South Korean travel blogger YoungMin visited Artsakh after Azerbaijan's 2023 ethnic cleansing of Nagorno-Karabakh, becoming one of the few independent foreign visitors to document conditions on the ground after more than 100,000 Armenians were forced from their ancestral homeland. In this episode, YoungMin discusses what motivated his trip, what he saw in Stepanakert, Askeran, Agdam, and the surrounding areas, how Azerbaijani state narratives try to frame post-war tourism, and what the empty towns, damaged infrastructure, and erased Armenian presence reveal about the aftermath of the 44-Day War and the destruction of Artsakh.
Topics:
YoungMin’s journey into post-2023 Artsakh
Controlled access, guided narratives
Erasing traces of Armenians
In Agdam, Askeran, and Stepanakert
Memory, loss, and the aftermath of ethnic cleansing
Guest: YoungMin (Instagram, YouTube)
Hosts:
Episode 526 | Recorded: March 21, 2026
SHOW NOTES: https://podcasts.groong.org/526
#artsakh #Armenia #YoungMin #NagornoKarabakh #EthnicCleansing
