The Ungrateful Guests

The Korean diaspora in Kazakhstan has enjoyed a privileged status indeed. From the humble beginnings of an ethnic group, deported in 1937 to Kazakhstan from the Russia’s Far East under Stalin’s ironclad rule, they have evolved into one of the most prosperous communities in the world. For example, some 100,000 local Koreans have two billionaires — robber baron Vladimir Kim and bankster Vyacheslav Kim (one out of the 50,000 local Koreans is a billionaire! Amazing result due to stupid tolerance of the Kazakh people!). By contrast, some 52 million South Koreans have 46 billionaires (only one out of the 1.13 million South Koreans is a billionaire). Roughly speaking, the Koreans in Kazakhstan live 22 times better than the South Koreans.

Despite their unprecedented prosperity in Kazakhstan, the Koreans usually disrespect the Kazakh language. For instance, Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Almaty has its signboard only in Korean and English. The website of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea to the Republic of Kazakhstan has only Korean and Russian pages.

By contrast, the Kazakh diplomats in the South Korea respect the Korean language. Their website has a Korean page. The signboard of the Kazakh Embassy to the South Korea is also in the Korean language. Moreover, there is the Korean Theater of Musical Comedy in Almaty, sponsored by Kazakh authorities. Unfortunately, certain local Koreans as well as foreign ones don’t pay due respect to hospitality of the Kazakh people. Instead, some of them have conducted a harmful policy towards their hosts.

The robber baron Kim has amassed a fabulous fortune thanks to the natural resources of Kazakhstan. But, for one thing, he prefers to pay tribute to the Russian Orthodox Church instead of the indigenous population. So, he unequivocally positions himself as a pro-Russian businessman.  Some media in Russia and Kazakhstan have suspected that Vladimir Kim was behind the murder of Sagit Shokputov — a kind of local Robin Hood — and investigative reporter Oralgaisha Omarshanova. Both victims are ethnic Kazakhs, killed in 2007. The robber baron reportedly hired Chechen gangsters — the Makhmakhanov brothers — to commit these crimes.

Of course, the enterprising Koreans in Kazakhstan don’t limit themselves to the aforementioned controversial activities. For example, there was a respectable candy factory in Almaty, whose products were predominantly of high-quality natural ingredients. But, since it was acquired by LOTTE Confectionery — a South Korean company — in 2013, the candy factory’s products have been spoiled by palm oil, infamous “E” constituents, and other unhealthy ingredients. Thus, the old-school Soviet traditions of food industry fell victim to the South Korean profiteers…

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