The event, jointly organized by the Turkic Academy and the Lev Gumilyov Eurasian National University, saw the presence of prominent figures including Askhat Kessikbayev, Vice-President of Turkic Academy, Serik Makysh, Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs of Eurasian National University, and Professor Uli Schamiloglu, Chair of the Kazakh Language and Turkic Studies Department of Nazarbayev University, among others.
During the gathering, Askhat Kessikbayev conveyed President Shahin Mustafayev’s felicitations to the participants and provided insights into ongoing projects of the Academy. Serik Makysh shared reflections on linguistic interactions between Turkic and Korean languages, while Professor Eunkyung Oh discussed the development of the encyclopedia and its significance in Turkological research in Korea.
Following these presentations, the ceremony featured the unveiling of the 8-volume encyclopedia. Uli Schamiloglu emphasized the importance of this comprehensive publication, reflecting on the encyclopedia tradition in Turkic countries. Other Turkologists also shared their perspectives on the connections between Koreans and Turkic nations, expressing gratitude to the encyclopedia’s authors.
The “Encyclopedia of Turkic Humanities,” spanning 4500 pages across 8 volumes, is the result of a five-year research project supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea. It involved 21 experts from various countries, under the guidance of Professor Eunkyung Oh. The encyclopedia, written in Korean, encompasses diverse disciplines such as linguistics, literature, history, art, geography, folklore, and religious beliefs across the Turkic world.
The work, delving into the cultural heritage of Turkic Belt countries and regions, provides detailed insights into over two thousand fundamental concepts.
