The glorifying of anything or anyone remotely related to Korea continues. Now it is professional golf where this 2nd generation Korean-American is supposed to over take Tiger Woods as the PGA’s greatest golfer. My money is on Tiger.
Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward continues to be the most recognizable advocate of bi-racial children in Korea:
Eight biracial children from South Korea are visiting a famous friend of similar heritage – Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward.
The children, ages 9 to 16, landed Saturday at Pittsburgh International Airport, where Ward greeted them and local host families at the start of a four-day visit sponsored by the Hines Ward Helping Hands Foundation.
Ward established the foundation to help mixed-race children during a trip to South Korea earlier this year. He pledged an initial $1 million, a portion of which would be given in his mother’s name to express gratitude for her sacrifices during his childhood.
Ward was born in South Korea to a black American soldier and a Korean mother but grew up in the United States. He shot to fame in South Korea after winning MVP honors at the Super Bowl.
On Saturday, Ward thanked the Steelers and Pearl S. Buck International, an organization that promotes interracial adoption and programs to combat discrimination against children, for their support of the trip.
It is good to see Hines Ward still being active in being an advocate for bi-racial children, especially since the issue has completely dropped off the radar since his visit to Korea last spring. Since Pittsburgh has no hope of going to the Super Bowl this year, he has no chance of winning another MVP award to put this issue on the radar in Korea again.
On the eve of his second trip to Korea coming up on the 27th of May, Hines Ward had some more to say about racism in Korea:
American football star Hines Ward, whose mother is Korean, has told a U.S. newspaper of the disturbing prejudice he encountered against mixed-race children during his recent triumphal visit to Korea. “You can’t even get into the military if you’re biracial,” the footballer, who is half Korean, said in an interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “That is their rule, 100 percent pure, you have to be pure Korean, it’s the only way to be in the military. The writer, Ed Bouchette, said Ward returned with a new mission to help biracial children in Korea.
The ROK Army now does accept bi-racial children; a development from the first Hines Ward trip, but no biracial children have signed up yet because first of all the ROK Army is not fun for pure blooded Koreans much less bi-racial Koreans. I wonder if Ward will receive the same lovefest that he received during his first trip to Korea last month or is his 15 minutes of fame in Korea up?
The Chosun has a pretty good article today about the image consultants that are hard at work cultivating the teenage golfer’s brand image:
Her Korean-ness also plays a part. Despite her American nationality, when Wie answers questions asked in English in her not-so-fluent Korean, and when she introduces herself by her Korean name Sung-mi instead of Michelle, hearts here melt.
Wie stressed that heritage during last week¿s visit. In contrast to a visit three years ago when she spoke both in English and Korean, this time she several times asked to be called Sung-mi. It seems part of an emerging strategy that saw her offer greetings in Japanese when she went to Japan for the Casio World Open last November and endear herself to locals by saying she likes sushi and Japanese noodles. An advertising professional says a surname like Wie will also go down well in China.
Her girlish image is grist to the mills of a marketing industry infatuated with youth. Meeting the press, Wie recited a string of Korean dramas and movies she claimed to love and confessed to dreams of meeting such idols of Korean teenagers as Chang Dong-kun and Lee Joon-ki. Another image consultant expressed doubt Wie had actually seen the soaps.
But Wie has 20-strong team of handlers. Her agency is William Morris, with 108 years of marketing the famous behind it, two of whose staff came along on the trip. Her image consultant David Lipman also does what he can for Angelina Jolie. They are joined by six lawyers, a nutritionist and a designer or two.
I do have to say that all those consultants are doing one heck of job promoting someone who has won nothing yet. The hype around Michelle Wie reminds me so much of the former hype that followed Russian tennis player Anna Kournikova and look how far that got her.
UPDATE: After reading this over at the Marmot’s Hole:
Michelle Wie?s father Wie Byung-wook, a professor of transportation at the University of Hawaii, agreed to a telephone interview with the Chosun Ilbo on Thursday.
?I?m well aware there that some say, since Michelle Wie is an American why is she making such a fuss. But you know what, the only thing about her that?s American is her passport, she is ?definitely? Korean.?
I was definitely thinking the same thing the Lost Nomad was thinking on this matter. Her dad might as well have said Show Me the Money Korea!
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It looks like another Korean-American will be taking Korea by storm next month as well:
Teen golfer Michelle Wie will visit Korea for the KPGA Tour?s SK Telecom Open that will be held at the Incheon Sky72 Golf Course on May 4.
