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- A Portrait of King Kongmin and Princess Roh-Guk

- The logo for the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and Mongolia

On March 26, 1990, Korea and Mongolia officially established diplomatic relations. So this year is exactly 30 years since the two countries established diplomacy. Over the past 30 years, the relationship between Korea and Mongolia has developed dramatically. It has expanded to full-scale exchanges, ranging from traditional international cooperation fields such as politics, economy, society, and culture to defense and religion. There are several reasons why the exchange between the two countries has expanded into all areas in a short period of time. The Korean government considered the relationship with Mongolia with the expansion of Nordpolitik (Diplomacy toward North) and North Korea in mind, and the businessmen paid attention to Mongolia as a base for securing raw materials including mine resources and entering the north. Another important reason is kind consciousness that 'Koreans and Mongolians have the same roots'.

This is why exchanges between the two countries have developed rapidly in both public and private sectors since the beginning of diplomatic relations. Currently, the Korean government and most institutions have direct or indirect relations with Mongolia. So it is difficult to find Mongolia excluded from foreign aid and international cooperation projects promoted by the Korean government. The academic exchanges between the two countries have also expanded beyond the language, folklore, and ancient history fields to all areas such as medical care, engineering, and agriculture and livestock. It is very unusual to think about the small population of 3 million people, the economic size of Mongolia and trade with Korea. Behind it is a deep-rooted thought of 'brotherhood nation'. It is also related to the kind consciousness that small and medium-sized businessmen went to Mongolia in the early days of diplomatic relations, religious officials such as Christianity and Buddhism rushed to Mongolia, and researchers including linguists and folklorists went to Mongolia for academic research.

Mongolians also welcome Koreans with intimacy. The data left by those who were in charge of related work to Korea and Mongolia after diplomatic relations often describe the hospitality of Mongolians. When I first went to Mongolia in 1991, it is remembered that the Mongolians treated Koreans very warmly. Of course, as exchanges between the two countries become frequent and big and small things happen, Mongolian perceptions of Korea and Koreans are changing, but intimate emotions about Korea and Koreans remain. For Mongolians, Korea is the closest country in the world to people with the most similar appearances to themselves, and it is economically developed. Therefore, regardless of the actual situation of the current bilateral relations, Mongolians usually expect Korea to help Mongolia develop and Korea to do so in the future.

It may be the result of it, but Korea has become the country most populated by Mongolians. Except for the traditional Mongolian residences of the Mongolian Republic(Outer Mongolia), the Buryat Republic and Kalmyk Republic of the Russian Federation, and Neimenggu(Inner Mongolia) in China. As of the end of December 2019, there are 48,185 Mongolians staying in Korea. However, as of the end of April 2020, the total population of Mongolia is 3,322,478 and 1.5% of the population lives in Korea. So it can never be seen as a small number. Korea is the country with the most Mongolians besides the traditional Mongolian residence. This is a remarkable fact. However, the start of exchanges between Korea and Mongolia, which began more than 800 years ago, was never friendly.

The first official contact between Korea and Mongolia was in December 1218 when the Mongolian army stepped on the land of Goryeo. At that time, Dongjinguk, founded by Jurchen’s general Poseonmanno, was located in the Tumen River basin. The Mongolian army invaded and occupied the Liaodong region, subjugated them and entered the land of Goryeo. Their cause was to wipe out the Khitan people. The reason why they entered Goryeo was that 'Khitan people were driven out of Mongolian forces in 1216 and entered the Goryeo land, violated the central and northern parts of the Korean peninsula, and held and defended Gangdong Province near Pyongyang'. Fazed by the entry of the Mongolian army, the Royal Court of Goryeo accepted the Mongolian suggestion and jointly destroyed the Khitan people of Gangdong Province in January 1219. At this time, Goryeo and Mongolia signed the Brotherly Alliance and concluded an agreement that 'the Goryeo pays tribute to Mongolia every year'. However, after signing the Alliance, Mongolia's unreasonable tributary payment demand has led to a backlash from Goryeo. In the process, an incident occurred in 1225 when the Mongolian envoy, Jeogoyeo(著古與), was killed over the Yalu River. As a result, the uneasy relations between the two countries collapsed, and in 1231, six years later, the Mongol army began to invade.

