Hines Ward is Korea's Valentine
An unlikely hero in a nation that scorns mixed parentage
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
By Barbara Demick, Los Angeles Times
SEOUL, South Korea -- He is a most unlikely national hero, a man who has barely spent any time in South Korea, speaks little of the language and who under other circumstances might be looked down upon in this society.
Ever since Hines Ward was named the most valuable player of the Super Bowl last week, the half-Korean Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver has been the toast of the town. People are talking about throwing parades in his honor. His name dominates the television and radio talk shows; his photo is splayed across the front pages of the newspapers.
Especially popular are close-up shots of his muscular upper arm, tattooed with his name spelled in Korean.
South Koreans' fascination with Ward is not simply a matter of pride, but of curiosity. The 29-year-old athlete is something of a novelty in that his mother is Korean, but his father was a black GI.
In ethnically homogenous South Korea, such mixed-race offspring are generally viewed with contempt. And because social status is based on being registered under the father's name, children raised by their mothers alone in effect are treated as nonpersons.
Biracial men have been banned from the South Korean military, although the Defense Ministry announced Friday, in a move that some attributed to the Hines Ward phenomenon, that the policy is being changed.
"If he had grown up here instead of the United States, he would have had a hard time," said Park Mi Na, a 17-year-old mixed-race high school student. Park, who bears a strong resemblance to the black American father she has not seen since she was 2, said she has been taunted by children her entire life and stared at strangely by adults "as if I were an alien from outer space."
Ms. Park speaks no English and does not know the difference between Washington, D.C., and the state of Washington. (Her father, she said, lives in one of the Washingtons.) But she hopes to study in the U.S., if only for the chance to be someplace where she doesn't draw attention.
Ward's situation could have been much the same as Ms. Park's except he left Seoul when he was a toddler. After his parents' divorce, he initially lived with his father but later ran away to join his mother, who held down three jobs to support the two of them.
In interviews with media here, Ward's mother, Kim Young Hee, recalled that she did not move back to South Korea because of discrimination against her and her child here.
"Even Korean people who looked educated spat when we walked by," Ms. Kim was quoted as telling the Chosun Ilbo in a story published Wednesday.
Ward's newfound celebrity has prompted soul-searching in South Korea.
"I nearly cried when I read the story of his mother in the paper," said Yun Nam Jung, a taxi driver. Ward should be welcomed back with a parade through the center of Seoul, he said, adding: "He's a superb man. We're so proud of him."
In fact, South Koreans might get their chance to celebrate Ward's success. The MVP has said he will visit in April, perhaps with his mother. Already, the country's two leading airlines are competing to fly them over and foot the bill for the trip.
Among the many South Koreans who want to see him in Seoul are the administrators of Pearl S. Buck International, a foundation that provides support to biracial children.
"He is an American basically, not a Korean. But the way that he overcame the hardships of his childhood could be an inspiration to our children too," said Lee Ji Young, a social worker at the Seoul office.
There are an estimated 35,000 mixed-raced South Koreans, most of them raised by single mothers and many of them fathered by American GIs. Several have achieved prominence as entertainers, but that has done little to ease the stigma for others.
Insooni, a well-known biracial singer, said that despite her success, she made sure that her 12-year-old daughter was born in the U.S. and thus could get an American passport.
"I could bear any discrimination and taunting myself -- but as a mother, I didn't want my child to have the same experience," said Insooni, who goes by one name.
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
By Barbara Demick, Los Angeles Times
SEOUL, South Korea -- He is a most unlikely national hero, a man who has barely spent any time in South Korea, speaks little of the language and who under other circumstances might be looked down upon in this society.
Ever since Hines Ward was named the most valuable player of the Super Bowl last week, the half-Korean Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver has been the toast of the town. People are talking about throwing parades in his honor. His name dominates the television and radio talk shows; his photo is splayed across the front pages of the newspapers.
Especially popular are close-up shots of his muscular upper arm, tattooed with his name spelled in Korean.
South Koreans' fascination with Ward is not simply a matter of pride, but of curiosity. The 29-year-old athlete is something of a novelty in that his mother is Korean, but his father was a black GI.
In ethnically homogenous South Korea, such mixed-race offspring are generally viewed with contempt. And because social status is based on being registered under the father's name, children raised by their mothers alone in effect are treated as nonpersons.
Biracial men have been banned from the South Korean military, although the Defense Ministry announced Friday, in a move that some attributed to the Hines Ward phenomenon, that the policy is being changed.
"If he had grown up here instead of the United States, he would have had a hard time," said Park Mi Na, a 17-year-old mixed-race high school student. Park, who bears a strong resemblance to the black American father she has not seen since she was 2, said she has been taunted by children her entire life and stared at strangely by adults "as if I were an alien from outer space."
Ms. Park speaks no English and does not know the difference between Washington, D.C., and the state of Washington. (Her father, she said, lives in one of the Washingtons.) But she hopes to study in the U.S., if only for the chance to be someplace where she doesn't draw attention.
Ward's situation could have been much the same as Ms. Park's except he left Seoul when he was a toddler. After his parents' divorce, he initially lived with his father but later ran away to join his mother, who held down three jobs to support the two of them.
In interviews with media here, Ward's mother, Kim Young Hee, recalled that she did not move back to South Korea because of discrimination against her and her child here.
"Even Korean people who looked educated spat when we walked by," Ms. Kim was quoted as telling the Chosun Ilbo in a story published Wednesday.
Ward's newfound celebrity has prompted soul-searching in South Korea.
"I nearly cried when I read the story of his mother in the paper," said Yun Nam Jung, a taxi driver. Ward should be welcomed back with a parade through the center of Seoul, he said, adding: "He's a superb man. We're so proud of him."
In fact, South Koreans might get their chance to celebrate Ward's success. The MVP has said he will visit in April, perhaps with his mother. Already, the country's two leading airlines are competing to fly them over and foot the bill for the trip.
Among the many South Koreans who want to see him in Seoul are the administrators of Pearl S. Buck International, a foundation that provides support to biracial children.
"He is an American basically, not a Korean. But the way that he overcame the hardships of his childhood could be an inspiration to our children too," said Lee Ji Young, a social worker at the Seoul office.
There are an estimated 35,000 mixed-raced South Koreans, most of them raised by single mothers and many of them fathered by American GIs. Several have achieved prominence as entertainers, but that has done little to ease the stigma for others.
Insooni, a well-known biracial singer, said that despite her success, she made sure that her 12-year-old daughter was born in the U.S. and thus could get an American passport.
"I could bear any discrimination and taunting myself -- but as a mother, I didn't want my child to have the same experience," said Insooni, who goes by one name.
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I know all of my player-related articles lately are about Hines. But I really can't resist. He's Korea's humanitarian effort to start accepting racially mixed people. Although, completely ironic, since most Koreans didn't even know what American football was before he made MVP.
Also, Sunday night, Matt woke me up because I was grinding my teeth really loud (I know, that is gross). But then he asked me what I was dreaming about, and I said "the Steelers".
Bettina
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