Uzbekistan

Central Asia A dual-landlocked republic that occupies an area from the Aral Sea to the Pamir Plateau .[8]

The capital is Tashkent (Tashkent, Tashkent), meaning 'city of stones (or city of jewels)' .

The name of the country, Uzbekistan, comes from the Russian word Uzbekistan (Узбекиста́н), and is written in Uzbek as Oʻzbekiston‍, [ozbekiˈstɒn].

Etymologically, it is a combination of the ancient Turkic words Öz (*ȫŕ → 𐰇𐰔‎, 'one's own') and Beg (*bǟg → 𐰋𐰏, 'leader, governor') and Persian stan (ستان / stân, 'land, country'). This means that it is a ‘country that established its own leaders’, that is, an independent country that is not dominated by other ethnic groups. It is derived from the ethnic name of the Oghuz , a Turkic nomadic people/clan , and was the name used for this group for hundreds of years.[9] The meaning of the word changed as it was chosen as the name of the country when the constituent countries were established during the former Soviet Union.

The reason it is commonly called "Uzbekistan" is because it is derived from the Russian spelling (Узбекиста́н). Russian has a special vowel, Oʻ, in Uzbek.[10] Because it is difficult to write it as it is, it has been established as "Uzbekistan" internationally / "Uzbekistan" in Korean. Uzbek people call their country Oʻzbekiston (Ozbekiston) in their native language, and their ethnic name is pronounced Oʻzbek (Ozbek).

Unlike the Russian notation, the Hyundai Uzbek government uses the Latin character notation Oʻzbekiston/OʻZBEK as an official notation, and the international community is increasingly written in this notation.

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More than 130 ethnic groups live in Uzbekistan. According to official statistics, more than 80% of them are Uzbeks , and the next largest ethnic group is Tajik . Additionally, the total population is approximately 37 million as of 2025, making it the most populous among the five Central Asian countries that were constituents of the Soviet Union . Among the former Soviet Union countries, it is the country with the third largest population after Russia and Ukraine .

According to statistics, the official proportion of Tajiks is around 5%. However, several scholars unofficially estimate it to be around 25-35%.[11] The specific ratios estimated by each scholar are slightly different. During the time of the Bukhara Khanate before the establishment of the Soviet Union, Uzbeks and Tajiks lived mixed and distributed evenly across a wide area of ​​Central Asia. The term 'Sart', used until the early 20th century, meant both Tajiks and Uzbeks in this region. Afterwards, the national identities of the two groups were strengthened through nationalism . In the past, Soviet historians recognized that the Uzbek Turkic and Tajik ethnic groups were ethnically close to each other from ancient times.[12] This is why, in the process of establishing several ethnic-based Soviet republics, the Soviet government organized the Tajik ASSR into an autonomous republic within the Uzbek SSR, although it was a short period of five years from 1924 to 1929. A scholar who makes an unofficial claim says that many Tajiks in Uzbekistan are registered as Uzbeks for various reasons. Because of the Soviet government's nationalist policies, some Tajiks suffered discrimination.[13] However, it is unclear whether the sense of discrimination continues to this day. In fact, despite the policy of banning the Tajik language, Samarkand and Bukhara were cities where many Persian Tajiks historically lived.[14] Even today, in places where Tajik people are the majority, Tajik is still widely used in daily life. About 70% of the residents of Samarkand and 90% of Bukhara speak Tajik as their mother tongue.[15] Of course, there are scholars who believe that Tajiks living in Uzbekistan during the Soviet Union assimilated with Uzbeks.[16]

In addition, there are Kazakhs , Russians , Karakalpaks , Tatars , and Turkmens, and there are also Koreans and Crimean Tatars who were forcibly relocated from the Russian Far East, including the Primorsky Krai and Vladivostok, to Central Asia during the reign of Joseph Stalin . It is home to the largest number of ethnic groups among the CIS countries, with even a very small number of Ukrainians , Germans , and Black Sea Greeks living there. However, Uzbeks make up 81% of the total population, so it is not as diverse as neighboring Kazakhstan, which has a large Russian population. Uzbekistan has the largest number of Koreans in Central Asia. There are many Koryo people, so the perception of Korea is very good. However, due to Uzbekistan's preferential policy for Uzbeks, many Koreans go to Korea.

In Korea, 'Uzbek' is an abbreviation for ' Uzbek (Oʻzbeklar, Узбеки)' of the Turkic people and 'Uzbek nationality'. For example, when we say that 'Russians of Uzbek nationality (Oʻzbekistondagi ruslar, Русские в Узбекистане)' are Uzbek citizens, we often refer to them as 'Uzbeks', and in this case, people who do not know this are very confused with Uzbeks as an ethnic group. In general, Uzbeks as a people have a Western/Oriental feel as the region where Uzbekistan is located is part of the Andronovo culture, which has influenced Europe since the Bronze Age. There are many people with white skin, but there are also people with dark skin, and there are also many people who live in the desert and receive a lot of sunlight, so their skin is naturally dark. On the other hand, neighboring Kazakhs have a stronger Asian feel than Uzbeks. Of course, due to the nature of Central Asia, there are quite a few Western-looking people overall, and in the case of Kazakhstan, unlike Uzbekistan, there are many Russians living there, so it is more diverse in appearance than Uzbekistan.