Mongolia's invasion continued six times until 1259, when the Goryeo government, which moved the capital to Ganghwa Island, virtually surrendered to Mongolia. After that, Goryeo was ruled by the Yuan Dynasty for about a century until King Kongmin promoted the Anti-Yuan policy in the mid-14th century. The invasion of Mongolian troops over decades and the dominance of Mongolia over the first century have cast a deep cloud over Goryeo history. Some scholars positively evaluate Mongolia's control of Goryeo. They interpret this period as the most active time of external activities after Goguryeo, and argue that it was possible because Goryeo was incorporated into Mongolia, the world empire. They also highlight the special relations between the two countries, for example, the Princess of Mongolia, who became the queen of Goryeo, and the Goryeo woman who became the queen and the royal concubine of Emperor Yuan or the wife of nobleman. The validity of these claims will be revealed by future studies. However, it is difficult to say that the relationship between the two countries was normal just because the land of Goryeo was violated by the Mongolian army for decades.

Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia

As is widely known, the official relations between Mongolia and the Korean peninsula were severed until the fall of the Mongolian Empire's head family, the Yuan Dynasty, in 1368, and the establishment of diplomatic relations between North Korea and Mongolia in 1948 and the diplomatic relations between Korea and Mongolia in 1990. Of course, the fact that the Joseon government and some officials were interested in Mongolia was confirmed by the data, but it did not lead to concrete exchanges. In addition, the political and sociocultural influences of Mongolian domination were not easily erased, as Mongolian was borrowed into Korean, so-called 'Mongolian style' was created in food, clothing, and shelter, and Mongolian was adopted as one of the learning subjects of the sayeokwon(the government offices that were established to oversee the interpretation and translation of foreign languages) of the Joseon Dynasty. In addition, it is confirmed that there were various human or material exchanges between Korea and Mongolia in the Joseon Dynasty.

After that, it was in the early 20th century that the meeting of the people of the two countries was made on record. The evidence remains in the Central Mongolian Archives and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Official Archives. These Official Archives have records of the lives of Koreans who lived in Mongolia in the 1920s and 30s. The 1920s was the time when Japanese imperialism forced the occupation of the Korean Peninsula. There will be no one who does not know that many Koreans went out of their country in those days. The migration of Korean people began in the mid-19th century. It is also at this time that Koreans who migrate to the Maritime Province and Manchuria in Russia to solve the problem of livelihood. The migration of Koreans has increased sharply after the Japanese imperialism rule strengthened the Korean peninsula. There were three major types of people who left the Korean Peninsula at the time. Those who went out for a living as before, those who left their hometown for the independence movement, and those who were forced to take conscription or conscription. At that time, about 5 million people, about a quarter of the population of the Korean peninsula, went abroad, so I can guess how bad the situation in the country was. There were three major types of people who left the Korean Peninsula at the time. Those who went out for a living as before, those who left their hometown for the independence movement, and those who were forced to take conscription. At that time, about 5 million people, about a quarter of the population of the Korean peninsula, went abroad, so I can guess how bad the situation in the country was.

The Korean migration was concentrated in Manchuria, Shanghai, Maritime Province, Japan, and other regions of the Korean peninsula and the Americas. For that reason, when we hear the word "foreign migration during the Japanese colonial period," we are mainly reminded of these regions. However, if we look closely at the migration of Korean people since the 20th century, we can see that the wave of immigration has gone far beyond Siberia to St. Petersburg, Moscow and Mongolia. It is not a new fact for us that many Koreans moved to Mongolia during the Japanese colonial period. Lee Kang-hoon, an independent activist who served as chairman of the Gwangbog-hoe(English name 'Heritage of Korean Independence'), is also a person who visited Mongolia in the 1910s. At that time, the Korean patriot Lee Tae-joon was operating a hospital in Huree(now Ulaanbaatar) area of Mongolia. Lee Kang-hoon had been boarding there for several months, when 40 to 50 independence activists had been staying and eating every day. Kim Gyu-sik is the one who was in Huree at that time. Although he failed, Kim Gyu-sik tried to establish an independent military school in Mongolia in the first half of the 1910s. Lee Tae-joon was going to Mongolia because of Kim Gyu-sik. After the Mongolian Revolution in 1921, socialist people mainly discussed the solidarity between Korea and Mongolia. And independence activists such as Yeo Woon-hyung and Gye Bong-woo stayed in Mongolia and left records.

