Yejin Kang: I was surprised by some Mongolian colleagues can speak Korean better than me

Kang Ye-jin, representative of the young generation of South Korea, was invited as the guest of the interview section "Mongols through the eyes of outsiders...". She is working as a young professional in KOICA Mongolia for one year.

- Please introduce yourself to our audience.
- Hello. My name is Yejin Kang and I'm from Korea. Right now, I'm working at KOICA, which is Korea government company, to support another development country. And I usually support my team project. The project usually supports the government and the people who need to build a capacity building and so on. I majored in business communication. And I studied about public relations and journalism.

They are really good at Korean and know more about Korean trends than me

- What was your first impression when you came to Mongolia?

- When I fly from Korea to Mongolia, I was surprised because the two countries are so close that I thought about that distance. It took just 3 hours by plane. Also, on the flight I could see vast land and Gers. I haven’t seen that landscape. When I entered the UB, it was such good weather, and I could feel energetic and lively emotions from everything in the city. Everything was awesome, and I expected my 1-year life in Mongolia.

- What is it like to work with Mongolians?
- My colleagues, they have been studied in Korea. So, they are really familiar with Korean culture. I think my colleagues can speak Korean better than me. They are really good at Korean and know more about Korean trends than me. So, I always surprise and respect my colleagues. And I can learn a lot of things from them. 

- In the other hand, some of the services and convenience stores makes feel like in Korean, right? 
- Yeah, I feel like I'm at home. And there are lots of Korean restaurants, so it’s easy to have dinner. And I saw one news about Mongolia has many Korean restaurants in the world. 

- What do you enjoy most about staying in Mongolia?
- I really enjoy my free time when I usually met my friends and find some good restaurants for lunch or dinner. And also, I am a travel person, so if I have time, I usually go another aimags and provinces. I go to Terelj and Selenge with my friends and colleagues. Now I’m looking forward to travel Bayan-Ulgii province to see Altai Tavan Bogd which is highest destination of Mongolia so soon.

- How many countries have you travelled? 
- I’ve travelled to a lot of countries. I had best travel in Europe, England, France, Czech and so on. But my unforgettable traveling destination was Vietnam because before I came to Mongolia, I had volunteered in Ho Chi Minh City for six months. 

- What do you do in your free time here?
- I thoroughly enjoyed my free time in Mongolia. During a warm weather, I worked hard to find delicious restaurants with my friends. If you look at my Google Maps, there are many restaurants I went to in downtown Ulaanbaatar. For those who are curious about restaurants, ask me questions and I can recommend a good place. On cold winter days when it was difficult to go outside, I enjoyed home parties with friends or studied English at home and in cafes. I try to make my body more flexibility and balance myself. So, I usually do work out and exercise in the gym with my friend. Exercise has become my new hobby. Before started to go to the gym, I used to do flying yoga for six months. I think my personality is extrovert and I try to do my best and to be myself in a positive way. 

Maintaining integrity in national governance is the top priority for the country's economic development and improvement of the people's quality of life, so I believe that such an incident should not happen again in Mongolia in the future. 

- What is your favorite Mongolian traditional meal?
- Undoubtedly Khuushur. I ate many kinds of Mongolian traditional meals such as Horhog, Tsuiwan, Buuz, Milk tea and so on. However, I’d like to say khuushur is one of my best favorite food. It is like Korean fried dumplings. Recently 3 hours ago, I ate two khuushuur. It tastes crispy and delicious. In addition, it is harmonious with Kimchi which is one of the Korean traditional foods.

- What were the good and bad things that happened to you while you are in Mongolia?
- There were so many good things for me in Mongolia, but if I had to choose only one good memory among them, it was meeting Jihyun and Kana, who were dispatched to Mongolia as UN Volunteer. Because they were friends of the same age and dream as me, we communicated well, and it was a special relationship that could motivate each other. Those friends are now back in their respective countries of Korea and Japan, but I'm sure we've become lifelong friends.

A bad incident in Mongolia, I remember the large-scale coal corruption incident. This is an incident in which a high-ranking Mongolian official embezzled a huge amount of national finance. Because of this, on a cold winter day, people could be seen gathering and protesting in Sukhbaatar Square which is near my office. And in that time, I usually saw protesting and got really upset and angry like Mongolian people. I believe that maintaining integrity in national governance is the top priority for the country's economic development and improvement of the people's quality of life, so I believe that such an incident should not happen again in Mongolia in the future. 

- They haven’t made any solution still now. In the other hand, what about in Korea? Are there any cases like this? How the Koreans react against if they found out governors are betrayers in illegal way or took bribes?
- Actually, in Korea there are many illegals happen in the government and society. But nowadays Korean people protest to be more peaceful by using social media or they just bring the candle in front of the government building and they don't throw something. They just take a candle and sing a peaceful song in more soft way and nobody got hurt.

- What services or cultures from your country do you want to implement it?
- From a very personal point of view, I hope many trade routes can be developed to import fresh seafood from Korea. I am a big fan of seafood, so I hope that more variety and fresh seafood will be imported into Mongolia.

