Korean Christians Invade Afghanistan

It looks like the Taliban has some competition:

Seoul has an uneasy feeling about plans by South Korean Christians to hold a “peace rally” in Afghanistan `s capital, Kabul, next weekend.
The Foreign Ministry said yesterday it had dispatched a team to the Central Asian country to help if trouble breaks out between the group and Afghan Muslims or insurgents.
The Institute of Asian Culture and Development, a Christian group in Korea, has been warned repeatedly since January about the potential for violence in a Muslim country still wracked by war and terrorism. Last month, the administration issued a statement in the names of several government agencies, including the Justice Ministry, urging prospective participants to rethink and stay away from the event.
Responding to the latest warning, issued yesterday, the institute protested that the event was a peaceful one involving only cultural activities and volunteer work, not proselytizing.

Sure they are not there not there to proselytize, they are probably just there to check out the donkey markets, gardening outlet stores, shopping, beaches and skiing because we all know how boring Seoul can be.  What amazes me more than anything are the numbers of Koreans that are in Afghanistan right now:

Reportedly, about 1,000 Koreans have already gone to Afghanistan for the event. That country’s Ministry of Culture had approved the plans, but changed its mind after approaches from the Korean government.
The Afghan ministry said it has told the institute that the event cannot be held; security officials in Kabul have reinforced that warning, saying they could not guarantee the security of the participants.

1,000 Koreans in Afghanistan?  You can make two combat battalions out of them.  Heck, maybe they part of the new NATO led force there?