Many people went to Mongolia because of have no means of livelyhood. Some of them operated mines or worked in Mongolian government to live a stable life. But the majority of them worked as factory workers, mine workers, shepherds, and they did physical labor. They are people who have wandered all over Russia and flowed into Mongolia to find a way to live. The Mongolian Official Archives has a petition from Koreans who stayed in Mongolia in the 1920s and 1930s or petitioned for permanent migration. In addition, Koreans who migrated to Manchuria in accordance with the Japanese migration policy during the Japanese colonial period moved to the eastern part of Inner Mongolia for various reasons and set up a place for life. However, their migration and contact with Mongolians were private, not formal.

Then, in 1948, the North Korean regime was established, and the relationship between the country on the Korean peninsula and Mongolia began. Mongolia and North Korea established official diplomatic relations on October 15, 1948. If the Yuan Dynasty was destroyed in 1368, it had an official relationship between the Korean peninsula and Mongolia in nearly 600 years. During the socialist era, Mongolia was a close ally of North Korea. Mongolia supported North Korea with all its efforts during the Korean War and during the postwar restoration process. In line with the friendly relations between the two countries, Kim Il-Sung visited Mongolia twice(1956, 1988). The 1956 visit was to express gratitude for Mongolian material support during the Korean War and postwar restoration, and the latter was a political visit with the 88 Seoul Olympics in mind. In the socialist period, the secretary of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party visited North Korea, and almost all of the high-ranking North Koreans we know visited Mongolia. Even now, Mongolian government officials and scholars are generally friendly to North Korea. This is also the cause of friendship that has been going on since the socialist period, but the special feelings of Mongolians about the Korean people would have influenced it.

So Mongolia is very concerned about North Korea, which is currently in trouble. Although it started with the aim of expanding their diplomatic capabilities, Mongolia is a country that has diplomatic relations with both South and North Korea, and wants to participate in solving the North Korean problem. In addition, the view of the North Korean nuclear issue is absolutely supportive of peaceful resolution and the desire for North Korea to participate in economic cooperation projects between Korea and Mongolia. The Mongolian government, and scholars at the Mongolian National Institute of Research, maintain their position to solve the North Korean problem by attracting North Korea to the international community if possible. There is a note in the policy on the Korean peninsula implemented by the Mongolian government. It is that they want to become the 'hub of the Northeast Asian community', which was the role of the Korean government, because they are the only country that has friendly relations with all Northeast Asian countries(Korea, China, Japan and Russia) and the United States.

At the official welcoming ceremony at the government building in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, 

Prime Minister Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh and former Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon (2019. 3. 26)

ⓒMinistry of Culture, Sports and Tourism

In this regard, the Korean government needs to strengthen cooperation in the field of politics and diplomacy by improving the way of exchanges between Korea and Mongolia, which are biased toward cultural fields, friendship, goodwill, and some economic aspects. Because Mongolia's national power and international status are weak, the role they can play is limited. However, the Mongolian government's position on the North Korean issue and the establishment of a Northeast Asian community is worth a more serious review. However, this part will be possible only at a time when the current strained relationship between South and North Korea is eased and the North Korean Nuclear crisis is somewhat resolved.

When we evaluate the exchanges and cooperation between Korea and Mongolia over the past 30 years, there has been an outward development to say that it was too urgent. The number of Mongolians living in Korea, which was only a few dozen in 1991 when I first went to Mongolia, has increased to 48,000. In Korea, there are also Mongolian schools in elementary, middle, and high schools for Mongolian children living in Korea. It is a formal school approved by the Mongolian Ministry of Education. Perhaps this form of Mongolian school is nowhere in the world. In addition to the realistic reason of child education, the friendly feelings of the people of both countries had a great influence on the establishment of the Mongolian school in Korea. And regardless of rationality, having intimate feelings and hearts to each other is a big asset of both countries that no other country has. Building mutual trust and expanding cooperation based on these assets will achieve much more than in the past 30 years.