- Yeah, that’s a good idea. But I think it will be more expensive importing and for keep them so fresh. When I was in Korea, it was easy to go by subway and not crowded, always arrive on time and very clean. So, if I had a chance to implement something from Korea, it will be subway.
- Yeah, right. I really agree with you. I usually take UBCab and it's easy to take a taxi. I think traffic jams are really a problem in the city. But I think it can be solved further. In my opinion one of the solutions is needed to have a campaign to enter the line one by one. There are so many cars on the road, and everyone wants to get in there that makes it more stuck. But I think if one car enters then the next one can go, it's no problem. 

- We have this kind of traffic campaign and it's called “After you…” /Та, би, та.../ And there are some of awareness boards are located next to the road to make attention to the drivers.
- As a socially necessary system in Mongolia, it would be good if the Korean road traffic police system was introduced. In addition, since all major functions such as government, finance, and other major agencies are concentrated in the center of Ulaanbaatar, it is necessary to relocate important offices. If the above two systems are introduced according to Mongolia's situation, it will help to solve traffic congestion and mitigate air pollution in Mongolia.

"MONGOLIAN PEOPLE ARE REALLY KIND AND ENERGETIC. ALSO THEY ARE MORE DIRECT AND HONEST"

- Tell us about your opinion about the Mongolians’ attitudes and behaviors?
- I think Mongolian people are really kind and energetic. And they are more direct and honest. The people who I met in Mongolia, they are really kind and if I have some trouble privately or publicly, they always help me and try to their best to solve my problem. So, I really thank them.

Not really long time ago, when I had to return to Ulaanbaatar from Tsenkher soum, a woman I met in Tsenkher province feared that I and my friends would not catch the bus on time, so she called the intercity bus terminal to find out the time and waited for the bus together. I am so grateful for this lady's kindness that I will never forget it.

Talking with people who work in various international organizations and experiencing their experiences indirectly helped me to further shape my career path.

Maybe she will read this interview. So, I really want to say thank her so much through this interview. I think one more impression is about the Mongolian women. When I walk in the street, there are so many gorgeous Mongolian women. I think they don't follow the fashion trend. They always have their fashion style. So, I really respect it because in Korea there are many people who just follow the fashion trends. But this country is different.

- What are your unforgettable moments or memories that spend in Mongolia? 
- Wow, so many things. First of all, it is a great fortune in my life that I was able to intern in Mongolia with a dream in the field of international development cooperation, and I am very happy that I was able to materialize my dream through this. In particular, I will never forget the various people I met in Mongolia. The precious people I met in Mongolia told me many stories. Talking with people who work in various international organizations and experiencing their experiences indirectly helped me to further shape my career path. Based on the lessons I learned from the good seniors, I want to grow into a wonderful adult who can continue to recognize my shortcomings, always be humble and polite, and share plenty of love with the world.

I think this interview is one of the unforgettable moments in my intern period. And also, I cannot forget travel to Terelj, Selenge, Tsenher spring and Gachuurt with my colleagues and friends. I can see giant outdoors and I can feel more to be more natural person myself. It is one of my unforgettable memories in this country. To sum up, I cannot forget the people who I met in Mongolia. Because before I came to this country, my dream was not really specific. But when I arrived in Mongolia and after met many people who has different experiences and different jobs such as like you. And listening to their life story helped to make materialize my dreams and goal myself. So yeah, the people who I met in Mongolia is my unforgettable moment. 

"I WANT TO BE A PERSON WHO CAN MAKE THE WORLD TO BE BETTER PLACE"

- You mentioned that your dream. What is your dream?
- Yeah, I want to be a person who can make the world to be better place. And also, I am keep finding a suitable occupation for me and big goal for myself and others. But right now, I am really interested in the international development cooperation part. So, after the experience of intern, I want to apply for the master's degree. And then I’m going to study more about the international development part. After that I want to make a world for a better place. 

I realized that the young generation must be true to the present, to love the uncertainties of each day, and to use our abilities to make the world a better place

- I saw the news about Korean young generations not rushing to marry in their young life period. Most of them don't prefer dating someone and there are a lot of single young generations. What do you think about this issue?
- Korean young generation, they usually work hard like my age. However, if they are really hard to get under money, they cannot buy a house, car, they cannot pay the insurance. So it's social problem. For me, right now I just focus on my career and my dream. If I meet a good guy somewhere then I will think about the date and further marriage. Right now, I don't have any idea. 

- Last question. As a young generation, please share your thought about the Mongolian young generation.
- When I reflect on my own journey, I realize that I didn’t have specific dreams from a young age. Instead, I held an abstract desire to positively impact the world. I pursued activities that brought me joy and satisfaction, the activities made numerous ‘dots’ in my life. At this point, looking at the numerous ‘dots’ that I thought I had taken, surprisingly ‘lines’ were formed. The world was a wider place than I thought, and the more I experienced various things, the more my dreams gradually materialized and grew. Now, I am going to slowly lengthen and lengthen this ‘line’. Then someday, when I look back on the path I've walked, I think that 'line' can become my own shape'.

I realized that the young generation must be true to the present, to love the uncertainties of each day, and to use our abilities to make the world a better place. I hope that the young generation of Mongolians like me will find their dreams and goals that can change the world to a better place with courage and the thought that ‘Your stage is the world’. I cheer for our young generation, who have enough potential to change the world and are already changing the world for the better. I hope to work together on the global stage someday. Thank you.

- Thank you for your time with us. Good luck for your further career and life!