By Janet Chin Shuk Henn (2009 MBA, Malaysia)

“We are Friends” or Ema Dosti Ewaeen in Kurdish language was the motto of the Zaytun Division Korean Military in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Simple as it may be, the phrase means so much to the Kurdish people.

The Zaytun Division was a contingent of Republic of Korea Army troops operating in Northern Iraq from September 2004 to December 2008, carrying out peacekeeping and reconstruction tasks. They built and outfitted the facilities with modern equipment, engaged in training government employees, supplied local citizens with medical treatment, provided education to young people so that they can find employment, and assisted the Ministry of Interior and security forces in Kurdistan.

“No Friends but the Mountains.” This is a common saying among the Kurds. It relates to the tragic history of Kurdish people who have been betrayed or ignored by great powers despite their promises. Yet since 2003 when the Hussein regime was overthrown, the Kurdish people have been able to create many substantive and long-lasting partnerships, especially with Koreans.

Most of the countries who helped the Kurdish people in the past focused on projects in Kurdistan cities, and very rarely in rural areas. The Koreans did the opposite. The Division conducted the “Green Angel” operation to visit different little villages on a weekly basis to assist in providing medical treatment and developing infrastructure, such as building a secondary road that connects with a main road. Villagers participated in rebuilding their villages and were introduced to the Saemaul Undong movement. Some of them were invited to Korea in order to better understand the movement and to witness its evolution still effective to the present day. If you visit the villages in the Kurdistan Region you are likely to see at least a road, a primary school, a health clinic, or watersupply facilities built by the Korean troops.

The Vocational Training Center set up by the Zaytun Division equipped young people with various skills necessary to find a job. The program helped them to become mechanics, home appliances electricians, and so on.

Later the Zaytun Division expanded their activities to include building primary schools, providing clean water, and establishing health clinics. The Zaytun Library, the biggest Library in Erbil, is also one of the legacies left behind by the Korean troops, which will be used and remembered for many generations to come.

The daily actions of the Division proved that Koreans are faithful friends of the Kurdish people. H.E. Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani said that Zaytun troops are true friends of the Kurdish people.

This story was shared by Tawfiq Rahman Hamad and Bashdar Hamza Jalal, who served the Zaytun Division at some point in their lives. Both are currently MPP students at the KDI School.

Tawfiq worked for about a year and a half at the Zaytun Hospital and said he was proud to have been a part of it. Thousands of Kurdistan citizens visited the hospital for medical treatment. The medical expertise of Korean physicians is well known by all the people in Kurdistan.

“When I was working at the Zaytun Hospital at the Korean Military Compound in the Kurdistan Region, I felt that there must be a secret behind their admirable work ethics, which motivated me to travel from the Kurdistan to Korea—to discover the secret of success these great people have, from whom we should take lessons.”

He added that the difference between the work of Korea’s Zaytun Division and that of other countries was obvious. No other countries engaged themselves so fully and directly in helping his people on the ground. The skills learned from the Zaytun Troop will last for the entire lives of Kurdish people and continue to transform their future.

Tawfiq, a KOICA scholarship recipient, works for the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Department of Foreign Relations and is currently in his final semester at the KDI School. His reasons for choosing to study at the KDI School were mainly due to the nature of his current job. “Our task is to understand how public policy works and how to play an important role in international relations. Being in an environment with students from all across the globe helps me learn to deal with different stakeholders with different positions and interests.”

Meanwhile, Bashdar worked as an interpreter for the Zaytun division from Sep. 2005 to Dec. 2008. He said he will not forget the endless challenges the Korean troops faced in establishing their base. Terrorist threats and missile attacks were part of a daily life and he expressed his gratitude towards the brave soldiers who left their family behind to protect, build, and reconstruct a foreign country.

He revealed that it was through the help of his old friend, Major Park from the Zaytun division, that he managed to get admission into the KDI School. In order to meet the deadline of the admission process, Major Park personally delivered Bashdar’s application documents to the school and thereby realized Bashdar’s dream of studying abroad.

Bashdar said that the Korean people’s kindness was evident from the moment he arrived Korea this fall. He is constantly being offered assistance by Koreans, people unknown to him. “I am truly grateful to the Korean people for their work through the Zaytun Division, and their kindness towards me during my stay in this country. This experience will remain forever in my memory.”