'I Should Have Looked Harder for You'

SEOUL, South Korea, Feb. 28, 2007 — -- A father and son, separated by several continents for almost a quarter of a century, had an emotional reunion in Seoul, South Korea, on Tuesday.

"I've been waiting a long time, father," said Toby Dawson, the U.S. Olympic freestyle skiing medalist, to his biological father as the older man fought back tears.

Avoiding his son's gaze, Kim Jae-Soo, 53, said, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I should have put more effort in finding you."

Twenty-five years ago, Dawson, now 28, became separated from his mother during a shopping trip to a busy marketplace in the port city of Busan. Dawson was eventually taken to an orphanage and later adopted by a Vail, Colo., couple who were both ski instructors.

Kim said he searched for years whenever he could find free time from his job as a truck driver.

"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," Kim said, adding that he eventually had given up.

Dawson, who had told ABC News just before the meeting that he was "too tough to cry" and would not show tears at the first sight of his father, encouraged Kim to "be strong emotionally and be happy and there's no need to cry."

Though grateful to his adoptive parents, Dawson, whose original Korean name was Bong-seok, has always been eager to reconnect with his biological family.

After his medal-winning Olympic performance at the Turin Games generated stories that were featured in the national media here, several couples came forward to claim him. After DNA testing was performed, Kim Jae-Soo was found to be his father.

Kim and Dawson's mother are now divorced, and she was not present for the meeting. However, Kim's younger brother, 24-year-old Kim Hyun-cheol, was there, and the two also met for the first time.

Dawson presented his father with a Norwegian sweater with the U.S. skiing team logo, explaining that skiing was an important part of his upbringing and that the sweater represented who he was. Kim immediately slipped it on.