Today.Az » Society » "Azerbaijanis and Armenians in Korea never had conflicts"
29 July 2010 [13:13] - Today.Az
An interview with head of the Azerbaijan-Korea Student Organization "Buta" Eltay Aslanov.

Can you, please, talk about your organization?

On March 21, 2009, a group of Azerbaijani students in the South Korean capital Seoul, in conjunction with the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan, held a constituent conference of the Azerbaijani-Korean student organization "Buta". The key goal of the organization is to bring together Azerbaijani students in South Korea, increase their patriotic spirit, as well as to raise awareness about Azerbaijani people, history, culture, socio-economic development in Korea. Not so long ago we also launched a website of our organization, which operates in Korean and Azerbaijani languages.

Can you name the distinctive positive features of education system in South Korea? Which of them can be applied in Azerbaijan’s education system?

As in most developed countries in the world, lectures in Korean universities are accompanied by illustrative slides. Websites of the university professors offer access to lecture topics, lesson plans and exam questions. University has numerous libraries, special reading rooms, equipped with computers and student clubs.

Along with local professors, lectures and seminars are conducted by their foreign counterparts as well. Various programs are implemented to put theoretical knowledge into practice. Scientific conferences, symposia and seminars are held regularly. Specific educational tours and exchange of views between students take place as part of cooperation between Korean universities as well as with foreign universities.

How many Azerbaijani students  presently study in Korea?

Number of Azerbaijani students in the South Korean universities is increasing every year. More than seventy students from Azerbaijan get education in this country today.

Is there any Azerbaijani community in South Korea? Do they have a diaspora organization?

Students make up majority of Azerbaijanis in South Korea. There is very small number of Azerbaijanis in this country except students. So, they are not united in any diaspora. However, in this context, I note our embassy in this country, which very actively works to promote Azerbaijan and to tell truth about the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict to Korean public, maintains constant contact with all the local Armenians and regularly marks all national and state holidays.

And what is the attitude of locals to Azerbaijanis?

Local people are very tolerant. Koreans have great respect for culture, religion and customs of other nations. There is very good attitude towards Azerbaijanis here. In response, we very diligently study the Korean language, local traditions and make every effort so that Korean people receive more information about Azerbaijan.

Is there Armenian community in Korea? Do Azerbaijani and Armenian communities there experience contradictions?

You can meet Armenians in South Korea very rarely. This applies both to students and to the representatives of various professions. So, they have no diaspora organization. Besides, we never had any conflict.


/Vesti.az/

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