Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Add Good to your Google News feed.
Google News Button

Korean woman reunites with Turkish soldier who adopted her after she was orphaned in the war 60 years ago

The girl was only 5 when the soldier found her during the Korean War.

Korean woman reunites with Turkish soldier who adopted her after she was orphaned in the war 60 years ago
Cover Image Source: YouTube
Chuncheon MBC
Neha B.
By Neha B.Apr 04, 2024
Neha B.
See Full Bio

At the first screening of the movie, “Ayla: The Daughter of War,” on September 11, 2017, retired Sergeant Suleyman Dilbirligi posed with real-life Ayla, Eunja Kim, stirring a tear-jerking moment for everyone who witnessed it. "Ayla" is a 2017 South Korean-Turkish drama directed by Can Ulkay. It is based on the true story of Kim and Dilbirligi from 67 years ago. Dilbirligi was one of the Turkish troops fighting in support of South Korea in its struggle for freedom and independence during 1950-53. During the battle, he found a 5-year-old girl alone in the woods. That’s when the young Turkish soldier rushed to her aid and took this little Korean girl under his protection. Her parents had been killed in the war, so the soldier decided to bring her to the Turkish garrison. He became her foster father and gave her a beautiful Turkish name, “Ayla.”

For 14 months, the Turkish soldier took care of her. However, when the troops had to return to their home country, he had no choice but to part with the little girl, who was then taken into an orphanage. According to the Istanbul University Press, Turkey participated on the side of the United Nations in the Korean War that began in the summer of 1950.

Image Source: 3rd May 1951: Men of the 187th US Regimental Combat Team prepare to take a ridge position somewhere in Korea. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)Image Source:  3rd May 1951: Men of the 187th US Regimental Combat Team prepare to take a ridge position somewhere in Korea. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)

Years later, when Dilbirligi talked about Ayla, during an event organized to mark the 60th anniversary of the Korean War, South Korean government officials started looking for the girl. The two finally met in 2010 in South Korea in a tear-jerking reunion, after which they frequently wrote letters to each other over the years. Their real-life reunion was also shown in the 2010 Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation documentary “Kore Ayla” by Chuncheon MBC.

Following this, Eunja Kim visited Turkey for the premiere of the film and met Dilbirligi again. The next meeting for the 91-year-old old and 71-year-old Kim happened in an Istanbul hospital ward, where the Turkish war veteran was admitted due to a respiratory failure. Dilbirligi could only gesture with his hands, which brought tears to Kim’s eyes, the man she recalled as her “father.”

Coşkun Yılmaz, the then-head of the culture and tourism authority in Istanbul, who accompanied Kim during the visit, told Anadolu Agency that it was a moving moment, showing the longing of a daughter for her father. "Kim grabbed her foster father’s hands as soon as she entered the room, and later she cried a lot. It was a very sad scene," Yılmaz said. "While she was holding his hands, her foster father reacted to it. One of the hospital workers there said that he hadn’t been reacting to anything up until now, [but now] apparently he felt that his daughter was there,” he added. Dilbirligi passed away in 2017.

The Latest

spotlight effect, therapy, confidence, worry, anxiety
Health

Psychologists reveal confidence-boosting reality check that can stop everyone from worrying

dogs, video calls, separation anxiety, pet care, dog owners
Animals

FaceTime for dogs? Man's best friend will soon be your favorite phone contact.

robert redford, the twilight zone, robert redford performances, nothing in the dark, robert redford rip
Culture

Robert Redford's tender 'Twilight Zone' portrayal of Death: 'It isn't me you're afraid of'

young boy, serious young boy, seven year old, brown hair, healthy kid
Life hacks

A single data point taken at 7 could accurately predict an early death

More For You

happiness, happiest state, nebraska, mental health, economics

Nebraska made a giant jump in happiness.

Photo credit: Canva

Experts say that you’re likely going to be happier if you live in Nebraska

Each year, the popular personal finance website WalletHub provides an extensive list of the Happiest States in America. As many may suspect, states like Hawaii that are known for favorable weather, relaxation, and fun destinations ranked fairly high, yet there were some surprises. Notably, Nebraska leaped from ranking ninth in the 2024 happiness list all the way up to third place in 2025.

How did Nebraska make such a significant jump in happiness and contentment compared to other states? With all due respect to the citizens of Nebraska, it’s not as well known, promoted, or referenced within American culture as a hub of interest in comparison to coastal states such as New York, California, and Florida. In fact, only two of their cities, Omaha and Lincoln, were in WalletHub’s Happiest Cities in America list in 2025. So what gives?

Keep ReadingShow less
family, parents, parenting, kids, children, sedentary lifestyle obesity, mental health

Fitness family.

Image via Canva - Photo by FatCamera

If you want your kids to be more active, you'll have to become more active yourself

Just because mommy and daddy like pizza doesn't mean the kids don't have to eat their vegetables. Do your homework. Eat more healthy choices and lay off those snacks. Get out there and play, be active, exercise, because mommy and daddy say so. But who doesn't want to fall on the couch to watch the next best hit show on Netflix after a long day's work? Just because mommy and daddy do it doesn't mean it's okay for the kids. These are fundamental patterns that reflect how families typically operate. Parents say it, and so the kids must do it. But, they don't. Why? Because the parents aren't modeling it.

