“I Hope More Korean Families Adopt”

Toby Dawson, the famous U.S. skiing star (Kim Soo-cheol, 29), was appointed as a goodwill ambassador of Holt Children’s Services yesterday.

The moguls skier, who claimed the bronze at the Torino Games, was born in South Korea. An American adopted Dawson when he was 3 years old in 1982 through Holt Children’s Services after the future skier became separated from his parents in the central market in Beomil-dong, Dong-gu, Busan. On March 2, he attended an appointment ceremony held at a Holt conference hall in Hapjeong-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul and said, “I was adopted and raised under great parents in the U.S. But I went through a difficult, lonely childhood as my appearance was different. I hope Korean children will be adopted by Korean families more than by foreigners.”

At the ceremony, his family, including his biological father Kim Jae-soo, his biological mother, his brother Hyun-cheol (24), his fiancée Ria Halmi (40), and Min Kyung-tae, president of Holt in Korea, Mali Holt, president of Holt Children’s Services, and a movie actress, Kim Jin-a who adopted a three-month-old baby in 2004, were present.

imsun@donga.com