Guzal Tursunova, known for chatting with beautiful women . I became a naturalized Korean citizen in 2011. However, this person is a Russian-Uzbek person and, as he revealed, has a Russian identity.[17]

Uzbeks are known on the Internet as a nation of beauties, perhaps because they have a sense of harmony between East and West. For this reason, in Korea, it is also half-jokingly called ‘ mother-in-law’s country .’ According to Wells, the Y chromosome haplogroups of Uzbeks include C (11.5%), common in Central Asia, J (13.4%), common in the Middle East, R1a (25.1%) and R1b (9.8%), common in Europe, O3 (4.1%), common in East Asia, and F (7.9%), common in South Asia. It has a Caucasoid-like feel, but also an oriental feel. Even people who look Asian have a strong Western feel. Also, as can be inferred from the haplogroup ratio, European haplogroups appear. This is because Uzbekistan used to be the territory of Persia, the kingdom of Bactria where the Greeks lived, and the Scythians , an Iranian horse race . In other words, although they are of the same Turkic origin, Uzbeks have more distinct Turkic characteristics than the Kyrgyz or Kazakhs who later moved from the upper Yenisei River to Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. Unlike Uzbeks, Kyrgyz and Kazakhs tend to look more East Asian.

There is also a slight influence of the number of beauties from Uzbekistan in Chatting with Beauties . The image is that there are many beautiful women in Central Asia other than Uzbekistan. However, in Uzbekistan, women from Korea, China, and Japan are said to have the image of beauty. Because of this, people who went on business trips with vague dreams and fantasies about the “land of opportunity” often hear jokes that all the beauties go to Korea and are not available here. Of course, as in any country, there are many slim and pretty people. However, people who like white European women are often disappointed when they see a surprisingly small number of Russians. There are far more Russians living in Kazakhstan than in Uzbekistan . During the Soviet era, more than half of Kazakhstan was Russian, and even now, Russians account for nearly 20%. Ruslana Koshunova, a world-famous model, is also Kazakh.

Although 81% of the total population of Uzbekistan is Uzbek, all Uzbeks look different, just as all Koreans look different. Mixed race with European whites, which usually comes to mind when people think of “mixed race” in Korea, is rare. (Russians and other Slavs came after the 20th century, and due to cultural differences with them, mixed marriages are quite rare.) However, because they are culturally very close to the Iranian Tajik people, there have been many intermarriages with them from the past to the present. In fact, religion or region are more important criteria for today's "nations" that are distinguished by language, such as Uzbek/Tajik. Although Uzbeks and Tajiks have different languages, they have mostly the same religion and culture, so they lived together and to this day, the boundaries between them are vague. This also appears in many other pre-modern countries, such as the Ottoman Empire . Of course, there are great individual differences, but Uzbek people generally have both Western and Eastern feelings.

Without knowing this fact , there are quite a few Koreans who assume that Uzbeks , not Russians, are Goryeo people, especially Kyrgyz or Tatar Uzbeks, who have strong East Asian traits . There are many Kyrgyz and Tatar people who look almost similar to Koreans.[18]

Although Uzbekistan is a secular country, most of its citizens are Muslims, so there is a culture that values ​​remaining a virgin before marriage to some extent. Although it varies from person to person, there are quite a few cases in which people do not consume pork or alcohol even if they marry a Korean, and for a country in Central Asia, there are quite a few people who strictly follow Islamic law. However, Russian-Uzbeks are not Muslims unless they are Tatars, and unlike Uzbeks, they are open and have European-style free love. However, Russian residents living in the capital Tashkent also speak Uzbek quite well. Uzbek women speak both Uzbek and Russian. In Tashkent, Russian is more commonly spoken, but almost all Uzbeks can speak Uzbek. Of course, there are cases where this is not the case.

Gypsies (Lyuli, Luli) are a group that is not often captured in official statistics .

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Uzbek is the official language. However, because Uzbekistan is home to many ethnic minorities for historical reasons, various languages, including Russian , Central Asian Korean , and Karakalpak language, were used under the influence of Russia and the Soviet Union , which emphasized equality. However, after independence, the use of other languages ​​is said to be decreasing relatively due to the influence of nationalism. In particular, Russian is the most widely used language and is designated as the lingua franca between different ethnic groups, and many people go to Russia to work, so Russian is an important foreign language and Russian is still widely used in cities, but the number of speakers has decreased significantly compared to the Soviet era. In rural areas, there is a shortage of students learning Russian. #(Russian) First of all, Russian is the most widely spoken language in the capital city of Tashkent , but due to the current Uzbek government making most of its official documents only in Uzbek, the number of people in their teens and twenties who cannot speak Russian at all is increasing. On the other hand, people in their 30s and older speak Russian due to Soviet influence. In Uzbekistan, Uzbek is spoken at 74.4%, Russian at 14.2%, and other languages ​​at 4.4%. In 2019, there is also a movement to teach Russian again in Uzbekistan. #(Russian) However, since Uzbekistan's independence, the use of Uzbek has increased and government documents are increasingly being written only in Uzbek, so unlike before, the number of Russians in Uzbekistan who know how to speak Uzbek is increasing.

