Haydar Karakurt, a young man from Kayseri, voluntarily joined the first brigade going to the Korean War in 1950. He returned as a war veteran and with a diary. He had recorded what he saw and experienced day by day in the Korean War. In the diary, he wrote about a school in Suwon opened by Turkish soldiers for children orphaned during the war. And he made a request of his son Burak: “This school should not be forgotten after I die.”Burak, who grew up with the Korean War memories of his father, received the diary from him as a present shortly before he died in 2003. Burak Karakurt, who works as a lawyer, soon began to conduct research in Turkey and South Korea. Following leads from the diary, he interviewed 133 Turkish veterans of the Korean War and wrote the book “Kore’de Türk Kahramanları” (Turkish Heroes in Korea), published in 2005.
These days, Burak Karakurt has been working on another project related to the school established by the Turkish soldiers in Suwon, 30 kilometers south of Seoul. He spoke with some of the surviving orphans who were educated at the school and found that they would like to have the school rebuilt. They hope the year 2009 celebrations marking the 60th year of Turkish-South Korean relations will present an opportunity to make this wish come true.
Turkey in the Korean War
Although Turkey maintained a neutral stance during World War II, it was under pressure at the beginning of the 1950s from the Soviet Union, especially regarding the control of the Turkish straits and land claims in the east of Turkey.
Following the Soviet Union’s involvement in the Far East, Korea was divided into North and South. Then the North Korean Army invaded the South on June 25, 1950. So the United States partnered with the United Nations, and 22 nations agreed to send either troops or medical units to help South Korea. On the other side, communist allied Chinese forces intervened on behalf of North Korea. So as each side was supported by external forces, the conflict turned out to be an extension of the Cold War in the Far East.
Sixteen countries responded to the UN resolution by sending troops to stop the invasion of South Korea. One of the first major participants to send a brigade was Turkey, which committed nearly 5,500 troops. They arrived in Pusan in mid-October from the eastern Mediterranean port of İskenderun. Most of the enlisted men were from the small towns and villages of eastern Turkey. They remained in Korea until midsummer 1954.
The 1st Turkish Brigade, commanded by Brig. Gen. Tahsin Yazıcı, was a regimental combat team with three infantry battalions, along with supporting artillery and engineers. It was the only brigade-sized UN unit permanently attached to the US 25th Infantry Division throughout the war.
Initially, the Turkish Brigade assisted in protecting the supply lines of UN forces, which were advancing toward North Korea. However, it was the battles of Kunuri and Kumyanjangni that earned the Turkish Brigade a reputation and the praise of UN forces. And because of their heroic actions and sacrifices in these battles, a monument was erected in Seoul in the memory of the Turkish soldiers who fought in Korea.
In total, four Turkish brigades went into battle in Korea. In the end, 741 Turkish soldiers died and 2,147 were wounded. In addition, 234 Turkish soldiers were taken as prisoners of war and 175 were unaccounted for. Turkey, which lost about 10 percent of its soldiers in Korea, passed a law giving the title of “veteran” to all Turkish soldiers who fought in Korea from Sept. 25, 1950 to July 27, 1953. Even after the armistice, Turkey maintained troops in Korea as part of the peacekeeping force. Turkish troops won honors from the US Congress and the South Korean president for their successful defense during the Battle of Kunuri.
Internationally, joining the Western alliance against the Soviets paid off for Turkey. In 1952 Turkey was accepted into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which was established in 1949.
Turkish education in school behind war front
Suwon was hugely affected by the war, in which many Korean children were orphaned. Turkish soldiers first put the children together in a tent at Turkish headquarters to keep them safe and healthy. Then, as the number of orphaned children surpassed 100, they reconstructed a destroyed building to use as a school and orphanage. They called it the Ankara School and Orphanage. Turkish officers and Korean teachers worked at the school. A young South Korean became the headmaster.
