destination: mongolia
mongolian moment
Mongolia is no longer the far, far away land of legend and military might. Since the break up of the Soviet Union, the emerging democracy is developing at a cracking rate, atracting global investment and international publishers, reports Bayarmagnai Puntsag
or many people, when they hear the name Mongolia, what often springs to mind is Genghis Khaan – conquerer of half the world – along with nomadic people, the Gobi desert and the last pristine environment in the world. When I was studying in the USA, one woman told me that her mother used to scare her by saying: “I will send you to Outer Mongolia if you do wrong.” She imagined Outer Mongolia as a different planet beyond this world – and always behaved well. Mongolians, seemingly isolated for many generations, decided to follow democracy more than 20 years ago. Since then, we’re better known around the globe and are developing rapidly.
F
fipp.com
Just 20 years ago, horses and other animals were grazing in the central square of the capital, Ulaanbaatar. Things have changed drastically since then, and I’m glad to have been a living witnesses of this. If you walk on the main streets and avenues of Ulaanbaatar, you now see global brands such as LV, Burberry, Chanel, Zegna and Armani. Largely because of mining, the Mongolian economy has grown by 14 per cent annually over several years and Mongolia has attracted the attention of large international players. We are one of the most rapidly developing countries in the world.
Media evolution It has been about 100 years since the news media emerged in Mongolia, initially as a
propaganda tool for the socialist regime (see history box). After the outbreak of the democratic revolution, it provided the right for every citizen to publish and read free news media. During the socialist regime, Mongolia only had one main newspaper, called Unen (Truth) that belonged to the ruling Communist party. However, in the last 20 years, many free and independent news outlets have emerged. According to the Press Institute, as of
2011 there were 131 newspapers in the country, including 16 daily newspapers and 79 weekly and fortnightly newspapers. There were a further 300 outlets including 102 magazines, 72 FM Radio stations and 126 TV stations that operate regularly. These numbers are enormous for a
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