Tajik is spoken by Tajiks . However, the government of Uzbekistan has a policy of banning the teaching of the Tajik language in schools.

If you go sightseeing, you have to accept that English is not fluent. The only places in Uzbekistan where English is spoken are the airport , hotels , and some high-end restaurants. If you use English, you may immediately receive a response in your mother tongue saying, 'I can't speak English, so speak Russian or Uzbek,' or you may get angry because you are ignored or perceived as sarcastic.[19][20] Still, there are quite a few young people learning English for the purpose of studying abroad .

Due to the Korean Wave, the number of people learning Korean has increased, and there is a Korean Education Center in Tashkent. And as the number of people learning Korean increased, even government-authorized textbooks were published in Korean as well as English. # In addition, there are quite a few people who know how to speak Korean, such as those who have returned from working in Korea. Of course, it's not to the point where you can just ask someone in Korean anywhere on the street and expect them to understand, but there are often situations where there is no one who can speak English, but there is someone who can speak Korean. Additionally, Hello Correa was broadcast on EBS2 in the late 2010s and is still being rebroadcast on EBS2.

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Except for the Kyrgyzstan - Tajikistan border area in the east , the terrain is generally flat. However, since the mountain range is the end of the famous Tian Shan Mountain Range, the height of Hazrati Sulton choʻqqisi, Пик Хазрет-Султан, the highest peak in the Hisor Mountain Range, reaches 4,643 m.

The Aral Sea, located in northern Uzbekistan, is rapidly shrinking as the inflow of river water decreases every year due to the cotton industry of the former Soviet Union. As a result, the ecosystem around the lake is destroyed, and nearby fishermen and residents are suffering great damage. The government of Uzbekistan has worked hard to restore the Aral Sea in cooperation with the government of Kazakhstan , and many parts have been restored, but there is still a long way to go.

At the level of Uzbekistan, the card of building a canal connecting the Black Sea (Mediterranean Sea), Caspian Sea, and Aral Sea without passing through Russia is being played to restore the water level of the Aral Sea, but no significant progress is being made.

Because all of its neighbors are landlocked, it is, along with Liechtenstein , one of the only two dually landlocked countries on earth . However, Western Europe, where Liechtenstein is located, is incomparable because the Schengen Agreement allows countries to travel around neighboring countries as if they were one country, and the distance to the sea is not that far. In the case of Uzbekistan, many agricultural industries are being introduced to the eastern region, and there is more land suitable for agriculture than the rest of Central Asia. Therefore, the long-term settlement of Uzbekistanis has led to the establishment of a long history, culture, and tradition in Central Asia . In the case of Uzbekistan, there are several cities with oases and a large amount of land suitable for farming, but in the case of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, which border Uzbekistan, there is not much land suitable for farming. Although they produce more water than Uzbekistan, Tajik and Kyrgyzstan are one of the places where farming is difficult due to the small number of rural areas due to the rugged valleys with a lot of water.

In Köppen's climate classification, the climate that occupies the largest area of ​​Uzbekistan's territory is a cold desert climate (BWk) . It occupies about 70% of the total area of ​​Uzbekistan, and it is an area with almost no precipitation.

Among the continental climates in which cities are concentrated, there are many cases where a cold semiarid climate (BSk) and a Mediterranean climate (Csa) are mixed, so precipitation in most cities is around 500mm. Thus, except for deserts, Uzbekistan's biomes are characterized by temperate grasslands and scrublands.

Highland Mediterranean climates (Dsb, Dsc) and tundra climates (ET) are very rare and correspond to temperate alpine climates as they are simply climate categories that occur only in high-altitude mountainous terrain.

The administrative divisions of Uzbekistan are divided into 12 provinces (Viloyat), 1 autonomous republic (Respublikasi) and 1 independent city (Shahar).

As can be seen from the table, the states of the eastern Fergana Basin are smaller in area than the western ones, but have a much higher population density.

The police can torture or abuse prisoners in prisons or camps , and can block the external contact with the outside and extend the detention period at will. The police also do not have to go through legitimate procedures to arrest or detain people arbitrarily, and even the trials of these people are not fair.

In addition, freedom of expression, press, assembly, and association are severely restricted, and government control of civil society activities continues. In addition, during the Islamic Karimov regime, all religious freedoms for members of minority religious groups were severely restricted, and the right to emigrate was also forcibly restricted for some citizens. Serious human rights abuses by the Uzbekistan government, such as government-mandated forced labor in cotton harvesting, were very severe during the Karimov era. During the Karimov era, the U.S. Freedom House designated Uzbekistan as one of the nine countries with the worst human rights abuses in the world, along with North Korea , Eritrea , and Turkmenistan .

