Mongolian Ambassador to South Korea Baasanjav Ganbold inaugurated a sports competition organized by a Mongolian student group, to celebrate its 10-year mark at Sahmyook University in Nowon-gu, Seoul, on Feb. 16.

The Mongolian Student Association in Korea (CMOX) organized the competition as a way of thanking a slew of local organizations, including the Mongolian Embassy here, that have supported the group over the years.

Some 60 Mongolian students celebrated the association’s 10th anniversary with games of pingpong, basketball and badminton at the university’s gymnasium for fun and prizes, and to shake off the winter chill.

“We like to show our support for Mongolian nonprofit organizations whenever we can, and students everywhere are always very active,” said Ganbold.

There are 28,000 Mongolians currently staying in South Korea, some 4,000 of whom are here for educational reasons, Ganbold said.

The number of Mongolians coming to South Korea for work has been decreasing recently as the Mongolian economy churns out double-digit growth rates, creating golden employment opportunities.

CMOX was first launched in 2003 with fewer than 100 members, but it has grown along with the Mongolian expatriate community over the last decade. The group’s chair said membership exceeds 3,000.

“We organized this friendly competition as a way of thanking the many groups that have supported us since we started out more than 10 years ago,” said Byambasuren Chuluundorj, chair of CMOX.

By Philip Iglauer (ephilip2011@heraldcorp.com)