Winning hearts and minds in Iraqi Kurdistan

Posted by George Mathews, NBC News Producer

Laughing children and smiling soldiers welcomed grateful members of the local community to the opening of a brand-new school -- the scene was the very essence of the how the Iraqi reconstruction program was supposed to look according to its proponents three years ago.

However, the children are Kurds, the soldiers are South Korean and the community is in the north of Iraq, far from the car bombings and sectarian violence plaguing much of the rest of the country.

A young Kurdish girl shows off her face-paint of the South Korean flag. (Steve Lomanoco / NBC News).

The 2,200 members of the Zaytun Division of the Republic of Korea (ROK) Army have spent the last two years conducting what they call "civil-military operations" out of Irbil, in the Kurdish region of Iraq.

Our first indication of how different things are up north was when we were put aboard an un-armored bus for the trip from Irbil's airport to the Zaytun Base.

Our second indication was the greeting on the bus.

"In Baghdad, we understand you hear a lot of explosions," said a smiling Lt. Lee, a ROK Army officer. "All you hear in Irbil is the sound of smiles and children."

i New school celebration 
Since being in Irbil, the Zaytun Division has staffed a hospital that has treated over 40,000 local patients, built a vocational training center that's produced over 1,000 graduates, established a Kurdish literacy program, and built schools and clinics around the region. Our Zaytun Division hosts took us to the opening of a girls middle and high school in downtown Irbil, again in an un-armored bus.

The most striking aspect of the school was how completely normal it looked -- it could have been Walt Whitman Middle School in Anytown, USA. Although there were hundred's of ROK soldiers present, their focus was on setting up face-painting and kite-building booths, not on providing the layers of perimeter security you would find at a similar event in Baghdad.

Tae Kwon Do demonstration was part of the South Korean troops’ elaborate demonstration to celebrate the opening of a new school in Irbil. (Steve Lomanoco/NBC News)

The conclusion of the event was an elaborate, and distinctly Korean, demonstration for  the hundreds of children, many in brightly-colored, traditional Kurdish clothing, and adults who had turned for the school's opening.

The demonstration included a performance by the Zaytan Division band, which belted out such hits as "Tequila," an exhibition by the division's Precision Rifle Team, a truly impressive display by the Tae Kwon Do team, and traditional Korean music and dance.

A huge banner posted above the performance area seemed to perfectly capture this strange experience for those of us who have spent most of our time in the much more violent parts of the Iraq: "ROK ZAYTUN (HEART) KURDISH."

Troops from the Zaytun Division of the Republic of Korea (ROK) celebrate the opening of a new girls school in Irbil, in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq. (Steve Lomanoco/NBC News)