Visiting Korean Relief Team Before Mission Handover
"Brotherly Nation" Sincerely Expressed in Hangul Draws Attention
KDRT Shifts Mission from Rescue to Reconstruction
The first and second teams of the Republic of Korea Disaster Relief Team (KDRT), who were dispatched to the earthquake site in T?rkiye to carry out rescue operations, have decided to rotate their duties. As the first team prepares to return home, local residents expressed their heartfelt gratitude to them.
According to a Yonhap News report on the 15th, the first KDRT team left their camp set up at Selim Anadolu High School in Antakya, Hatay Province, southern T?rkiye, and headed to a relatively safer area, Adana, that morning.
Upon hearing this news, nearby residents visited the camp to greet the KDRT members and wrote thank-you messages on the tents donated by the KDRT.
A message of gratitude left by a Turkish person on a Korean relief team’s tent / Photo by Yonhap News
One resident wrote in Hangul, "Gomawo hyung" (Thank you, brother). Next to it was a message in Hangul saying "Hyeongje nara" (Brother country), along with a note in Turkish that read "Brother country, Korea and T?rkiye."
This likely recalls how the two countries have referred to each other as "brother countries" since T?rkiye’s deployment during the Korean War. The Hangul writing appeared to have been copied using a translator and was somewhat awkward, but the sincerity was clear.
In front of another tent, a wooden board was placed with an English message that read, "Thank you for coming to help. Dear Korean friends."
The KDRT also responded by writing messages of consolation and hope in both Hangul and English, expressing their wish that T?rkiye quickly overcomes the disaster, restores daily life, and that the bilateral relationship between the two countries continues to develop.
Meanwhile, the first KDRT team, consisting of 118 members, departed for T?rkiye on the 7th and began rescue operations in Antakya, Hatay Province, on the 9th local time. They achieved results including rescuing a total of eight survivors, even after the so-called "golden time" had passed.
However, due to severe cold, power and water outages, harsh working conditions, and worsening local security, they decided to rotate duties with the second team. After arriving in Adana, the first team is scheduled to leave T?rkiye on the 17th local time and arrive in Seoul on the 18th.
The second KDRT team, consisting of 21 members, will depart for Adana, T?rkiye, on the night of the 16th by military transport plane and will operate for about seven days. Compared to the first team, which had a higher proportion of search and rescue personnel, the second team will have a greater focus on medical staff. They plan to provide relief to disaster victims and assess reconstruction and support project needs based on local requests.
Kadir Okatan, Mayor of Defne, T?rkiye (third from the right), visited the South Korean emergency relief team camp operating in the earthquake-affected area of T?rkiye to express deep gratitude for the rescue of survivors and took a commemorative photo with the emergency relief team. [Photo by South Korean Emergency Relief Team]
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