Toby Dawson
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South Korea
 On the cover of KoreAm, July 2007 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nationality | United States South Korea | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | May 4, 1979 Busan, South Korea | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Toby Dawson (Korean: 김수철; Kim Soo-cheol; born Kim Bong-seok; 김봉석; May 4, 1979) is a Korean-American retired mogul skier. He won a bronze medal at the 2006 Winter Olympics. Dawson is a featured athlete on the sports medicine show Athlete 360. He is currently a coach for the Korean national freestyle skiing team.
Dawson was born in Busan, South Korea as Kim Bong-seok. When he was three, then-Kim Bong-seok was at a crowded Jungang market in Beomil-dong, Dong-gu, Busan with his mother and went missing. His father went through many orphanages in the area for days, and his son was nowhere to be found. A couple from Vail, Colorado, who were ski instructors, adopted Kim Bong-seok and he was renamed Toby Dawson.
Reunion with biological parents
A man from Busan, Kim Jae-su (김재수), saw Dawson's image in the media; Kim had a missing son of Dawson's age, a DNA test has proven that Jae-su is indeed Dawson's biological father. Dawson and Kim met in Seoul for the first time on Wednesday, February 28, 2007, along with Kim's younger son.[1] Dawson has stated his intent to start a foundation, named after his birth name, to prevent such cases in the future.[2][3] After the reunion, Kim, Dawson, and his biological younger brother had lunch.
Dawson met his biological mother on Friday, November 2, 2012, in Busan, South Korea, according to his Twitter, with his biological father and brother.[4]
He is a PR ambassador for Korea National Tourism Organization and the 2014, 2018 Pyeongchang Olympic Winter Games Bid Committee.[5]
