Süleyman Dilbirliği
A Turkish non-commissioned officer who, during the Korean War, found and cared for an orphaned five-year-old girl he named Ayla, was separated from her for sixty years by Korean law, and was reunited with her in 2010 in a reunion later covered by Turkish national press and a 2017 feature film.
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- Country
- Turkey
- Born
- 1926
- Died
- 2017, at age 91
- Service
- Non-commissioned officer, Turkish Army; deployed to Korea with Turkish UN forces, arriving 16 October 1950
Overview
Süleyman Dilbirliği, born in 1926, was a non-commissioned officer in the Turkish Army who served in the Korean War, arriving in Korea with Turkish forces under United Nations command on 16 October 1950 after earlier postings in Kahramanmaraş and İskenderun (Hürriyet).
Finding Ayla
During a harsh Korean winter, Dilbirliği found an abandoned girl, about four or five years old, in freezing conditions and brought her into his unit. He named her Ayla, for her “round, moon-like face”; her birth name was Kim Eunja. He cared for her for about a year before his unit returned to Turkey. Korean law at the time prevented him from taking her with him, and she was placed in a school in Suwon established by Turkish soldiers (Anadolu Agency; Hürriyet).
Reunion and later life
The two lost contact for sixty years. In 2010, around the 60th anniversary of the Korean War, South Korean officials reunited Dilbirliği and Ayla in Seoul’s Ankara Park. They corresponded afterward, and met in person once more in 2012 during Ayla’s visit to Turkey. Dilbirliği died in 2017 at age 91. The following year, Turkey’s Consulate General in Chicago and the Gene Siskel Film Center held a screening of “Ayla: The Daughter of War,” a film depicting his story, to mark the first anniversary of his death (Anadolu Agency; Anadolu Agency).
Timeline
- 1950
- During the Korean War's harsh winter, finds an abandoned Korean girl, aged about four or five, and brings her into his unit, naming her Ayla; her birth name was Kim Eunja.
- 1951
- Is separated from Ayla when his unit returns to Turkey; Korean law prevents him from taking her with him, and she is placed in an Ankara-named school established by Turkish soldiers in Suwon.
- 2010
- Reunited with Ayla in Seoul's Ankara Park after sixty years of separation, around the 60th anniversary of the Korean War.
- 2012
- Meets Ayla in person for the last time, during her visit to Turkey.
- 2017
- Dies at age 91. A film depicting his story, "Ayla: The Daughter of War," is later screened by Turkey's Consulate General in Chicago and the Gene Siskel Film Center to mark the first anniversary of his death.
What we could not verify
These claims came up in research and could not be confirmed. They are recorded here rather than published as fact or quietly dropped. If you hold a source that settles one, please tell us.
- Ayla's (Kim Eunja's) whereabouts after a final 2013 letter to Dilbirliği are not established by the sources read for this profile; this profile does not speculate about her current status.
Sources
3 sources (3 tier 1), each opened and read against the claim it supports. Every source is independent of the subject; no first-party material is cited. See the source policy.
Sourced to two Anadolu Agency (Turkey's state wire service) reports and a Hürriyet feature, all opened and read directly, covering distinct stages of his story — the original 1950 rescue and separation, and his death and posthumous commemoration. Deceased; no BLP constraints apply, though the story involves a vulnerable child and is presented with care rather than sensationalized.
- Turkish foster father of Korean war orphan remembered Supports: The original 1950 rescue of Ayla, their year together, separation, the 2010 reunion, and a 2018 commemorative film screening in Chicago.
- Turkish foster father of Korean war orphan dies at 91 Supports: His death in 2017 at age 91.
- Süleyman Astsubay kimdir? Süleyman Dilbirliği'nin gerçek hikayesi Supports: His birth year, military postings before Korea, the naming of Ayla, and details of their 2010 reunion and subsequent correspondence.
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