[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Jeong Jun-sung] Suwon Mayor Lee Jae-jun, who visited sister city Yalova in Turkey, proposed to Yalova Mayor Mehmet Gurel to "strengthen exchanges on the 25th anniversary of our sisterhood."
The mayor met with Yalova Mayor Mehmet Gurel at Yalova City Hall on the 8th (local time) and pledged continued exchange and cooperation.
Mayor Lee Jae-jun said, "Turkey dispatched over 20,000 soldiers during the Korean War and particularly helped Korea by establishing the 'Ankara School' in Suwon to care for war orphans. Suwon City has continued exchange and cooperation, such as dispatching a medical volunteer group to Yalova during the 1999 Izmit earthquake." He added, "We hope to strengthen exchanges going forward." Mayor Lee presented Yalova Mayor Gurel with an ink painting of Hwaseong Fortress in Suwon.
Yalova Mayor Mehmet Gurel said, "Korea and Turkey, Suwon and Yalova have steadily strengthened friendship by overcoming war and earthquakes together," and expressed, "We hope that Suwon City and Yalova will continue to exchange in the future."
Prior to meeting with Mayor Gurel, the mayor visited Yalova Municipal Cemetery and paid respects at the graves of Korean War veterans Behcet Akbin (1926–2023) and Nedim Gokdemir (1931–2018).
Suwon and Yalova established a sister city relationship in June 1999. That same August, when the Izmit earthquake (magnitude 7.8) struck, Suwon dispatched a 22-member medical volunteer team, including the head of Paldal-gu Health Center, to Yalova to conduct relief activities.
The two cities actively exchanged by sending delegations to each other's signature festivals such as the 'Suwon Hwaseong Cultural Festival' and 'Yalova City Day,' but face-to-face exchanges ceased as COVID-19 spread in 2020. This visit by Mayor Lee is the first face-to-face exchange since 2019.
On the 9th, the mayor visited Yalova Beach Park to inspect the public restroom built by Suwon City.
Suwon City and WTA (World Toilet Organization) constructed the Suwon Restroom on a beach near the Yalova Ferry Terminal in 2018 to commemorate Turkish military participation in the Korean War and the friendship between the two cities. The Suwon Restroom spans 30 square meters and features men's and women's restrooms, a restroom for the disabled, and a nursing room.
Yalova, which means "a plain by the coast," is a representative resort city in Turkey. It is the capital of Yalova Province in the northwest and has a population of approximately 120,000.