By Lee Jon Young

 

“October 29, we'll be celebrating the 100th anniversary of the proclamation of the Republic of Turkiye with joy and excitement,” said Amb. Murat Tamer of Turkiye to South Korea on Oct. 24.

In an exclusive interview with Diplomacy Journal, Amb. Murat Tamer said, “In February, we had devastating earthquakes in Turkey. Almost more than 50,000 people lost their lives and from all walks of life from the Korean side they rushed us to help us.”

 

 

He said, “It's not just by its words, it's really has a deep affection from the heart inside. And it's really felt that we are brothers and we share the blood with the Korean people just like Turkish soldiers did in the Korean War.”

The following is the full-text of the Diplomacy Journal’s interview with Amb. Murat Tamer of Turkiye to South Korea.

Question: Diplomatic relations between Türkiye and South Korea were officially formed in 1957. How has the relationship developed over the period?

 

 

Answer: Actually our relations started in the Korean War. Turkey sent almost 21,500 troops to Korea to support their Korean brothers and sisters to fight against the communism. And we lost about 1,000 of our soldiers in Korea and 462 of them now are laying at the United nations war memorial cemetery in Busan. 

And we opened our embassy here in 1957. Since then, our bilateral relations have rapidly become improved.  
And not just bilateral relations but also Korean and Turkish people support each other in the multilateral fields such as we supported the Korean candidacy for a non-permanent seat at the United Nations’ Security Council in 2024-2025. And thus Korea will become a non-permanent member of the United Nations very soon. 

So it's a tradition between our two countries that we do support each other not just bilateral but also on the multilateral fields.

 

Q: Please introduce the Independence Day of Your Excellency's wonderful country.

A: October 29, we'll be celebrating the 100th anniversary of the proclamation of the Republic of Turkiye with joy and excitement. 

Actually the month of October is very nice. First we get a chance to celebrate the national foundation day of Korea, which falls on Oct.3.

 

And then we celebrate the 70th anniversary of the armistice agreement which is the cessation of the hostilities in the Korean Peninsula and then now the 100th anniversary of the proclamation of the Republic of Turkiye. So the three major events happened in this month of October.

As I said it is the Turkish Republic was founded in 1923 by our great leader Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and then the foundation of the modern turkey was laid and Turkey rapidly become a very much responsible member of the international community. Turkey now is the member of NATO.

 

 

Q: What is the present volume of bilateral trade between Türkiye and South Korea? Do you have any idea to boost bilateral trade between the two countries in the future?

 

A: Our bilateral trade volume is around 10 billion dollars annually. It is very much favoring Korea, so we would like to diversify trade somehow. We are working with our Korean partners on that field. The trade volume is expected to increased further this year.

But what is more important is that the trade volume of Turkey and Korea continue to increase and is diversified, even though all the trade between any other countries is going down. In particular, it is not just increased, but it is diversified as well.

So when you look at the pandemic times, we can see a bright future for our commercial relations.

 

Q: In Türkiye, what kinds of industrial sectors are attractive to Korean investors?

A: Korea has Samsung plant in Turkey. Now LG is opening up a big battery plant in Turkey.  Also I have to say that Turkish and Korean construction companies had a very good past and they are working together closely. They did the Eurasia tunnel which connects Europe and Asia. 

Also Turkish and Korean companies jointly built the 1915 Çanakkale Bridge, which is the largest in the world. The 1915 Çanakkale Bridge is a road suspension bridge in the province of Çanakkale in northwestern Turkey. Situated just south of the coastal towns of Lapseki and Gelibolu, the bridge spans the Dardanelles, about 10 km (6.2 mi) south of the Sea of Marmara. The bridge is the longest suspension bridge in the world—with a main span of 2,023 m, the bridge surpasses the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge (1998) in Japan by 32 m.

So Turkish and Korean companies have a very good and successful experiences and now we are also looking for larger and bigger projects.

Q: What tourist attractions do you want to recommend to Korean tourists? Do you have any government programs to attract foreign tourists, including Koreans, to Türkiye?

A: Well Turkey is like Korea. We have a full four seasons. We have summer, spring, autumn and winter and tourists can enjoy whatever they want to do during each season wherever the heart takes them. 

But also we have to remember that Turkey is a cradle of civilizations. Göbeklitepe is an area which dates around 10,000 years back, and it is the zero point of human civilization. 

 

We only mention it to emphasize just how far back Göbeklitepe goes… all the way back 12,000 years ago! 10,000 years before Jesus walked the Earth, pilgrims were flocking from all over Mesopotamia to visit the massive temple complex erected at Göbeklitepe.

