Turkey is a vast peninsula, covering an area of 780,580 square kilometres or around 315 thousand square miles, linking Asia to Europe through the Sea of Marmara and the Straits of Istanbul and Canakkale. Across the Sea of Marmara, the triangular shaped Trace is the continuation of Turkey on the European continent. Anatolia is rectangular in outline, 1500 kilometres long and 550 kilometres wide.

Turkey is bordered by eight countries: Bulgaria to the northwest; Greeceto the west; Georgia to the northeast;Amenia, Azerbaijan (the exclave of Nakhchivan) and Iran to the east; and lraq and Syria to the southeast. The Mediterranean Sea is to the south; the Aegean Sea to the west; and the Black Sea is to the north.

Turkey is the Successor state to the Ottoman Empire. It is a democratic, secular, unitary, constitutional republic, with an ancient and historical cultural heritage. Its political system was established in 1923 under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, following the fall of the Ottoman Empire in the aftermath of World War I. Since then, Turkey has become increasingly integrated with the West through membership in organizations such as the Council of Europe, NATO, OECD, WEOG, OSCE and the G-20 major economies. Turkey is resolutely headed towards accession to the European Union.

The history of Turkey tells of a 10,000 year-old civilisation. Anatolia is a melting pot where cultures from Sumer, Babylon and Assyria interacted for centuries with peoples such as the Hattis, Hittites and Hourrites. The result was a unique Anatolian civilisation which has long inspired the thoughts and legends of the West.

Turkish is spoken by 220 million people and is the world's 5th most widely used language. Today's Turkish has evolved from dialects known since the 11th century and is one of the group of languages known as Ural-Altaic which includes Korean, Finnish and Hungarian.

Relationship with Korea

Turkey recognized the Republic of Korea in 1949. Diplomatic relations were established in 1957. The Korean Embassy in Ankara was set up in June 1957 and the Turkish Embassy in Seoul in September 1957. Korea has a Consulate General in ?stanbul since December 1977.

The Turkish people take pride in being the blood brothers of the Korean people. The exceptional friendship between Korea and Turkey leads to excellent political dialogue which, in turn, provides the ground for strong economic cooperation.

Turkey’s economy is dynamic and stable. Its young and energetic population is a great asset. The structural reforms, particularly in the financial sector as well as in social security and tax systems contributed to ensuring the stability of the economy.

Turkey is the 17th largest economy in the world, with the GDP of 794 billion USD in 2008. It is the 22nd largest exporter with 1.1% of the global market. Turkish contractors rank second in the world.

Korea and Turkey share similar circumstances and positions vis-a-vis the global issues and challanges. The economies of both countries are constantly growing. They are among the top 20 largest in the world. They are both members of the G-20.

The total volume of bilateral trade between Korea and Turkey is currently around 4 billion USD. There is a greater potential to raise this figure to higher levels. The Free Trade Agreement, envisaged to be concluded soon, is expected to stimulate trade figures and diversify the goods.

Investments constitute an important component of the economic cooperation between Korea and Turkey. 162 Korean companies currently operate in Turkey. Investments are also expected to accelerate as a result of the free movement of goods.

Energy and defense industries are the areas where there is an exclusive potential to improve mutually beneficial cooperation.