Japanese-style torii at Tashkent's Korea-themed landmark draws criticism SEOUL, September 08 (AJP) -Seoul Mun, a popular Korean Wave attraction in Uzbekistan's capital Tashkent, has come under scrutiny over a prominent structure resembling a Japanese shrine gate that critics say could confuse visitors about the site's Korean identity. Seo Kyoung-duk, a professor at Sungshin Women's University and a prominent campaigner for promoting Korean culture and history overseas, raised concerns Tuesday over the large structure resembling a Japanese t September 8, 2026

Uzbekistan looks to its Islamic golden age to build a new future SEOUL, September 02 (AJP) - The Center for Islamic Civilization, sprawling across a site roughly the size of 14 soccer fields, embodies in its glittering magnificence and grandeur what “New Uzbekistan” envisions: ushering a young, increasingly digital population into the AI age while keeping it firmly anchored in Islamic heritage and spirituality. The sprawling cultural and research complex cost about $161.8 million to build, according to a government construction dire September 2, 2026

Kazakhstan offers to host SCO Development Bank headquarters SEOUL, September 02 (AJP) - A development bank that the Shanghai Cooperation Organization has not yet agreed to create already has a country volunteering to house it. Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev told the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Council of Heads of State in Bishkek on Sept. 1 that Kazakhstan would take the lender and its headquarters if the bloc's members reached agreement on building it. He backed the proposal, which China has pushed, and s September 2, 2026

New Kazakh parliament opens with 109 first-time deputies SEOUL, August 31 (AJP) - Of the 145 members of Kazakhstan's new single-chamber legislature, 109 have never held a seat in the national parliament. Within four days of taking their seats, they had elected a speaker, confirmed a vice president and returned a prime minister to office. The Kurultai opened on Aug. 28, replacing the Mazhilis and the Senate under the constitution that took effect July 1. Its members were elected on Aug. 23 in the first national vote held under that con August 31, 2026

Kazakhstan feels familiar. Family duty runs in reverse SEOUL, August 28 (AJP) - Kazakhstan can feel unexpectedly familiar to a Korean visitor. Across Astana, there are faces that at first glance would not look out of place in Seoul. Dark hair, familiar facial contours and gestures of deference toward older people can create fleeting moments of recognition in a country separated from the Korean Peninsula by thousands of kilometers of mountains, desert and steppe. The sense of familiarity runs deeper around the family table. Younger August 28, 2026

For Kazakhstan's Koryo-saram, exile became home ASTANA, Kazakhstan — Elena Ko has little difficulty answering a question that history made complicated for her family. "I'm Korean, but I think like Kazakh," she said through an interpreter. Ko, 55, is a third-generation Koryo-saram, a descendant of ethnic Koreans who settled across the former Soviet Union. She keeps Korean traditions, stays close to Kazakhstan's Korean community and travels to Seoul roughly once a year. But when she talks about home, August 27, 2026

Uzbekistan turns Islamic heritage into cultural diplomacy TASHKENT, August 26 (AJP) -Uzbek officials highlighted the country's rapid modernization and deeper integration into the global community while stressing efforts to preserve its cultural roots and use its Islamic heritage as a bridge to the wider world. “Given the current geopolitical difficulties around the world, Central Asia is increasingly important to global progress,” Munira Aminova, adviser to Uzbekistan’s foreign minister, said Wednesday, highlighting August 26, 2026

Five Central Asian states join Korea in new industry ministers' forum SEOUL, August 26 (AJP) - A standing consultative body of industry ministers will anchor the economic agenda when South Korea hosts the leaders of five Central Asian countries in Seoul next month, giving a relationship built largely on separate bilateral deals its first permanent multilateral working channel. The first Korea-Central Asia Summit, set for Sept. 16 and 17, puts industrial modernization, infrastructure, critical minerals and energy, workforce training and private-secto August 26, 2026

Tashkent turns Islamic heritage into living technology TASHKENT, August 26 (AJP) -For roughly 40 minutes Tuesday night, the massive façade of Uzbekistan's new Center for Islamic Civilization became a screen for a different telling of Islamic history. Astronomers, physicians, thinkers and poets appeared across the building in light, animation and digital imagery as music accompanied a narrative tracing the contribution of scholars from present-day Uzbekistan and the wider Islamic world to science, medicine, literature August 26, 2026

Uzbekistan marks independence through Islamic heritage SEOUL, August 25 (AJP) -Uzbekistan is marking the 35th anniversary of its independence by looking deeper into its Islamic heritage, bringing journalists, scholars and media executives from around the world to Tashkent for an international conference on the country's civilizational roots and their place in the modern world. The International Media Forum, titled “Islamic Civilization: A New Perspective — New Discoveries,” opened its main program Tuesday at the Ce August 25, 2026