 

This coincides with the first time in human history that we moved from hunter-gatherer societies to more settled agricultural societies, again around 12,000 years ago. As humans learned to use and grow wild cereals. They were forced to leave behind their previously nomadic lifestyle for a life of farming. This led to the first permanent cities and towns, and it appears to have rapidly led to the first ever permanent religious complex in Göbeklitepe.

What we do know indicates that Göbeklitepe is indeed the “zero point in time,” the beginning of what we know today as modern civilization. Now it’s open to visitors, it’s time to discover your own history and visit this incredible spot!

 

Very unfortunately that area is in the red list of the Korean government which means that they don't recommend tourists to go to that area. What we feel and we tell our Korean colleagues that actually that area is perfectly safe they can go there, they can visit there, they can talk to their Turkish partners and get security services and tourism services.

And if they feel yes, it is safe and they should be opening up that area for the Korean tourists because that area is as I said the zero point in time of human civilizations. 

 

Q: Are there any programs of your embassy planning to celebrate the Independence anniversary this year?

A: Yes, we are celebrating our anniversary at the Shilla Hotel in Seoul on Oct. 30.  Since the 29th of October, our Independence Day, is on Sunday so we'll do it on Monday so we can have more guests to participate. 

And during that event you will see students of a school called Ankara school in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province. Have you heard about Ankara school? Ankara school was founded in 1952 to help orphans of the Korean War by the Turkish soldiers who fought in Korea. 

It was not just school but it was a clinic, hospital and guest house for the Korean homeless children without father or mother or for medical treatment. 

Since then almost 900 people graduated from the school and about very a handful of graduates are now living and they're 75 to 80 years old.

They will be coming to our national day reception and they will be singing a turkey song. Remember the 60 to 70 years ago they learned that song and they will be singing that song. It's a very sentimental.

 

 

Q: What are the most important festive days in your country? Please elaborate.

A: Well we celebrate religious holidays. Turkey is a Muslim country and Islamic country. We celebrate the two major Islamic holidays and of course we celebrate our independence day as you know.

We celebrate the opening of Turk's grand national assembly on the 23rd of the 4th month April and we also celebrate the 15th of July an unsuccessful coup attempt by the terrorists that we throw them away. 

 

Q: Please tell me what was the most rewarding or happiest moment while you have been working as a diplomat.

A: A good question. Well my happiest moment as a diplomat when I learned that I passed the exam to be a diplomat it was 36 years ago when they told me that I passed the exam because it was my dream to be a diplomat and now I realized that dream and I would say that if I live again I would want to be a diplomat. Also I truly like my job and I love my job.

 

Q: Please introduce yourself in detail, including your career, family and hobbies.

A: I'm married. I have two children one boy and one girl. My daughter is with me now and my son is a businessman in Turkey. Sometimes he comes to visit me on and off. My daughter is going to school here, she's 10 years old, she's 5th grade in Seoul. We really like Korea and enjoyed being with Korea. 

From the first day we arrived here, we felt like we are in the home of our great brothers and sisters and all Korean people made us feel that.

And of course I have to mention that on February 6 we had devastating earthquakes happened in Turkey. Almost more than 50,000 people lost their lives and from the Korean side they rushed us to help us.

President Yoon Suk-yeol was so kind to come here personally he came here to express his condolences. Foreign Minister Park Jin also came and the speaker of the Parliament came and almost all the ministers came to deliver their condolences. 

Also Korean people from all walks of life came here to sign the book of condolences and give us something to send Turkey. They even send us the box of kimchi to send it to Turkey. 

So our book of condolences was open until May, you know for four months, although the book of condolence is open usually for three or four days. 

Ours was open for four months because our Korean brothers and sisters want to come and write something that they really felt sorry for what happened in Turkey and then I was able to understand the Turkish-Korean brotherhood. 

It's not just by its words, it's really has a deep affection from the heart inside. And it's really felt that we are brothers and we share the blood in the Korean people.

Moreover, the language grammar between Turkey and Korea is very much the same and many of our traditions are the same. 

For example, we also take off our shoes when we enter a house in our countryside. We also sit on the floor when we eat. We have a great respect and a different kind of language when we address the senior people, senior citizens and how we treat our family members is almost the same. 

So when our soldiers come to this land in the 1950s, they did not come here to help the people they don't know. They come to help an old friend that they knew hundreds of years ago. And as soon as they arrived, they felt like yes we know those people.