SEOUL, October 27 (AJP) - Türkiye's new ambassador to South Korea, less than a month into the job, told a Seoul reception in Korean on Monday that the country already felt like home, where Turkish people are accepted as brothers, not foreigners.
"From the very first moments of my arrival, I have felt that Korea is not simply another country in which I have been asked to serve," Fatih Yıldız said. "Korea is a second home to us."
Yıldız spoke at a reception marking the 103rd anniversary of the proclamation of the Republic of Türkiye, held in the grand ballroom of the Ambassador Pullman Hotel three days ahead of the Oct. 29 holiday. About 300 guests attended, among them diplomats, scholars and business people.
Yıldız told the audience he had begun his tenure "only 25 days ago," and that he felt privileged to represent his country "in a nation where a Turk is welcomed not as a stranger, but as a brother." He presented his credentials on Oct. 12, according to South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA).
A career diplomat, Yıldız previously served as Türkiye's ambassador to Iraq.
He opened by paying tribute to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who founded the republic in 1923, then turned to what he called "a profound similarity" between the histories of the two countries.
"Both our peoples endured devastating wars that brought immense loss, displacement, and hardship," he said. "Both emerged from those wars with their national spirit intact."
For Yıldız, the comparison went beyond shared suffering. "The true measure of a nation is not whether it has endured suffering, but how it responds to that suffering," he said. "Turks and Koreans chose to rebuild. They chose education over ignorance, production over destruction, and hope over despair."
Türkiye sent troops to fight alongside South Korea in the 1950-53 Korean War, the fourth-largest contingent among the countries that did so. Yıldız said the soldiers' "ultimate sacrifice" was a source of national pride.
"Their courage and sacrifice are the foundation of the bond that leads us to call one another blood brothers," he said. "Today, we solemnly honor their memory."
That wartime bond, he said, "has evolved into a strategic one, supported by mutual trust and a shared determination to build a better future." Contacts between the two presidents and a growing number of high-level visits "have brought real momentum to our relations," he added. "We are determined to translate this momentum into concrete achievements."
Yet Yıldız said the two countries shared something "more valuable" than these opportunities, which he called "genuine affection between our peoples."
"Our relations cannot be measured solely by political dialogue, trade figures, or industrial projects," he said. "Our friendship lives in the memories of the Korean War veterans and their families. It is reflected in the curiosity of a Turkish student learning Korean, a Korean student discovering the Turkish language."
He closed in three languages, ending with "Long live Türkiye-Korea friendship!" in English, Turkish and Korean.
The South Korean government's guest of honor, Jeong Yeon-doo, was returning to familiar company. Jeong, now vice minister for strategy and intelligence at MOFA, served as ambassador to Türkiye before taking up his current post, and he opened his congratulatory remarks in Turkish.
"76 years ago, when a devastating war broke out on the Korean Peninsula, Türkiye sent more than 20,000 troops to stand with us in defending our freedom and peace," Jeong said. "We will forever remain grateful for the courage and sacrifice of the Turkish troops who fought alongside us during our most difficult times."
Jeong laid out how far the relationship had moved since then. He pointed to President Lee Jae Myung's state visit to Türkiye in November 2025, the first by a South Korean president in 13 years, during which the two leaders agreed to expand cooperation in nuclear energy, infrastructure, biotechnology and the defense industry.
Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan, met in January and again in June to follow up on that summit, Jeong said. The June meeting came during Fidan's official visit to Seoul.
Trade has grown alongside the diplomacy. Jeong said bilateral trade passed $10 billion for the first time in 2023 and reached a record $10.7 billion in 2025, with the partnership now reaching into biotechnology, automobiles and petrochemicals.
He also looked ahead. "2027 will be a significant year for Korea and Türkiye, as it will mark the 70th anniversary of our diplomatic relations, as well as the 15th anniversary of our strategic partnership," Jeong said, adding that a series of cultural events and exchanges is planned for the year.
To describe how that trust was built, Jeong turned to a Turkish saying. "There is a well-known Turkish proverb: 'A single cup of coffee is remembered for 40 years,'" he said. "Just as this saying teaches that even a small kindness or single encounter can be cherished as a lasting friendship, Korea and Türkiye have steadily built our trust over many years of cooperation."
After the speeches, the stage went to HoonDoo, a South Korean vocal duo made up of Lee Seung-hoon and Doo Jin-soo. The pair built a following in Türkiye by covering Turkish songs in Turkish and Korean, and gave their first concert in the country in Çanakkale, at a festival organized with Türkiye's Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Korean Cultural Center.
When the duo played "Arkadaşım Eşek" (My Friend the Donkey), Barış Manço's 1981 song about longing for rural life that generations of Turkish children have grown up singing, Yıldız and his wife, Nesrin Yıldız, walked up to the stage and sang along.
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