Special Travel Advisory for 6 Southeastern States... Both Korean Travelers Evacuated

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on the 7th that it will immediately issue a special travel advisory for six provinces in the southeastern region of Turkey affected by the earthquake.

The regions under the special travel advisory issued on this day are the provinces of Kahramanmara?, Malatya, Adıyaman, Osmaniye, Adana, and Hatay in Turkey. These areas were previously under Travel Alert Level 1 (Caution). The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that four provinces in southeastern Turkey?Diyarbakır, ?anlıurfa, Gaziantep, and Kilis?already have Travel Alert Level 3 (Departure Recommendation) issued, so no additional travel alert adjustments are necessary.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

There have been no casualties among Koreans residing in southeastern Turkey, and two Korean travelers who were temporarily out of contact have been confirmed to be safely evacuated. At a regular briefing, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Lim Soo-seok said, "According to information gathered by our government and local diplomatic missions, there have been no reports or confirmations of casualties among our nationals so far," adding, "Some injuries have occurred, but none are serious." Spokesperson Lim also stated, "There has been property damage, including partial collapse of buildings owned by our nationals in areas such as Hatay," and "We are continuing to verify whether there is additional material damage."

At the regular briefing, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs initially reported that one Korean national traveling in Hatay Province was out of contact but later reestablished communication and was safely evacuated. This was subsequently corrected to state that two Korean nationals were traveling in Hatay Province. Both have been in contact with family members and are moving to safe areas either guided by the Korean Consulate General or by local residents' vehicles, according to the Ministry.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, there are approximately 2,700 Korean residents in Turkey, with about 100 living in the earthquake-affected areas, most of whom reside in relatively less affected regions such as Adana. Approximately 10 and 13 Koreans are staying in the border areas of Antakya and ?anlıurfa, respectively, in southeastern Turkey near Syria.

Spokesperson Lim explained, "Eleven Korean residents living in Hatay Province were all evacuated to safe areas on the 6th," adding, "Our diplomatic missions have supported the evacuation of local Korean residents, provided relief supplies, and are assisting with their stay with the support of the Korean community." The Ministry of Foreign Affairs plans to maintain the special travel advisory until the dangerous situation is resolved while closely monitoring the local conditions in the affected areas. They also urged nationals currently staying in the region to evacuate safely following the guidance of Turkish authorities due to ongoing aftershocks, and requested those planning to travel there to cancel or postpone their plans.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs asked, "If consular assistance is needed, please contact the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Consular Call Center or the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Turkey."