By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
For Lt. Col. Daniel Berdine of the Eighth U.S. Army (EUSA), 12 years of service in South Korea have been rewarding.
Most of all, the adoption of two Korean children made him and his wife, Elizabeth Rua-Berdine, extremely happy, and helped them achieve their dream of having a large family.
The couple adopted Dong-jun, 10, in 2002 and has been trying to adopt Hyun-soo, 9, from an orphanage in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, where they have done volunteer work since 2001.
``We were always thinking about expanding our family. We originally planned to have five children: however we were unable to have five biological children so it was the opportunity for us to adopt these children,’’ Berdine, 48, said in an e-mail interview with The Korea Times Monday. ``We have two biological daughters who significantly supported us as well.’’
The Army officer at EUSA’s operational command post said he was struggling to resolve legal problems with adopting Hyun-soo because the couple has failed locate his birth parents.
``For Dong-jun, we could find his real parents and could adopt him without real difficulties. However, for Hyun-soo, we could not find his real parents so there were many difficulties adopting him.’’
Berdine said they were able to find Hyun-soo’s aunt and are looking to see if she was eligible to stand in for his father.
``It has been very hard for us to adopt him (Hyun-soo) and it’s been dragging on almost two years,’’ he noted.
He said he had to extend his tour in South Korea to adopt them, but this made his family happier than ever.
Mrs. Berdine was quoted as saying that she believed the two children are blessings from God. She said she had given birth to two daughters from her womb and two sons ``from the heart.’’
Berdine said he wants to adopt one more Korean child.
``For Dong-jun, he loves reading books and he wants to become a scientist or an author. For Hyun-soo, he loves American football, so he wants to become a pro-football player,’’ Berdine said. ``We don’t really have specific plans for our children; it is their life to enjoy. We will just give every opportunity to try out new things.’’
Berdine served here as an officer in the 2nd Infantry Division between 1991 and 1992. Between 1998 and 2002, he served as a planning officer of EUSA’s intelligence bureau and has served with the Operational Command Post-Korea (OCPK) since 2004.