Olympic skier Dawson reunites with biological father

[rebel with a cause]

Tears of joy

Posted: Wednesday February 28, 2007 1:11AM; Updated: Wednesday February 28, 2007 1:11AM


SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- U.S. Olympic skier Toby Dawson embraced his tearful father Wednesday as they reunited for the first time since the athlete was lost in a South Korean market more than two decades ago, leading to his eventual adoption in the United States.

"Don't worry," Dawson told Kim Jae-su as the two met in front of dozens of journalists at a Seoul hotel, the culmination of a yearslong journey made possible after a bronze freestyle skiing medal win at the Turin Olympics last year earned Dawson wide attention in the country of his birth.

Following the Olympics, dozens of would-be parents came forward to claim Dawson was their child, including Kim. But after years of dashed hopes, Dawson put off an earlier planned trip to Korea and waited for confirmation from genetic tests before traveling here this week.

Dawson was 3 years old when he was lost in a market by his mother in the southern port city of Busan, Kim said. 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.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/more/02/28/bc.oly.skorea.dawson.sd.ap/index.html

Read the rest of article to see how the young man feels about his growing up with parents that look very different than himself. Wow, I don't know how I feel about his words, but he has a right to feel any way he wants.