“Identity through difference”: Liminal Diasporism and Generational Change Among the Koryo Saram in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

This article examines the case of the Koryo saram, the ethnic Koreans living in the Central Asian republic of Kyrgyzstan, to reflect on how notions of diasporas, community, and identity have changed since the collapse of the Soviet Union. It contends that the Koryo saram are best understood through the lenses of diasporic conditions rather than as bounded communities, as such an approach allows for greater recognition of heterogeneity within these communities. While many Koryo saram continue to claim some form of Korean-ness, how they relate to issues of homeland-orientation and boundary maintenance evidences internal variation and growing in-betweenness. The community’s hybridity (“hyphenization”) and liminality (“identity through difference”) stand out when examining generational differences and are especially evident among the local Korean youth.

China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC): Fostering the Trade, Investment and Economic Globalization

Though the 21st century was considered hallmark economic globalization and trade partnership but recent developments of Brexit and President Trumps protective and anti-multilateral trading have challenged the established liberal consensus on economic globalization. This paper would argue that on the contrary the case of CPEC is the recent initiative from China and Pakistan which is giving boost to the new wave of economic Globalization as the economic corridor China projected the Belt and Road as a road to prosperity whereas isolation brings backwardness, will be more true with regard to CPEC. For Pakistan it is a gamechanger as it is a framework of regional connectivity. CPEC will not only benefit China and Pakistan but will have positive impact on Iran, Afghanistan, India, Central Asian Republic, and the region. The enhancement of geographical linkages will further the economic globalization as against the anti-globalization moves.

The Politics of Language in Kyrgyzstan

Nineteen eighty-nine appeared to be an annus mirabilis in Soviet language policy; during that year, nine of fifteen Soviet republics adopted laws that championed the language of the titular nationality. Among these was Kyrgyzstan, a small Central Asian republic where Russian had increasingly marginalized the language of the Kyrgyz.