Russia’s Federal Space Agency is apparently training would-be astronauts from South Korea for a 2008 spaceflight, according to the country’s Interfax News Agency.

A field of some 36,000 candidates has been narrowed to 10 contenders, though only two South Koreans will be selected after a series of medical checks, Federal Space Agency spokesperson Igor Panarin told Interfax.

“It is a completely state-run project, and it is financed by the South Korean government,” Interfax quoted Panarin as saying.

Training for South Korea’s two astronaut candidates is expected to begin in Spring 2007 at Russia’s Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City. An agreement between the Federal Space Agency and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute is expected to be signed on Dec. 7.

Russia currently has a full list of non-Russian astronauts in training. U.S. entrepreneur Charles Simonyi is training for a March 2007 Soyuz flight to the International Space Station (ISS) for a 10-day space tourist mission.

Two Malaysian astronauts-to-be are also in training for a September 2007 mission, in which one will make national history as their country’s first spaceflyer.

Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, 34, and Faiz Khaleed, 26, are the two Malaysian astronaut finalists, with Shukor considered the prime candidate and Khaleed as back-up, according to the Associated Press. The wire service added that Malaysia’s first astronaut is expected to play the children’s game “Batu seremban” – or “Five stones” – and spin Malay tops to demonstrate the effects of microgravity during the planned ISS-bound spaceflight. 

For those of you who are counting, Russia launched the first female space tourist - U.S. businesswoman Anousheh Ansari - to the ISS in September. Earlier this year, the Federal Space Agency launched Brazil’s first spaceflyer - Marcos Pontes - on a 10-day spaceflight as well. That’s a whole lotta firsts.