Turkish-Korean brotherhood

By Mehmet Fatih Oztarsu

The Turkish History Foundation (Turk TarihKurumu) started to explore the roots of Turkish history in East and Central Asia under the presidency of Prof. Refik Turan. Recently, one of the most prominent steps was taken in Seoul. The Turkish History Foundation and Northeast Asian History Foundation jointly organized “Gokturk and Goguryeo: The Second Turkish-Korean Historical Relations Forum” last month.

Some distinguished historians attended the program which was held first held in Ankar in 2015. The two sides discussed the historical roots and bilateral relations of Goguryeo and the Gokturk Empire.

Goguryeo is an ancient Korean kingdom. It has historical value for Koreans like our Huns and Gokturks. The Gokturk Empire is a precious topic in defining the Turkish identity and Turkish existence in Central Asia. There are a lot of unknown dimensions of bilateral relations. We, as Turks, have a habit to think that bilateral relations started with the Korean War in the 20th century. But our ties are deeper.

Actually, Turkish-Korean relations go back to the 6th century when Gokturk and Goguryeo were having interactions. The Turkish History Foundation researched that dimension of history. The foundation encourages historians to read historical documents in Chinese, Korean and the Turkish language, to make excavations in the Eastern and Central Asian regions and to search for the roots of the two nations.

According to available scientific research, bilateral relations started with civil and commercial activities and continued as a strategic partnership against China in the 6th and 7th centuries. Additionally, there was a continuous partnership during the Uyghurs and Timurid period as well. Prof. Ahmet Tasagil who participated in the Seoul program, mentioned that historical relationship in his works.

How did relations start?

According to research, political relations started in 607 between the Eastern Gokturk Khaganate and Goguryeo with emissary negotiations. At that period, there was a contingency that Gokturk supported Goguryeo during the series of long wars between China’s Sui Dynasty and Goguryeo. Because of an astonishing war, the Salsu Battleo occurred in 612.

The Salsu Victory was the second part of a series of wars between Goguryeo and China. These wars have been called the Sui-Goguryeo Wars and occurred between 598 and 614. These struggles negatively affected the Chinese rule in the region and caused the collapse of the Sui Dynasty.

Great progress was realized during the Sui Dynasty rule between 581 and 618. Emperors Wen, Yang, and Gong of Sui consolidated public institutions, agricultural development as addition to the continuous construction of the Great Wall and Great Channel projects. But the excessive costs of the struggle against Korea weakened the empire.

Emperor Yang launched a campaign after the construction of the Great Channel which was a link between the southern and northern parts of the country. From the first months of 611, he created a magnificent army to conquer Pyongyang, Goguryeo’s capital, by collecting people from the southern part under the law of compulsory military service along with food supplements. It was possible to keep control of Pyongyang if the empire conquered the Liaodong peninsula. Up to 1,130,000 soldiers were agglomerated near to regions around Manchuria.

There were numerous ambushes which were prepared by Goguryeo soldiers. Most of the soldiers were killed in castle areas and some of them in swamps. Therefore the Chinese Emperor had to change tactics. The Chinese army couldn’t conquer even one of the Goguryeo castles during six-month-length sieges. Emperor Yang who wanted to reach Korea quickly adopted new tactics to increase the moral of soldiers who were tired of long-term land sieges. While the land army was slowly walking, he ordered an advance through the Taedong River which flowed through the heart of Goguryeo with the support of 200,000 soldiers. But a starvation period started quickly, causing death and illness.

The Chinese army was frequently attacked by Goguryeo when it was close to Pyongyang. Three-hundred thousand soldiers arrived at Salsu River (today Chongchon). The water level in the riverbed was very low. Actually, Goguryeo cut off the water flow from a dam. But Commander Eulji Mundeok ordered the opening of the dam gate while Chinese soldiers were crossing though the middle of the river. The water created a flow impact and caused most of them to drown, while some escaped. Chinese and Korean sources give the number of surviving soldiers at approximately 2,700.

It is interesting that a new war occurred in the same place as the Battle of the Chongchon River. United Nations forces with the collaboration of the U.S., Turkey, and the UK against China clashed in this historical area. China decisively won the battle. It seems that it was revenge for the Salsu Battle. Historical “deja vu” reappeared.

So the relations of Goguryeo and the Gokturk Empire are being researched by historians in Turkey and Korea. It seems that there will be significant process with the initiatives of the Turkish History Foundation. Now we are able to assume that bilateral political relations started in 607. It is a noteworthy topic for contemporary relations between the two countries.

The writer is a Turkish Journalist in Seoul. Write to oztarsu@gmail.com.