Singer Insooni got an opportunity last weekend to reunite with a former U.S. soldier who helped her get through some tough times when she was a young girl living in Korea dealing with feelings of isolation as the daughter of a Korean woman and an African-American serviceman.
The dramatic reunion after 40 years between the Korean pop singer, who is in now on tour in the U.S, and Ronald Lewis, who met her when he was stationed in Korea but who now lives in Delaware, was reported on by Delawareonline.com.
The two met when Lewis was 19 years old and Insooni was 15. "She was always sitting outside by herself," Lewis recalled. "So a few of the soldiers brought her clothes and helped her as much as we could." Having been outcast from her friends, Insooni saw him as a big brother. "Since then, I've never forgotten his eyes," she said.
However, one year later, in 1973, Lewis returned to the U.S. They sought to find ways to contact each other in the following years, but with no luck. Just when they had almost given up hope, they were finally brought together with the help of a U.S. general and the social networking site Facebook.
When Insooni saw him for the first time in front of his house after the long absence, she burst into tears and gave him a hug. Lewis was also overcome with emotion and broke down.
"I knew he worried about me being stuck in Korea," said the singer. "I wanted to tell him not to worry, that I’m successful now, so I found him."
Lewis gave Insooni an old photo album of hers that he had purposefully kept, thus wrapping up a secret pact the two had made back in 1972 .They reminisced about old times, and Lewis got to see the little girl he had once cared for perform in front of thousands of screaming fans at a concert in Secaucus, New Jersey on Sunday.
