pop changing the course of a young person's life.
Diyarbek, 22, began dancing after being drawn to a BTS music video he saw on television at age 14. He has worked as a K-pop choreographer and instructor for five years.
He leads "Face," a five-member male team whose members are 21 or 22, while also teaching K-pop dance at a King Sejong Institute and performing at its completion ceremonies.
"K-pop is a gateway to an interest in Korean culture as a whole, including Korean dramas and variety shows, beyond dance," he said.
Moon Child, a teenage girls' team he formed, has five members aged 15 to 17. Although the group has been active for only a year, it placed second at a Central Asian K-pop festival held in Kazakhstan in June last year.
The members visit their practice room two or three times a week after school.
The team members said they had "built family-like bonds" through dancing together and expressed dreams of one day performing on a Korean stage like a second BTS or BLACKPINK.
There are estimated to be more than 50 K-pop dance teams in Kyrgyzstan, and the scene has grown enough that professional judges are invited from South Korea to Central Asian contests.
Direct exchanges with young South Koreans are also helping Central Asian youth reflect on their own identities. In Bishkek, a volunteer group from the University of Seoul recently held a camp with the Korean Education Center for 110 ethnic Korean and local students, offering experiences in Korean, taekwondo and K-pop dance.
A volunteer group from Pusan National University also held a roughly two-week cultural experience program with the Korean Education Center in Almaty, teaching Korean, taekwondo and K-pop dance to about 100 ethnic Korean and Kazakh youths.
◇ "Not consumers, but bridges": Time for South Korean society to respond
There is inevitably a gap between the South Korea portrayed through dramas and social media and the country young people encounter in real life. The unfamiliarity arising from differences in language and culture remains a hurdle as they seek to establish themselves in South Korean society.
Jo Nam-chul, standing director of the Asia Development Foundation and former president of Korea National Open University, emphasized the need for a national strategy to help ethnic Koreans and young people from Central Asia grow into business and cultural bridges connecting South Korea and Central Asia, rather than viewing them simply as international students, consumers or short-term workers.
Cooperation and exchanges with Central Asian countries are expected to expand further with the Korea-Central Asia Summit to be held in Seoul in September.
Scholarships and visits to the homeland organized by the Overseas Koreans Agency, volunteer exchanges between universities and cultural programs have already provided a foundation for connecting the two sides.
The challenge ahead is how these millennials and Gen Z, who have grown up learning Korean and admiring South Korean society through the Korean Wave, will find their place in a South Korea entering an increasingly multicultural era, and how the South Korean government and people will embrace them as partners.
phyeonsoo@yna.co.kr
jwc@yna.co.kr
*This feature was supported by the Korea Press Foundation with funds raised through government advertising fees.*
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