Tongilbi’s journey to Eurasia!
At the “World Turk Civil Society Organization Forum” in Northern Cyprus!
Hello. This is Tongilbi. 😊
On last November 7-10, 2019,
Tongilbi was invited to the
“World Turk Civil Society Organization Forum”
(Dünya Türk Sivil Toplum Örgütleri Toplantısı),
which was held in Turkey and Northern Cyprus.
We traveled to Turkey
with much excitement of seeing Eurasia
with our own eyes!
This is because we have been studying
about Eurasian history and culture
while preparing for the life
before and after the Korean unification!
Let’s dive into the details~
At last! On November 7, 2019,
we finally arrived at the airport
in Northern Cyprus.
Türk Birliği Dayanışma Derneği,
the hosting institution of the forum,
had prepared accommodation
for the participants.
We enjoyed dinner at the hotel,
enjoying the seaside view and
took a rest after the long flight.
On the following day,
World Turk Civil Society Organization Forum began!
Starting with the congratulatory remarks
by the leading politicians,
such as the Prime Minister of Cyprus,
Turkish Ambassador to Northern Cyprus,
the young diaspora of Turkic ethnic groups
spread out in Europe and Central Asia
came out to the stage
one by one to present news
about Turkic nations.
During the forum,
we also had an opportunity to
introduce about Tongilbi! 😊
The representative of Tongilbi,
Sang Bum Lee, introduced Tongilbi
and mentioned that Korea
and Turk are brothers
who belong to Altaic language family.
When he said,
‘Merhaba’ (meaning “hello” in Turkish),
conference participants greeted back
in a loud voice,
tapping their hands on their chest.
This seemed to show the spirit
of the Turkic people
who ran on horseback
through the green pastures,
back in history.
At the end of the forum,
Tongilbi gave a miniature
Emille Bell from Korea
as a gift to the Turkish ambassador.
The Ambassador loved
the beautiful sound of the Emille Bell.
After the forum, we visited the
Cyprus Science University
with the forum officials
and Turkic youth and had a time of fellowship.
The hosting institution even assigned rooms
for youth attendants of different countries
to share rooms together
so that they could interact with each other.
We had a quality time together until dawn,
sharing culture and history.
Through this time,
we were able to understand each other better
and felt a stronger connection. 😊
On November 9, 2019,
we traveled around Northern Cyprus,
we traveled around Northern Cyprus
and visited historical sites.
We explored the diverse history
and culture of Northern Cyprus,
while walking around its capital, Nicosia.
Hold on a second!
Did you know that the Korean Peninsula
is not the only divided country in the world?
In fact, there is another – Cyprus.
Despite Cyprus had gained
its independence
from British colonial rule in 1960,
the Turkish Cypriots
and Greek Cypriots clashed against each other.
As a result,
the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
was established in 1983,
and the country remains divided
to this present day
There was a border between
Northern Cyprus and Southern Cyprus
at the downtown in Nicosia.
Seeing people waiting in line
to go to Southern Cyprus,
it seemed that Cyprus
and Korea shared a similar history of division.
At that moment,
this country did not
seem so distant from Korea.
After the history tour,
we exchanged our SNS accounts
and added on our Instagram and Facebook
to keep in touch with
Turk friends even in the future.
In addition, Tongilbi gave wooden bookmarks
for Turkic youths.
The bookmarks had a phrase
“One Root, We are Brothers”
written and designed
by a calligrapher of Tongilbi ‘Ggumja’.
Turkic youths loved the phrase
and its striking design.
We were very happy to see
how they appreciated our gifts!
This is the end of the
“World Turk Civil Society Organization Forum”!
This forum has provided
an opportunity for Tongilbi
to have a clearer vision for Eurasia.
Starting from now, Tongilbi will
continue to research
and study the history, culture,
and language of Eurasia.
We plan to exchange
and cooperate with Turkic nations.
We are looking forward to your
interest and participation,
as Tongilbi paves out
a new journey of creating
the brilliant future of Eurasia!!