The House of Representatives consists of 150 members serving 5-year terms, 75 from local districts ( single constituencies ), and 75 from proportional representation (closed representation).[21] The provision blocking proportional representation is 7% of the national vote.[22] The Senate is comprised of 65 members for five-year terms, 56 of whom are elected by local councils and 9 of whom are appointed by the President. All lawmakers are officially independent.[23] A retired president is eligible to become a senator for life according to his or her wishes. Although it is composed of a bicameral parliament, as in other authoritarian countries, the independence of the parliament is not guaranteed, leading Freedom House to sarcastically say that the legislative branch acts as a rubber stamp for the executive branch. In all elections, including the presidential and general elections, only five recognized political parties, including the ruling party, are allowed, but there is no proper opposition party, and all are controlled opposition parties . Additionally, since the Constitution does not allow independents to run in all elections except the Senate, anti-government figures are virtually unable to run. In the case of local elections, all heads of metropolitan and basic organizations were government- elected (appointed positions), and all members of metropolitan and basic councils were single-member constituency systems, but with the revision of the election law, an increasing number of regions are adopting a mixed single-member district + proportional representation system like the House of Representatives. From 2023, a provision has been introduced that requires female candidates to account for at least 40% of all candidates in the House of Representatives and local council elections.

As of 2025, the world freedom index is also very low, with 2 points for political rights (PR), 10 for civil liberties (CL), and a total score of 12 out of 100, which is lower than Venezuela , tied with Bahrain and Russia , and higher than Iran and Cuba . In fact, this has also increased significantly compared to the past. During the Karimov era from 2006 to 2017, it was 3 to 4 points , and is about equal to today's Eritrea and North Korea .

Islam Karimov ( 1938) served as First Secretary of the Uzbek SSR after the dissolution of the Soviet Union . January 30 - 2016 The authoritarian dictatorship known as September 2 was maintained, and in 2005 , when a popular demonstration took place in Andijan, Karimov ordered indiscriminate shooting, resulting in the massacre of between 500 and 2,500 people. This is the infamous Andijan Massacre .[24] At the time, the United States called for an investigation into the truth and supported the democratization movement, but this incident deteriorated the relationship between the two countries and forced them to close the U.S. Air Force base in Uzbekistan, which was important to the United States at the time. Note Until the Andijan massacre, Karimov had taken an active pro-American policy to escape Russian influence , but when the United States supported democratization under pressure from domestic and foreign public opinion, he judged it to be a threat to the regime and turned back to pro -Russia. South Korea also did not particularly oppose or care about Uzbekistan, as its trade volume is the second most important trading partner among former Soviet Union countries after Russia.

Corruption is also at a very serious level, and in the Corruption Perception Index published by Transparency International in 2011, it was ranked as the fifth most corrupt country in the world, following Somalia , North Korea , Afghanistan , and Myanmar . Although the country has become much more clean after Karimov's death, it still ranks only 124th out of 180 countries with 31 points as of 2025.

Karimov died in 2016 at the age of 78, and Shavkat Mirziyoyev ( 1957) died. (July 24 ~) was elected and is emphasizing economic development, releasing political prisoners, and making efforts to enter a democratic system. In Uzbekistan under the Mirziyoyev regime, measures are being taken to weaken the police state system and actively introduce a free market economy. # In addition, visa-free entry was implemented in 7 countries including Korea ( Malaysia , Singapore , Israel , Japan , Indonesia , and Turkye ). Tourist attractions that previously were not allowed to be photographed have now been allowed to be photographed by tourists, and many political and economic advancements are taking place, such as encouraging investment by many foreign companies, actively promoting free and open markets, and achieving a growth rate of 7%. Although democratization progress is very slow, with many remnants of dictatorship still remaining, significant changes are being achieved compared to the Karimov era.[25]

Looking at Freedom House's 2023 World Freedom Index for Uzbekistan , politically, it has improved significantly compared to the Karimov era by reforming some elements of elections, creating an online complaint system, and allowing some discussion of sensitive issues in terms of freedom of expression and conscience. It has also enacted a decree and presidential decree prohibiting torture.[26] The president's commitment to change is clearly on display, with the president himself signing a law in 2020 to completely end the national quota system for cotton, which motivated calls for forced cotton labor, which drew international controversy. This is a markedly better attitude compared to the dictatorial countries of the former Soviet Union: Russia, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan.

Even today, there is a state-recognized Protestant church in the capital, Tashkent. Although there are Korean churches, proselytization is still legally prohibited. However, as long as you have a job, you can move to your place of residence at any time, so the Mirziyoyev regime has relaxed some of the restrictions.

