How a Turkish soldier “adopted” a little Korean girl (14 photos)

Back in 1950, the Korean War began, in which Turkey also took part, providing all possible support to South Korea. Then, in the midst of hostilities, the Turk Suleiman Dilbirligi, a master sergeant of the Turkish infantry brigade, was sent to the battlefield along with thousands of other soldiers.





Korean War

One day after North Korean soldiers attacked a small South Korean village, Suleiman, walking between the ruins of once residential buildings, heard a child crying.



Suleyman Dilbirligi

The soldier followed the voice, and in one of the destroyed houses he found a little Korean girl, whose parents, as well as all the village residents, were killed by Korean communists. Suleiman pulled the baby out from under the rubble and, despite the very unsafe situation (the fire did not subside for a minute), led her through the forest to the headquarters.





Suleiman Dilbirligi and Korean girl

Not knowing what to do best, Suleiman Dilbirligi decided to leave the girl, which he immediately notified the military leadership at headquarters. Conscience simply did not allow the Turkish soldier to suddenly abandon his child, who had lost all his family, to the mercy of fate, and even in the midst of hostilities. Therefore, having received permission, Dilbirligi took custody of the little Korean girl and literally replaced her father.



Suleiman Dilbirligi and Korean girl

Due to the stress he experienced, the child did not speak or say his name for a long time. When it became known that the girl’s name was Saint Nim, Suleiman decided to give her a new name and named her Ayla, which means “Moon” in Turkish, since she was found on a full moon. Having lost all her relatives, Ayla found in Suleiman not only a caring father, but also a real guardian angel, who became closer and dearer to her every day.



Suleiman Dilbirligi and Ayla in the Turkish camp

It would seem that the battlefield is no place for a child! And yet, Suleiman and Ayla were inseparable. Moreover, the girl was so drawn to her savior that she didn’t notice how she began to call him “dad,” and he, in turn, began to call her “daughter.” And even when Suleiman’s service came to an end, he did not leave his location, but remained a volunteer - there, in a truly hot spot, where every day could be his last.



Suleiman Dilbirligi and Ayla in the Turkish camp

Unfortunately, he was unable to stay in Korea for more than a year, although he tried his best. One not very wonderful day, an order came for his new appointment, according to which Suleiman had to return to his homeland in Turkey. Suleiman's separation from Ayla was inevitable, so the Turkish soldier even made several attempts to adopt the girl, but South Korea did not allow him to do this.



Suleyman Dilbirligi and Ayla

And in the end, Suleiman Dilbirligi and Ayla still had to say goodbye. However, before leaving, the Turk promised the girl that he would find her no matter what, because she was his daughter, and it simply couldn’t be any other way! With tears in her eyes, little Ayla, who had lost her entire family, was now forced to say goodbye to the only person close to her, who became everything to her. Later it was transferred to the caring hands of the Turkish school "Ankara", which was created by order of General Tahsin Yazici.



Ankara School

This separation was very difficult for both Suleiman and Ayla - as, indeed, the subsequent years of their lives. Ayla couldn’t get out of the Turk’s mind. He constantly thought about her and tried his best to find her, but in those days, without the Internet and social networks, as you understand, it was damn difficult to do this. And Suleiman did not have the financial means to conduct searches, so all his attempts ended in nothing. The Turk did not know where Ayla was, how her life had turned out, and indeed whether she was alive.



Suleyman Dilbirligi and Ayla

So, 60 long years passed in constant thoughts about the Korean daughter and fruitless searches. Suleyman Dilbirligi was already 85 years old, and he still did not give up trying to find Ayla. And then one day, thanks to the efforts of the South Korean media, luck smiled on him. Aged and weakened by illness, Suleiman Dilbirligi by that time held out only because he promised to find Ayla at any cost.



Suleyman Dilbirligi

He understood that over the long 60 years anything could have happened to her, but he felt that his daughter was alive and also waiting to meet. When watching sports competitions, Suleiman carefully looked at the faces of South Korean fans, hoping to see Ayla’s face in them. Every night he went to bed with a feeling of incompleteness, because this story had to end somewhere...



Suleyman Dilbirligi

And it ended. At some point, large television companies joined the search for Ayla and, having looked up archival documents, found out Ayla’s real Korean name – Kim Inja. The press contacted six of her classmates, who were living in South Korea at that time, and one of them gave reporters Ayla’s current address. When the Korean woman was found, she was told that a veteran was looking for her in Turkey and, of course, was shown his photo. It is difficult even to describe in words all the emotions that the woman experienced at that moment, who, of course, remembered and recognized her savior and named father.



Kim Inja - "Ayla"

And, of course, it is impossible to convey what Suleiman himself experienced when he learned that after 60 years, Ayla had finally been found, and their meeting would still take place. However, before leaving for Turkey, Ayla wrote a letter to Suleiman: “Dear father. I haven’t arrived yet, but I already feel your embrace, I thought about you every minute. Raising a little abandoned girl, accepting her as her own daughter, giving love at such a difficult moment is not something everyone can do. Thank you very much for this. I love you, daddy! See you soon. Your daughter Ayla."



Families of Suleyman Dilbirligi and Ayla

They met in the park... And from the time this meeting took place, over the next seven years, father and daughter never parted. Ayla moved to Turkey. “Once upon a time you did not leave me, and now I will not leave you,” Ayla said when they met. And she kept her promise, staying next to Suleiman until his last breath and holding his hand when he left...



Ayla and Suleiman Dilbirligi