Ulaanbaatar, December 8, 2025 /MONTSAME/. The Mongolian National News Agency MONTSAME has officially started distributing news in its fifth foreign language: Korean. To celebrate this milestone, we spoke with Ambassador Choi Jin Won.

Interest in Mongolia is growing among Korean citizens. Now that MONTSAME has launched a dedicated Korean-language news service, could you share your thoughts on this initiative?

This year marks the 35th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Mongolia and the Republic of Korea. Over the years, our bilateral ties have deepened across every sector, and Korean citizens have shown increasing interest in Mongolia and its people.

Until now, however, they have mostly relied on YouTube and social media for cultural content. This interest is mutual. Mongolians are very eager for information about Korea. A clear example is the recently aired "Physical: Asia." Koreans were proud of Mongolian athletes, and the show received extensive viewership. I watched every episode myself. Beyond culture, there is significant interest in investing in Mongolia’s mining sector, and we are looking forward to the UNCCD COP17 in Ulaanbaatar next year. Yet, until now, there was no official platform providing news about Mongolia in Korean. MONTSAME’s decision to establish a Korean-language editorial desk is both timely and meaningful. Access to accurate, official, and consistent information will further advance our cultural ties and expand the channels through which information flows.

What specific topics do you think will resonate most with Korean readers?

First and foremost, Mongolia is a large and sparsely populated country. Many people maintain a distinctive lifestyle based on living in close harmony with nature and on nomadic traditions that have been passed down to this day. I think Koreans will find Mongolians’ ways of living in harmony with the world, their customs, and cultural differences particularly interesting.

Some Korean businesspeople are interested in investing in Mongolia. Therefore, they will want information about Mongolia’s political decisions and policies, and about the business environment — in other words, investment-related information. There will likely also be interest in cultural and content exchanges. This will contribute to greater mutual understanding between the peoples of the two countries.

Most importantly, the Korean-language editorial must operate sustainably. The door should be open to Koreans who want to learn about Mongolia. If any difficulties arise in their work going forward, we will provide support and cooperate. Since Mongolian and Korean have similar word order, I hope that producing content in Korean will not be overly difficult. There is information that, on average, about 10,000 people per year study Korean in Mongolian general education and higher education institutions. That clearly represents an advantage in terms of human resources for preparing Korean-language content.

How will the Embassy support the distribution of this news to readers?

The Embassy will feature MONTSAME’s official Korean news service on our website. We will also promote this initiative through the Republic of Korea’s official media channels to ensure readers are aware of this new opportunity. Additionally, we plan to actively inform Korean companies about this valuable new source of information.

Please visit https://montsame.mn/kr/ to read news about Mongolia in Korean.