On May 1, 2023, the presidential term will be increased from 5 to 7 years by constitutional amendment.[27] changed. #

The autonomous republic of Karakalpakstan ( Karakalpak : Qaraqalpaqstan, Uzbek : Qoraqalpogʻiston) exists because it followed the administrative district system under the Soviet Union. The territory occupies close to 40% of the territory of Uzbekistan with the Aral Sea as the main axis, but most of it is desert, so the population is only 1.7 million, and it is suppressed by the Uzbekistan government even though it wants independence. In the past, the top leader of this place was summoned to Tashkent and went missing, and the scarecrow leader was newly installed.

Many Tajiks live in Samarkand, Bukhara, Kashkadario, and Surhandario in southwestern Uzbekistan, and they once waged an independence movement. As of 1989, more than 1 million Tajiks (estimated to be 25-30% of the total population) lived in Uzbekistan. On the other hand , many Uzbeks live in northern Tajikistan, centered around Khujand . As of 2000, there were 1.01 million people, but due to Tajikistan's poor economic situation, the proportion of Uzbeks in Tajikistan is rapidly decreasing every year. In fact, since many local Tajiks work abroad, it goes without saying that they are Uzbeks. Uzbeks living in Khujand staged a protest demanding that the area be separated from Tajikistan and merged into Uzbekistan, which developed into a riot and led to a massacre by Tajikistan government forces. Because the national power is so different, Tajikistan is not causing a territorial dispute, but it clearly claims Samarkand, which is Uzbekistan's territory and the hometown of dictator Karimov, as its own.

Even after the collapse of communism, Islam Karimov actively pursued secularist politics and instilled secular values, which also played a role. In the Islamic world, after the fall of a monarchy or military dictatorship, Islamic forces that advocate a 'return to tradition' often come to power. A representative example is the Abdelaziz Bouteflika regime in Algeria in 1990 . This is because, due to oppression by the dictatorship, the secularist camp that believes in Western-style democracy and left-wing groups based on the working class have little power and their values ​​are often not well rooted in the public. On the other hand, since Islam is a religion and culture that is embedded in people's daily lives, no dictatorship can dare to drive out Islam itself. Moreover, because of its unique precepts, Islam is responsible for education and social welfare, so it is easy to gain public support. In particular, the role of Islam becomes more prominent in places where inequality is severe and the economy is underdeveloped. Therefore, it is natural that Islam, which is trusted by the public and gathers public sentiment, will become the core of the anti-dictatorship movement, the 1979 Iranian Revolution being a representative example. In addition, the Muslim Brotherhood , which has been fighting military dictatorship in Egypt for decades , the Palestinian armed organization Hamas , and Lebanon 's Hezbollah are all gaining public support by going beyond simple political movements and playing the roles of education, social welfare, and financial institutions in the region. Moreover, as secularism and Arab nationalism, which have hit the Islamic world in the Middle East since Gamal Abdel Nasser, ultimately failed in many areas including politics, diplomacy, and the economy, public sentiment is increasingly turning to Islam.

The problem is that Muslims are desperate in the Western interference, underdeveloped economy, and cultural backwardness, rapidly returning to Islamic fundamentalism since the 1980s. In 1979, the Iranian Revolution eventually became widespread, starting with the conventional rule of Islamic Shi'ite. For this reason, when the dictatorship forcibly suppressed them collapses, Islam tends to take control of the regime, and eventually the Islamic extremist forces tend to gain. This is another Islamic dictatorship. Western countries who witnessed this reality in Afghanistan and Iraq again realized that the secularist forces that respect Western human rights in the Islamic power in the Libyan Civil War and the Syrian Civil War were minority. This was similar in Egypt and Algeria, where free elections were held after the Arab democratization movement. At present, the foreign policy of Western countries is changing to the dictatorship of strong secularism and industrialization, rather than the flimsy sustained -style democracy.

However, alcohol sales have been restricted to some extent since 2012 under the newly enacted National Health Promotion Act. This law was enacted not because of the influence of Islamic fundamentalism, but because drinking too much is seriously reducing the lifespan and health of Uzbek men.

Still, among Central Asian countries, they tend to believe it relatively strictly. For a Turkic country, Uzbekistan believes more strictly in Islam, and hijabs and niqabs are sometimes worn. This is because even in secular Central Asia, the Fergana Valley region is an exception , where the Wahhab faction is dominant, which includes parts of eastern Uzbekistan and southern Kyrgyzstan. However, although this tends to strictly apply rules at the community level, the countries of Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan are generally secular, so in reality, they are not tight societies like Saudi Arabia , Iran , or Brunei . Of course, there is no such thing for Kazakhs , Kyrgyz , Turkic people , etc. And Azerbaijanis believe in Shiism . Around that time, the government officially announces how many days the Islamic holiday will take place. So it is not marked on the calendar. After President Mirziyoyev took office, the Uzbekistan government implemented reform policies that had previously been restricted and allowed some policies, such as allowing Azan in mosques, to be freely implemented.

