Korean-American Olympian Meets His Father

(CBS/AP)  It was the happy ending: U.S. Olympic skier Toby Dawson meeting the father he lost more than two decades ago.

"I have been waiting a long time, father," Dawson said in Korean, and then continued in English, "which I believe means 'I have been waiting a long time father.'" He had learned the phrase for the occasion.

Hugging his son at a hotel, Kim Jae-su teared up.

"I am glad to meet my son and see that he has grown up so wonderfully," Kim said. "I am thankful that he has come to look for me even after such a long time."

It started when baby Toby, age 3 and then named "Bong-seok" got lost at a market in Busan, a southern port city in South Korea, reports CBS News correspondent Barry Petersen. Authorities thought he was abandoned, so he was adopted by a family in Colorado.

A truck driver at the time, Kim said it was too late when he got home to start searching for his missing child, whose original Korean name was Bong-seok. Over the next few days, he said he scoured local orphanages but was unable to find his son.

"I went to many orphanage houses only to hear that they didn't have anyone like him. They wouldn't let me come inside and look for him," the 53-year-old Kim said, adding he would search orphanages whenever he had time but eventually gave up.

Jump ahead to Dawson winning Olympic bronze for freestyle skiing in Turin last year. South Korea made him theirs, splashing his story across the papers, reports Petersen. The publicity started the hunt for his father.

(AP)

Dozens hoped he was their son. DNA tests confirmed it was Kim, although the shared sideburns were a pretty good clue, as well. (See the picture on the left.) His father reached over several times during the news conference to touch Dawson's face while they also held hands.

"I'm not here to beat him up for what happened," Dawson said, adding that he had a fortunate life growing up with his adoptive parents, who were ski instructors in Vail, Colo.

But the reunion answered so many feelings of a Korean raised in America.

"I felt like I did not fit in anywhere. I looked at my parents and I didn't look like them and I also felt if I went to Korea, I didn't belong there, so I felt like I was still lost, stuck between two different worlds," Dawson said.

Dawson said he plans to use a new foundation he is starting in his name to help work to avoid cases like his in the future.

"Being caught in limbo between two different countries and not looking like your family is going to be tough," he said. "We need to try to keep our children and work a little bit harder to keep these circumstances from happening."

Dawson said he hoped to eventually stage a reunion with all his parents. He also mentioned again his desire to become a professional golfer within five years, after retiring in September from professional skiing.

Kim declined to talk publicly about Dawson's biological mother.

Also at the reunion was Dawson's younger brother, 24-year-old Kim Hyun-cheol, who was wearing an earring in his left ear similar to those Dawson has in both ears. All three men wrapped their arms around each other before heading to a family lunch.

[lovingmom1]

Should only white people adopt white children? Isn't that a form of racism?

[lovingmom1]

Isn't Toby engaged to an American women? So, his child will not be fully Korean? Will His child fit in with the American Culture or Korean culture? Or did Toby just say that "We need to try to keep our children (in Korea) and work a little bit harder to keep these circumstances from happening." His child will not be from Korea. These circumstances of being raised in a loving family and priviledge. Is that a sin? Why mess it up for adoptive parents who are willing to adopt children that are different from them and have a different culture too. You know there is the adoptive parents side of the story as well. It is not only about Toby.

[lovingmom1]

Should abandoned Korean Children be raised in an orphanage so that they will stay in Korea or in a loving home outside of Korea? I am infertile woman who is in the process of adopting a child from Korea. I have taken Korean Language lessons, learn to cook the food and play some of the music so that when I received my adoptive child there will be some culture. I know of many people who were raised in foster care system in the US and all wished they live in a loving home. IF IDENTITY CRISIS IS ALL YOU FACED IN LIFE YOU HAD A *** GOOD LIFE. My heart goes out to the adoptive parents, because the actual process is very intrusive and expensive. Is it wrong wanted to raise an abandoned child and give the child love and a chance at a good life?

[lovingmom1]

Should abandoned Korean Children be raised in an orphanage so that they will stay in Korea or in a loving home outside of Korea? I am infertile woman who is in the process of adopting a child from Korea. I have taken Korean Language lessons, learn to cook the food and play some of the music so that when I received my adoptive child there will be some culture. I know of many people who were raised in foster care system in the US and all wished they live in a loving home. IF IDENTITY CRISIS IS ALL YOU FACED IN LIFE YOU HAD A *** GOOD LIFE. My heart goes out to the adoptive parents, because the actual process is very intrusive and expensive. Is it wrong wanted to raise an abandoned child and give the child love and a chance at a good life?

[lovingmom1]

We need to try to keep our children and work a little bit harder to keep these circumstances from happening."

Should abandoned Korean Children be raised in an orphanage or in a loving home outside of Korea? I am infertile woman who is in the process of adopting a child from Korea. I have taken Korean Language lessons, learn to cook the food and play some of the music so that when I received my adoptive child there will be some culture. I know of many people who were raised in foster care system in the US and all wished they live in a loving home. IF IDENTITY CRISIS IS ALL YOU FACED IN LIFE YOU HAD A *** GOOD LIFE. There is cancer, diseases, loss of limb and many other things that are so worst. My heart goes out to the adoptive parents, because the actual process is very intrusive and expensive. Is it wrong wanted to raise an abandoned child and give the child love and a chance at a good life? Maybe I am better off not adopting instead of raising an ungrateful child.

[agnim]

"These children that got adopted can choose to make a difference.
Posted by superchez1 at 01:41 PM : Mar 01, 2007"

LOL
Did you happen to read the article?

That's EXACTLY what this guy intends to do: He's making a difference; so that morons like Madonna and idiot Jolie don't create a situation for minds where they become lost and confused about its identity!

Whatever financial assistance those bimbos are willing to invest in the one or two children they foolishly and fiendishly adopted, can be invested WITHIN THE CHILDREN'S OWN INDIGENOUS CULTURE!

And better yet, if the country the bungling bimbos are from would cease robbing and exploiting the other countries, then those countries would have the necessary resources to tend to their young!

So Madonna and Jolie, if they have half a brain between them, can get their government to cease and desist the exploitation and greedy hording of the planet's resources unto themselves! Because they are helping to create the situation of impoverishment around the planet!

[agnim]

"Being caught in limbo between two different countries and not looking like your family is going to be tough," he said. "We need to try to keep our children and work a little bit harder to keep these circumstances from happening."


Another clear case as to why the moron Madonna and idiot Jolie are such fiends for removing children from their indigenous cultures, instead of SENDING SUPPORT!

[gscriver]

We have an exchange student from S Korea right now. He said that when he was young, he also got lost at one of the ourdoor markets. He hid in a bakery and eventually heard an announcement looking for him and came out to greet his parents.

[mountainzen]

This would make a good story for a Disney Movie, full of tears, joy, and with a much nicer ending than "Old Yeller."