Children were given Turkish lessons and could sing the Turkish national anthem. Classes were taught in Turkish, English and Korean. In order to keep the orphaned children as happy as possible under the circumstances of war, they were not burdened with a heavy load of homework. Music and physical education classes were given more importance.
School supplies reaching Suwon from Ankara made the students happy and the teachers more effective. A piano and other musical instruments were played at the school to contribute to the psychological well-being of the children. Monthly special performances by the children made both the Turkish soldiers and children cheerful. Children looked forward to the return of the soldiers, who were father figures for them, from the front.
Gen. Mehmet Nuri Yamut, the chief of general staff at the time, visited the orphanage-school in Suwon and had his picture taken with the children and teachers in front of the school.
Following the cease-fire in 1953, the school remained open, but as the Turkish troops withdrew, it was closed. Then children were placed in various orphanages depending on their age.
Currently, about 30 students of the Ankara School and Orphanage in Suwon are alive. Burak Karakurt, sponsored by Korean Airlines and the Society of Social and Economic Solidarity with Pacific Countries, visited South Korea twice to bring those people together. He managed to meet with seven of them who are in their late 60s and recorded their memories. They said they would like to meet the families of the Turkish soldiers who embraced them years ago.
One of them is Cha Yang Cha “We were so small, only about 5 years old. The Turkish soldiers who came to Korea to fight in the war embraced us. They became our mothers and fathers. The name ‘Turkey’ fills my heart with peace,” she said.
She also said she has never forgotten the days she spent at the Turkish school.
Another survivor, Lee Hak Chang, said he cannot find words to express his feelings of gratitude toward Turks:
“When I hear the word ‘Turkey,’ I remember two things. One is the Turkish soldiers who embraced us, and the other is a distant cousin. Turks are my relatives. When I close my eyes, I often see the Turkish soldiers. We lived our childhood with the Turkish soldiers. ‘Turkey’ often reminds me of the Turkish soldiers who gave us food, cuddled us and educated us.”
His eyes full of tears like the others, Lee Sang Chin reiterated those feelings, saying that he can never forget Turkey. “To our children, we always tell about the Turkish soldiers and Turkey.”
Kim He Te pointed out that the Turkish troops prevented civilian massacres in Korea. “They were so good, and they never retreated. If they had retreated in Kunuri, many civilians could have died. The Turks saved us. If I live today, this is because of Turks. I could easily give my life for the Turks.”
Turkish soldiers did not forget Korean orphans
Upon his return to the Turkish capital, Gen. Yazıcı talked about the orphanage-school:
“I want to point out that there is a school there our flag flies over, and the name of that school is the Ankara School. It has 118 students. There are two hours of Turkish lessons a week. Our brigade supplies the needs of that school. The students have learned five of our marches so far.”
Korean War veteran Mehmet Soylu also said they were very happy to help the orphans. He said he was responsible for transporting food to the school. “When we approached the school, the children were so warm toward us. And we were so happy to help them.”
In his diary, Haydar Karakurt wrote about the school along with his other war memories. He wrote that many Turkish soldiers showed great affection toward the children, putting them in the place of their loved ones in Turkey.
Korean children would greet them in Turkish, said Metin Özcan, another war veteran. He also said he would like to meet with them again. “I wish there was an opportunity to see them again.”
Reiterating similar sentiments, veteran Er Rıfat Karamürsel said the soldiers enjoyed attending the performances of the schoolchildren. “I cried whenever they sang our national anthem. I wish I could meet and see them again.”
60th year of bilateral relations to be celebrated
Since Turkey and South Korea will celebrate the 60th year of relations between the two countries, next year could provide that opportunity for the grown Korean students of the Ankara School and their benefactors, the Korean War veterans. The Korean survivors said they would also like to see the school revived, at least by giving its name to an existing school.
For his part, Burak Karakurt works tirelessly to make those wishes come true, at the same time fulfilling the dreams of his father.
21 December 2008, Sunday
MESUT ÇEVİKALP İSTANBUL
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