On the other hand, it is also sensitive regarding Islamic terrorist groups. As the number of Uzbeks who joined IS reached 500 and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan declared subordination to IS, the Uzbek government also decided to pursue deprivation of citizenship in case of participation in terrorist groups. However, it has not been decided what to do with single citizens because deprivation of nationality is prohibited under international law. Source The Uzbekistan government is taking a hard line against these terrorist groups, but the current stronghold of these Islamic terrorist organizations is outside of Uzbekistan in Afghanistan , making it difficult to eradicate them. There are about 3 million Uzbeks living in Afghanistan, which is a large population of nearly 10% of the total Uzbek population. First of all, Islamic terrorist groups advocating Islamic fundamentalism go to foreign countries such as Afghanistan and Syria because it is very difficult to live or operate in Uzbekistan. In particular, Islamic radical groups in Afghanistan are quite a problem for Uzbekistan, so the Uzbekistan government itself is working closely with the United States through the military to suppress Afghanistan and is contributing greatly to preventing the spread of Islamic fundamentalism in Central Asia. . In addition, foreign visits for terrorist purposes are in close contact with the FBI , and if an Uzbek national is caught by the FBI overseas, it can be said that there was cooperation between Uzbekistan and the FBI.

Russians of Uzbek nationality mainly believe in the Russian Orthodox Church . However, because the government intentionally prevents other religions from carrying out visible activities in order to appease the majority of the people who believe in Islam, religious events tend to be held quite quietly. In particular, religions other than the Orthodox Church are legally prohibited from evangelizing to their own citizens .

Although Uzbekistan is predominantly Muslim, weekends are Saturday and Sunday , just like in the West . Friday is just a weekday in this town . Instead, Christmas is a weekday and the last public holiday of the year is December 8. It is Constitution Day .

It has deep ties to the Uzbekistan mafia and corrupt political relations. The Uzbek mafia is notorious for smuggling opium and heroin from Afghanistan and spreading it to Russia and Europe. Uzbeks living in Korea also formed small gangs and became active.

Public security in major urban areas such as Tashkent and Samarkand is quite excellent. Of course, this is unavoidable in most countries around world-famous tourist destinations, but in most urban areas, there are not many miscellaneous crimes such as pickpocketing or minor assaults. Surprisingly, even when riding a bus or subway with a backpack, you rarely get pickpocketed. In conversations with locals, they say it is because it has been a strong police state for so long. Some people feel that way because they are very friendly toward Koreans. Still, it is best to refrain from going out late at night or trying to have unreasonable conversations with locals. Even in rural areas of this country, there are many Islamic extremists . Most of them are active overseas. # # The neighboring country is Afghanistan .

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Central Asia has been a place where many different groups have passed through since ancient times. The oldest discovered civilizations include the Indo-European Afanasievo and Andronovo cultures, as well as the Tokharan, Scythian, and Massagetean cultures.[28] Not only the Caucasoids, but also the Caucasian Turanids, the Ephtals, the Turks, the Mongols, and the Huns, have lived over a wide area for a long time. In addition, traces of Greek culture remain, such as enjoying "Osh", a food introduced from Greece and other places, and shouting the Greek word "OPA" at weddings.

Under the influence of ancient Indian university culture, excellent universities operated in several cities of medieval Uzbekistan. In particular, Samarkand and Bukhara were famous, and since ancient times, ordinary children have been taught how to read and write from the age of five for the purpose of exchanging information in trade. Many cities in Uzbekistan were famous as centers of learning even after Islamization, and in addition to literature and Islamic theology, astronomy, medicine, and mathematics developed. As a result, a water supply system and a rudimentary sewage system were introduced in large cities, and the roads in the city were paved with stone.

Having been part of the Persian culture for a long time, we are not only influenced unilaterally but also exchange influences. Even today, Tajik (Sunni Persian) influence remains in a large part of the culture, with many Tajik speakers in historically important cities such as Samarkand and Bukhara . The language is also Turkic, but compared to other Central Asian peoples who settled late, the Uzbek language was greatly influenced by Persian in terms of vocabulary and grammar. Their religion, Islam, also did not come directly from Arab countries, but was introduced through the Tajiks. Meanwhile, the Turkic Uzbeks also have a Turkic nomadic and agricultural culture and are inherently religiously tolerant, and there are various religions, including Islam and Orthodoxy. It is the country with the largest number of ethnic minorities among the former Soviet Union countries, with over 130 ethnic groups. Among these, the proportion of Uzbeks, the mainstream ethnic group, is high. Additionally, Kazakhstan has much greater ethnic diversity than Uzbekistan . Therefore, although Uzbekistan has a diverse culture, it can be broadly divided into the traditional culture of the Uzbek/Tajik people and the Orthodox culture of the Russians. And by region, the traditional culture of the Uzbeks is divided into the eastern region from Tashkent to Andijan, the central region centered on Samarkand and Bukhara, and the western region centered on Khiva. This is consistent with the three khanates that existed in the Central Asian region of Uzbekistan in the past.

In rural areas, they still live in groups called mahalas, and they enjoy drinking tea (called cho). There are many different types of tea, and there is a culture of drinking tea while chatting with family and friends. It was once a communist country, so it wouldn't suit me at all, but it's very capitalistic. Because Samarkand was a famous place for silk road trade. Maybe that's why there is a proverb in Kazakhstan that says, "Uzbeks do business even on the moon."

