A Study on the Image of Koreans as the Weak in the Oral Life Narratives of Turkish Korean War Veterans

Abstract

This study aims to reveal the reality of the Image of the Koreans located inside the Turkish veterans By analyzing the materials which collected through "The Field Research on Oral Life Narratives of Turkish Korean War veterans" conducted by this researcher. Basically, the Turks refer to Koreans as “blood brothers” and send some unconditional favors, which is the context in which the memories of the Korean War veterans spread to their surroundings, and now become the general perception of Turkey. It is noteworthy that most of the images of Koreans vividly narrated in the oral life stories of Turkish Korean war veterans are appear as a typical Images of the weak such as an old man in complete despair, a woman struggling for life, and a child who has lost a parent. Therefore, I analyzed what such Korean images implies. As a result, I found out that the images in the oral narratives made it possible to establish a subject as a savior, not only for the performers but also in general Turkey, and that it became a foundation of recognition that led to a sense of friendship for Korea. In this way, the significance of this study can be found in that a new attempt to analyze oral life stories has revealed an aspect of the perception about Korea that has spread from veterans of the Korean War to Turkey in general.