By Hahm Hee-eun
Photos = Big Pictures

When war broke on the Korean Peninsula in June 1950, 16 U.N. nations came to the aid of an unfamiliar land, Korea. One of the first of the major participants to send troops was Turkey. The Korean War was the one of the deadliest wars since 1945. Could there be love and respect for human beings on such battlefields, where cruel massacres and death pervaded?

The Turkish movie “Ayla: the Daughter of War” (아일라) gives an answer to this question by introducing the touching story of a Turkish solider, Süleyman, and a five-year-old Korean girl, Ayla, who became an orphan in the horrific war. The miraculous story of the two people who had to overcome differences in nationalities and languages to form a deep bond as father and daughter is based on a true story. At the end of the film, photographs of the actual people involved, Süleyman Dilbirliği and Kim Eun-ja, who was named Ayla during the Korean War, and their reunion after 60 years, is shown on screen, adding some vividness to this forgotten side of modern Korean history.

It's worth pointing out that the film is made by Turkish director Can Ulkay, which gives the movie a different sense of charm than the Hollywood films that are frequently seen in Korea. The main character, Süleyman, could not leave an orphan child that stood alone in the moonlight among the piles of corpses. As he brought her to his camp and named her Ayla, his fellow soldiers made her clothes and prepared food to help him take care of her. The Turkish military also built the Ankara School in Suwon, Gyeonggi-do Province, for other orphans of the Korean War. The humane side of the Turkish soldiers, who prioritized the dignity of life before self-interest and efficiency, show how Korea and Turkey have been able to become exceptional blood brothers that share a common history and a common emotion.



Today, in 2018, a spring breeze of peace is blowing across the Korean Peninsula. The love for humanity that this sole Turkish soldier and all the U.N. troops together helped to spread across this land is still remembered, even after 68 years, and it has become the essential soil in which the sprouts of peace can grow and develop. 


hehahm@korea.kr