Here, Timur or Ali-sher Navoiy, a writer from Afghanistan who was active in the 15th century, is revered as a national father. Alisher Navay is like Shakespeare in English and Goethe in German. Almost unique at the time, he was the first to write literary works in Chagatyre (predecessor of Uzbek) and made a great contribution to the formation and development of the Uzbek language.

Etiquette in this country includes: Do not shake hands across the door. It is said that this is because it means separation. Also, wear a hat or shoes indoors. The head meat is said to be given to the elders.

On the other hand, due to the influence of the Soviet Union , which was a bureaucratic society, it was very bureaucratic, requiring too many documents and taking a long time to do anything.

Elementary school is 4 years, middle school is 5 years, and high school is 2 years. Therefore, there is no high school 3 in Uzbekistan, and high school 2 soon becomes a high school graduating class. The age of a first-year college student in this country corresponds to a high school senior in Korea.

Popular songs of Uzbekistan.

In 2017, the government of Uzbekistan published a list of 34 computer games banned for “distorting values ​​and threatening stability”. #

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Despite poor economic conditions, Olympic sports are consistently performing well. At the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics , it ranked 21st overall, and at the 2024 Paris Olympics , it ranked 13th overall, the second highest among Asian countries after Korea, China, and Japan.

The boxing is very strong. In the 1996 Atlanta Olympics , one bronze medal , two bronze medals in the 2000 Sydney Olympics , two bronze medals at the 2004 Athens Olympics , one bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics, and three gold medals, two silver medals, and two bronze medals in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics . At the 2024 Paris Olympics, he won five gold medals.

Gymnast Oksana Chusovitina is also famous, having competed in the Olympics eight times from the 1992 Barcelona Olympics to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics . In the middle, she naturalized as a German national representative to pay for her son's leukemia treatment, and then naturalized again in her home country.

The only medal in the Winter Olympics was that Lina Cherazoba won the gold medal at the Women's Freestyle Ski at the 1994 Lileham Mer Winter Olympics. Although he is not an Olympic medalist , the 1999 Four Continent Championships , 1999 Gangwon Winter Asian Games Women's Single Gold Medalist Tatiyana Malinina is from this country.

Judo became a very strong country, but in the past, he failed to win medals by the East Asian countries such as the Republic of Korea and Japan, but became a powerful country to win three gold medals in the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games .

He is also steadily winning medals in Taekwondo and wrestling .

I am also good at chess due to Soviet influence. There are world-class players such as Nordirbek Abdusatorov and Zavohir Sindarov , who won the 2022 Chess Olympiad .

In terms of this performance, it can be seen that it is a very strong country in speculative sports.

Football is considered a very hot country. In particular, the national teams such as U-17 ~ U-23 are so strong that they are called Asian gangsters .[29] After being separated from the Soviet Union, the adult national team is regarded as the top power on the Asian continent and is one of the opponents that Korea meets quite frequently in the World Cup final qualifiers. However, at every decisive moment, he was watered on the threshold of the World Cup finals all the time, and in June 2025, the FIFA World Cup final was confirmed for the first time.[30] See the Uzbekistan national soccer team document document for details .

In the professional league, Hibaudu was once a star player or a star manager named Scolari , and FC Bunny Model Cors , who recruited these ransom named, won the AFC Champions League , but in 2009, he was caught by Pohang Steelers led by Farias , and in 2010, Saudi Arabia Al Hilal was soon caught and soon sent off. In the 2011 competition, Iran Sephahan was also sent off in the round of 16.

However, in the 2012 tournament, he won two wins against Pohang Steelers, dropping Pohang in the round of 16, and dropping the Seongnam Ilhwa 1-0 in the round of 16 and becoming a K-League killer in one season, but he was defeated by Ulsan Hyundai in the quarter -finals. I couldn't. In the 2013 tournament, Bunyotkor was eliminated early in the round of 16 in Thailand's Buriram United . Nevertheless, in 2014, the Round of 16 is going to the round of 16. However, only the Bundle Corsman is active in the Asian club competition.

Reached the quarterfinals of the 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup. Although they lost 4-1 to New Zealand , they beat the Czech Republic and the United States 2-1 to advance to the round of 16 as first place in their group, and defeated Australia 4-0 in the round of 16 held on June 30 to advance to the quarterfinals of the Youth World Cup for the first time in the country's history. They also advanced to the quarterfinals at the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup . In addition, at the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup, where Asian teams competed, they were the only Asian team to advance to the tournament and advance to the quarterfinals. As a result, the adult national team's skills are now at a level that cannot be ignored, so it was possible that they could advance to the 2026 World Cup finals, and this actually happened.

However, the controversial controversy of the players is sometimes mentioned so that the livestock cooperatives need to do some character education. The next day, the U-23 Kings Cup match against the Asian Cup finals, he showed a martial arts without acknowledging defeat at the soccer field . video .

