Marika Dee

Mongolia's Urban Youth: Between Tradition and Globalization

“It’s all going so fast” sighs Gerelkhuu , a 26 year old artist living in Ulaanbaatar. “We have to remember who we are and to be careful not to lose our soul. If we don’t know who we are, we don’t know where we’ll go.” As Mongolia is changing at a frantic pace and finding itself at the forefront of globalization, its young urban generation is trying to keep up and figure out its identity. 

Although the country is now experiencing an economic crisis, over the previous years Mongolia, a landlocked country sandwiched between Russia and China, has known an unprecedented economic growth, driven by the massive development of mineral mining. The country’s rapid transformation gives rise to enormous social and ecological challenges. 

Half of Mongolia’s 2.8 million live in the country’s capital and largest city Ulaanbaatar, or UB as it is called locally. With more than half of Mongolians under the age of 30, the country not only has a very urban population but a young one as well. 

A whole country is changing and its young urban generation is searching for an identity, trying to negotiate the difficult balance between globalization and preservation of tradition. 

Almost 25 years after the democratic revolution that ended the communist era when Mongolia was a satellite state of the Soviet Union, young people grow up in a very different world than their parents’ generation. If in Soviet times their parents lived in an isolated country and looked up to the Soviet Union as an inspiring example of a developed nation, the young generation is globally connected, and looks to the West and neighboring Asian countries like South Korea, for inspiration. 

While passionate about change, young Mongolians are also clinging to the past. The post-communist period brought a revival of nationalism and Mongolian traditions, some of them previously banned by the communist regime. Buddhism, Shamanism, national hero Gjenhis Khan and traditional music, among others, are all embraced as part of the Mongolian identity. 

The photo story documents the lives of young people in the Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar. It shows the life of a young generation, trying to balance globalization and tradition against the backdrop of a rapidly changing urban society. 

 

  • Twenty-two-year old photographer Bilguun, who like many Mongolians uses only one name, sits next to a construction site near his home in one of the luxury high-rise towers in the Zaisan neighbourhood of Ulaanbaatar where he lives with his wife and parents.The economic boom driven by gold, copper and coal mining, sparked an accelerated growth in construction.
  • Young women pose for a photo at River Beach, a resort on the bank of the river Tuul. Located on the outskirts of the city, it’s a hangout place for young people.
  • Young people dance at a party at River Beach, a resort on the outskirts of Ulaanbaatar, or UB as it is called by locals.  Hip-hop, electronic music and punk are popular music genres among the young population.
  • An empty swimming pool in River Beach, a resort on the banks of the polluted river Tuul, just outside UB.
  • Teenage boys show off their gymnastic skills and tricks in a communal courtyard of Soviet-era buildings in the center of UB.
  • Teenage boys relax after a swim in the polluted river Tuul which runs through the capital.
  • Murun, 20, plays pool at a pool hall in UB.
  • During a live performance of the rock band Mohanik, interior designer Enerel, 26, paints on a wall of the Glamour art gallery in downtown UB. In 2013, Enerel who used to live and study for 10 years in the US decided it was time to return to Mongolia. “More and more people are coming back” she said “bringing back what they learned abroad”.
  • Young Buddhist monks play basketball with local teenage boys at the Dambadarja monastery, located in the north-eastern suburbs of UB. The monastery was among the 1000 Buddhist temples and monasteries that were destroyed or damaged between 1937 and 1939 by Soviet and Mongolian authorities as a supplement to the Soviet Great Purge under Stalin.  After the communist period ended, Buddhism, Mongolia’s main religion has experienced a strong resurgence.
  • Ganbayar (29) and Enhjargal (23), moments before their wedding ceremony at the Wedding Palace in UB. That same day, an auspicious day in Mongolia’s Buddhist calendar, dozens of couples wanted to get married. Wedding ceremonies started as early as 5 AM in UB’s Wedding Palace, built by the Russians and the place where most of the city’s wedding ceremonies are held. Much planning of ordinary life is based on auspicious days on the Mongolian Buddhist calendar.
  • Angie, 24, who until recently lived in Hungary, gets a gun tattoo at Bandgaa’s tattoo parlor in UB.  Mongolia’s boom has been a magnet to some who left the country years ago.
  • Namuunbaigali (23), a physical therapist, and Nomundelguur (24), a musician of the Morin Khuur, a traditional bowed string instrument, sing at a karaoke bar in downtown UB; karaoke is a favorite pass time in Mongolia.
  • At a dance studio in UB, a member of the urban dance company AIM4revolution practices dance moves while a friend relaxes on a couch.
  • Standing next to his sleeping one-month old son, Otgonbold (27) dresses for a shamanistic ceremony while his wife Anudari (25), a dentist and a shaman as well, shows pictures to her friend Azza.  Although the couple live in an apartment in downtown UB, their shamanistic ceremonies are held in their ger, a round felt tent, set up on the outskirts of the city.
  • In his bedroom in UB, Batzorig, 25, checks his facebook account while his mother Undarmal sits in the living room of the family’s apartment. Mongolian family ties are strong and young people often live at home until they get married.
  • Aspiring models listen to a lecture on the fashion model industry, part of a 3 month introductory course to modeling at the Torgo Fashion Salon in UB.
  • The television set in Batzorig’s family’s home is surrounded by traditional Mongolian and Buddhist objects. After being banned for decades by the Soviet-allied Mongolian Communist Party, Mongolia’s main religion knows a revival.
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