Researchers from Sãu Paulo State University (UNESP), Brazil, studied 182 young people (aged six to seventeen) and their parents (161 mothers, 136 fathers) to understand the connection with sedentary behavior and physical activity. If parents sit a lot, it's not surprising that the kids follow suit. But, if the parents are active people, what do the kids do?

Keep ReadingShow less
car sickness, music, music therapy, healing, recovery

Joyful music could reduce your motion sickness symptoms.

Photo credit: Canva

Scientists say that joyful music can reduce motion sickness by 57 percent

Ever felt car sick? If so, you and 46% of car passengers aren’t alone. Car sickness and motion sickness overall can be unpleasant to experience and could lead to unpleasant clean-ups in the car, too. However, a new study found a possible solution to car sickness and its symptoms: putting on your upbeat playlist.

Researchers at Southwest University in China found that listening to certain types of music can help alleviate or cure a person’s car sickness. While musical tastes may vary, they found that specifically joyful, happy music had a 57.6% chance of providing motion sickness relief. This is followed by soft music at 56.7% and passionate music at 48.3% respectively.

Keep ReadingShow less
AI healthcare, ChatGPT, TMJ, jaw pain, life hacks, Reddit, viral stories, health tech, patient empowerment

Man rubs his jaw while on the phone

Canva

His jaw clicked for five years. ChatGPT fixed it in 60 seconds.

For five years, a man known on Reddit as u/User2000ss lived with a constant, painful click in his jaw that he attributed to a boxing injury. He saw doctors, underwent MRIs, and tried self-massage, but nothing worked. Then, on a whim, he described his symptoms to ChatGPT.

The AI suggested a possible cause: a displaced disc in his temporomandibular joint (TMJ) and recommended a simple physical therapy exercise to retrain the jaw muscles. The result was instantaneous.

Keep ReadingShow less
walking with hands behind back, posture, body language, psychology, confidence

What does walking with your hands behind your back really mean?

Photo credit: Canva

Body language experts reveal the secret of people who walk with their hands behind their backs

You can presume a lot about a person based on how they walk. If you see them make long strides with their head forward and arms swinging, they appear determined and focused. If you see a person just shuffling their feet with their arms dangling at their sides, they could appear aimless or aloof. But what about a person who is walking with their hands clasped behind their back?

Well, body language experts believe that walking with your hands behind your back reveals a great deal about your mindset and your personality. They believe that, by keeping your hands behind your back while walking, a person is removing a distraction from their field of vision. This can allow a person to better process complex ideas, difficult emotions, or mentally work through problems as they walk. In short, walking with your hands behind your back indicates deep overall thoughtfulness.

Keep ReadingShow less
weight loss, drugs, medication, doctor, health risks, Time, skinny

Thin woman with large jeans and a concerned doctor.

Image via Canva - Photos by lurii Maksymiv and Csaba's Images

A doctor warns the heavy cost of using weight-loss drugs to get skinny

America seems to be in a constant losing battle with its weight. We're bombarded with one fitness expert's opinion weighed against some revolutionary kale juice slurpy. Do this routine and try to avoid the junk food that's been scientifically designed to make you dream about having it. Most recently, research has actually come to the rescue with something more than wishful thinking. A science of weight-loss drugs that literally works miracles. But at what cost?

Dr. Nicholas Cozzi, director of emergency medical services at Rush University Medical Center, wrote a 2025 article in Time, "The Heavy Cost of Using Weight-Loss Drugs to Get Skinny." There's no doubt that these new drugs help people lose weight. Some people have incredible physical changes. However, is it treated so casually that people put themselves unnecessarily at dangerous risk?

Keep ReadingShow less
science, cognitive function, brain, memory loss, FTL1, protein, age-related, Alzheimer's

Digital representation of the brain.

Image via Canva - Photo by Henrik5000

Scientists find a way to 'truly reverse' normal, age-related memory loss

When it comes to brain function, degeneration caused by aging can be a complicated and quite painful experience to navigate. Issues such as Dementia, Alzheimer's, Huntington's, and general age-related cognitive decline are all aging-associated illnesses. Disorders that millions of Americans face every day. Researchers believe they have found a way to reverse the effects caused by age-related cognitive decline. More compelling, the applications of this frontier medicine could be used to help the average person delay or even prevent memory loss.

The University of California, San Francisco, in a 2025 study published in MSN, made some surprising breakthroughs. There is a protein found in the brain called ferritin light chain 1 (FTL1). Studying aging mice, they found the protein amassed in the brain's memory center over time. When they reduced the (FTL1) in older mice, cognitive performance improved back to levels normally seen in juvenile mice.

Keep ReadingShow less
arthritis, medical treatment, gait retraining, medication, medicine

This old school method could help people cope with knee arthritis.

Photo credit: Canva

Doctors rediscover effective old-school method to relieve arthritis pain without pills or surgery

Arthritis is an ever-growing and painful problem. According to a 2022 study by the Center for Disease Control, 18.9% of adults aged 18 to 65 suffer from some form of arthritis (and even that number might be too low). However, scientists from the University of Utah, New York University, and Stanford University have found an old school way to help those with knee osteoarthritis relieve pain without medication or surgery. Their answer? Walk it off.

Their study found that adjusting the angle of a person’s foot when they’re walking and retraining the gait of a person with osteoarthritic knees provided comparable pain relief to medication. On top of that, the participants who adjusted and retrained the gait show less cartilage deterioration over time compared to other participants given placebo treatments.

Keep ReadingShow less
© Copyright 2025