Serber Zeparop, who was active in Ulsan Hyundai in 2015 through K -League's FC Seoul and Seongnam FC, was from the Bungot Cors and belonged to Suwon Samsung Blue Wings in 2012 Alexander Gain Ligh, who transferred to the United Arab Emirates, is also from Pak Takor, a rival of the Bunyotcore.

Ikromzon Alibayev, a member of the national team, is playing for Seongnam FC after playing for FC Seoul and Daejeon Hana Citizen , and Rustam Ashulmatov is playing for K League 2. Played for Gwangju FC .

Similarly , in the J-League , quite a few players from the Uzbekistan national team are included. Jubilo Iwata 's Pogil Musaev, Lenopa Yamaguchi 's Dostonbek Tursnov , and Tokushima Vortis ' Zavikilo Urinboev are playing as of 2019.

On January 21, 2025, Abdukhodir Khusanov 's transfer to Manchester City made him the first Uzbek footballer to play in the Premier League . On January 26, he made his debut as a starter in the first Premier League match.[31][32]

After that, Khusanov played as RB and CB, and as of January 25
With Dias and Gvardiol injured, they are forming a CB line with Alain and Guehi.

Thanks to the influence of the Soviet era, railways are well-established and actively operated between major cities. Because it is a landlocked country with no sea to begin with, it is highly dependent on railways. International trains to Russia and Kazakhstan also run frequently. There is also a high-speed railway called Afrosiob, which is imported from Spain and operates on a high-speed line between the capital Tashkent and Samarkand to cities such as Bukhara and Karsi .

In addition, express buses and long-distance taxis are actively operating in intercity transportation . If you go with more than three people, the cost of a long-distance taxi or express bus is similar. Although infrequent, domestic flights are operated by Uzbekistan Airways .

However, in the direction to the east (Fergana, Andijan, Namangan), intercity transportation is poor, perhaps due to the influence of the Tensan Mountains . In the Fergana Basin, of course,[33] Although there are relatively many buses, the train route between Tashkent and these areas runs only 2-3 round trips a day, and other than that, you can only move by taxi or shared ride. However, if the destination is Namangan or Fergana, you can travel by plane. That's why it's usually easier to use an airplane and the fare is cheaper.

Road traffic is rather active through major intercity highways , but road conditions are very poor. So, the express bus takes quite a long time.

Public transportation in the city is city buses.[34] , Marshturka[35] and taxis are often used. In addition, Tashkent also has a subway , and Samarkand also has a streetcar . Public transportation in Tashkent charges 3,000 sum in cash and 1,700 sum in transportation card per person.

Taxi fares are very cheap, but since meters are rarely used, it is common to get ripped off. In particular, in front of Tashkent International Airport, Nara City drivers are very aggressive towards tourists, but they charge exorbitant rates to get to the city, so ignore them and use the taxi calling app, hotel pick-up service, or city bus, which will be explained later. To reduce fares, you can use the Yandex Taxi (Tashkent and Fergana only) or MyTaxi (Tashkent only) apps. In general, based on city standards, it rarely costs more than 5,000 won in Korean currency. The airport is also very close to the city, so traveling between the airport and the city is not much different from taking a taxi within the city. In regions where these apps do not support, you must call or telegram from the local call taxi. If you use the app, the driver's cell phone becomes an app meter, which can reduce the cost of fares to some extent. However, please note that you must activate a local SIM to use the taxi calling app and Telegram calling.

Instead, it is notorious for being very merciless to pedestrians. In many countries in Europe , there are many countries where the pedestrian-first culture has been considerably established, and in the case of Korea , it has been considerably established due to the pedestrian-first culture campaign since the 2000s, but Uzbekistan is still a car-first culture. There are many times when a pedestrian rushes dangerously into a vehicle openly even though there is a pedestrian passing in front of it. When a pedestrian walks slowly, they often start off by honking and getting angry. On the other hand, there are cases where you turn on the emergency lights to let them pass first and wait. In addition, the crosswalk signal is short, and there are countless unprotected crosswalks, so caution is required when crossing.

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Uzbekistan is the country with the most developed tourism industry in Central Asia. However, it is only relatively developed in Central Asia , and compared to other countries, it still has a long way to go and is a minor travel destination globally.

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The Aral Sea has dried up so much that it is almost disappearing, so there is a plan to save the Aral Sea by building a Black Sea (Mediterranean Sea)-Caspian Sea-Aral Sea Canal as a solution, but progress is not being made due to cost issues, potential environmental issues, and the interests of the countries through which the canal will pass. If it is realized, Uzbekistan will be able to access the Caspian Sea via the Aral Sea . It will become possible to advance into the sea, including the Black Sea. There is also a video about the economic ripple effects of connecting the Aral Sea and the Caspian Sea through a canal in Uzbekistan at the end of 2021 .

In the capital Tashkent , branch schools established by Inha University and Ajou University are operated. Inha University in Tashkent (IUT) opened in 2014, and Ajou University in Tashkent (AUT) opened in 2021.