“Blood brotherhood through Korean war is a source of pride for Türkiye and Korea”

Publisher Lee Kyung-sik, Vice Chairman Song Na-ra, Managing Editor Kevin Lee

“The year 2022 marks the 10th anniversary of our strategic partnership with Korea. We consider it a good time to give new impetus to our all-round cooperation through reciprocal high-level visits,” said Ambassador-designate H.E. Murat Tamer on the occasion of the 99th anniversary of the proclamation of the Republic of Türkiye on Oct. 28, 2022.

Delivering a speech at the Turkish National Day reception held at Lotte Hotel in Seoul, Ambassador-designate Tamer said, “Our close relationship with the Republic of Korea is a source of pride for both countries. These relations, which date back many centuries, have transformed into a blood brotherhood with the Korean War. This soil, where our martyrs and veterans shed their blood, is considered as a second homeland for us.”

Ambassador-designate Tamer also read out the message of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of the Republic of Türkiye on behalf of the president. 
The gala reception was attended by many distinguished guests from the Korean government and various other segments of Korean society and also by the ambassadors and other senior officials from the Seoul Diplomatic Corps. 
Among the distinguished Korean guests were Vice Minister Yoon Jong-jin of the Ministry of Patriots and Veteran Affairs of the Republic of Korea and various leading figures from all walks of life, including the mass communications media whence came many media representatives who included Publisher-Chairman Lee Kyung-sik of The Korea Post media, publisher of 3 English and 2 Korean news publications since 1985.

There also were many ambassadors and other senior diplomats attending the reception, who included Ambassador Abdulla Saif Alnuaimi of the United Arab Emirates in Seoul and Charge d’affaires Francisco Alberto Gonzalez of Colombia.
Vice Minister Yoon also said in his congratulatory speech, “This year is the 65th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries and the 10th anniversary of the establishment of a strategic partnership. We will do our best to ensure that the relationship continues to develop."

Speech text of Ambassador-designate H.E. Murat Tamer of the Republic of Türkiye

Distinguished Guests,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Değerli Vatandaşlarım,
I would like to extend a warm welcome to all of you, as we celebrate the 99th anniversary of the proclamation of the Republic of Türkiye with joy and excitement.
It gives me great pleasure to host the Turkish National Day reception after a three- year long interruption due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
This is also meaningful as it is my first time celebrating our National Day in beautiful South Korea.
Now, with your kind permission, I will continue my remarks in Turkish.

***
Dear guests,
First of all, welcome to the 99th anniversary of the Republic of Türkiye, founded by the Great Leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and his brothers-in-arms, through sacrifices by the great Turkish nation.
At the outset, I wish to touch upon a few points.
It is indeed a great pleasure for me to assume my duty in this beautiful and friendly country.
Korea is a very dear country to us. In Türkiye, we start feeling a sympathy towards Korea from young ages, without knowing the reason or paying attention to who teaches this to us.
We get happy when good things happen in this friendly country far away and feel their sadness as ours when something unfortunate happens. When kids play games, they choose Korea as their team. Pure feelings of friendship lead them towards Korea.
As we get older, we start to learn and understand why we like this friendly country and its people. Then, the childish sympathy inside of us grows and as it gets more elaborate, it also becomes stronger.
In this vein, I feel truly excited to serve as Ambassador in a country towards which I have had such fond feelings since my childhood.
Sokakta Türk olduğumu öğrenen bir Koreli kardeşimin bana bir anda “kan kardeşim” demesi içime mutluluk dolduruyor.
It gives me joy to hear a Korean brother I meet on the street calling me “blood brother” right away when he learns that I am Turkish.
Our close relationship with the Republic of Korea is a source of pride for both countries. These relations, which date back many centuries, have transformed into a blood brotherhood with the Korean War. This soil, where our martyrs and veterans shed their blood, is considered as a second homeland for us.
We deeply appreciate the efforts of the Korean government and Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs in particular to preserve our special ties and remain committed to further advancing them in all possible domains.
As we leave the obstacles of the pandemic behind, we are pleased to observe that our bilateral relations are going back to normal in a steady manner.
Last year, our trade volume with the Republic of Korea reached 8,6 billion USD, with a yearly increase of 2 billion. This growth proved to us that even the pandemic could not halt the expansion of our trade. On the contrary, it became more diversified.
This year, we strongly reconnected the two nations by raising weekly flights by Turkish Airlines to 11 between Istanbul and Seoul. With support from our Korean friends, we wish to increase this number to 14 weekly. Before the pandemic, number of incoming Korean tourists in Türkiye had reached 250.000. This year, with increasing flight frequencies, we believe this number to soar again.
2022 marks the 10th anniversary of our Strategic Partnership with Korea. We consider it a good time to give new impetus to our all-round cooperation through reciprocal high-level visits.
Our cooperation in defence industry has gained excellent momentum. We appreciate the unprejudiced approach of Korea towards Türkiye. This is an area where true friendship makes a difference and we look forward to achieving results on a win-win basis.
The two countries enjoy excellent cooperation on multilateral platforms. We contribute to the global agenda through G-20 and MIKTA. We are happy to extend our earnest support for Korea’s bid for a non-permanent seat at the United Nations Security Council in 2024-25.
On the other hand, in education, we are pleased to see rapidly increasing numbers of Turkish students coming to Korea for their university degrees. The fact that a large portion of Turkish students are female goes to show that Korea is one of the safest countries in the world. We are thankful for Korean authorities for their support.
I started by saying Korea is a very dear country for us. In this context, I would like to reiterate our sincere desire for peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula and emphasize that our commitment to Korea in the past is also valid today, with the same resolve and determination.
Without further ado, I would like to read out our President’s message before leaving the floor to our guest of honour.
I thank all our guests for being here to celebrate this important day with us.