ICHCAP

The Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan to Korea hosted the presentation ceremony of selected poems by Bakhtiyar Vahabzadeh on 7 January 2020 at the Lotte Seoul Hotel (2F, Emerald Room).

Bakhtiyar Vahabzadeh was a much respected Azerbaijani poet and independence activist who fought for the country and the people. The publication of his poetic works was organized in commemoration of the hundredth anniversary of the diplomatic service of Azerbaijan.

According to Ambassador Ramzi Teymurov of Azerbaijan, 'Gulustan' is a great work of Vahabzadeh that reflects the hardship and suffering the Azerbaijani people had to endure due to the national division in various literary forms of expression. The collection includes “Gulustan” and other best known works of the poet.

The commemorating ceremony began with a congratulatory speech by the ambassador, which was followed by Deputy Head Mission Vasif Aliyev's presentation on the history of Azerbaijan. Mr. Vasif Aliyev noted that Koreans can deeply relate to the poems, as both countries experienced colonization, liberation and national division in their contemporary history. Eun-kyung Oh, professor and director of the Institute for Eurasian Turkic Studies at Dongduk Women’s University, who translated the selected works into Korean, delivered a presentation to propose opportunities for collaboration between the two countries.

ICHCAP (Mr. KEUM, Gi-Hyung, Director-General and Dr. Seong-Yong Park, Assistant Director General) attended the event to celebrate the publication of the collection and discussed collaborative efforts for the safeguarding of ICH in Eurasia and Central Asia.

“Gulustan” holds significance as the first Azerbaijani literature to be translated into Korean.