Responding to e-mail and phone interviews, Wie said she was exited to visit Korea once again and couldn`t wait to see what has changed since her last Seoul visit three years ago. This will be her second visit to Korea after the CJ Nine Bridges Classic held in October, 2003 in Jeju. Wie said she was keeping a list of Korean foods she would have in Seoul. She also said she is looking forward to going bargain shopping for fashion accessories in Dongdaemun bazaar.
I wonder if she will get the same rock star coverage Hines Ward did?
Hines Ward to Judge Miss USA Pageant
Hines Ward is one busy man this off season:
Hines Ward, crowned MVP of the Super Bowl, will help pick the belle of the ball as one of nine judges on the celebrity panel for the Miss USA pageant April 21 in Baltimore.
Ward, who returns this week from a 10-day trip to his native South Korea, joins another athlete as a judge, speed skater and U.S. Olympic triple-medal winner Chad Hedrick, in the Donald Trump production that will be televised live on NBC from 9 to 11 p.m. that night.
Ward and the other celebrity judges will help pick the winning contestant from a group of 15 selected by preliminary judges.
The winner will represent the United States at the Miss Universe 2006 contest later this year.
To bad they didn’t pick Apolo Anton Ohno to judge as well? Hines and Apolo could share some really opposite end of the spectrum stories about Korea. They could especially swap stories about being met at the airport by riot police.
Hat Tip: Commenter,
The Hines Ward tour continued in Korea with Ward visiting the Pearl S. Buck International Foundation which is an organization dedicated to helping mixed race children. Noticably absent was all the hanger ons like President Roh who wanted their photo op with Hines Ward but wouldn’t be caught dead getting a photo op with these children.
Hines Ward’s mom Kim Young-hee had some strong words at the meeting:
Across from her sat two fellow mothers of mixed-race children, the mother of Arum, 30-year-old An Jin-hee, and the mother of Yujin, Bae Seon-ju (45). While Kim¿s Super Bowl star son, who is half African American, was posing for pictures and hugging the children, Kim’s lips remained tightly sealed.
An told Kim there was much she wanted to talk to her about. ¿If I had the opportunity to get out of Korea right now, I would do it without a moment’s hesitation,¿ An said. Kim silently held her hand. Then she said, “Yes, that is what you should do. I always used to think that too.”
When she had composed herself, Kim said she had spent 30 years ¿without looking at Koreans and without thinking about them. What do you think would have become of us if I had kept living here with Hines? He would probably never have been able to be anything but a beggar. Do you think I would even have been able to get work cleaning houses?¿
She is absolutely right and she even had more to say:
Kim said this was the way Koreans are. ¿Even in America, Korean’s don’t get along. Koreans who immigrated ignored us. Koreans of the same skin color are even more racist among themselves. It doesn’t make sense. If everybody hates our children so much because their skin is a different color, then why do Koreans run around dying their hair blond and red?
Kim noted the contrast between her difficult early years in the U.S., when no one wanted to help, and the sudden interest sparked by Hines Ward¿s success. ¿It’s hard, but that’s just the way it goes,” she said. “But I have no regrets.”
She left by doing something very nice:
As Kim was leaving the foundation, Jang Ye-eun (19), a girl who said she hoped to become a basketball star, bowed to her and said goodbye. Kim impulsively opened her wallet, took out a bill and put it in Jang’s pocket. It was US$100. “It’s Hines¿ mother giving you this, so it¿s fine. You go and buy books for school. And you make up your mind right now that you absolutely must succeed. You can do it,” she said, and left.
Kim gave more money to help that girl than probably anyone in Korea ever gave to help her when she had her son. Maybe Hines Ward is not the one to change perceptions in Korea after all. Maybe it will be his mom instead. I think her outspokeness may possibly do more than Hines Ward’s fame, to really get people in Korea to change their perceptions of mixed race children.
Robert over at the Marmot’s Hole of course has great coverage of this as well to check out.
Well because I really have nothing else to blog about here is more on the Hines Ward visit to Korea. Fresh off of rubbing elbows with President Roh Moo-hyun, Hines Ward has now decided to begin his own foundation to assist mixed race children in Korea:
At a press conference in Seoul, Ward said he was discussing with his legal representative here the establishment of the foundation to help children with mixed-blood backgrounds, similar to the Pearl S. Buck International (PSBI) that works with children of mixed-heritage.
Here is what President had to say about the meeting with Ward:
During the Chong Wa Dae meeting, Roh praised Ward’s enthusiasm and outstanding achievement giving Korean mixed-race students hopes and dreams, presidential spokesman Kim Man-soo said.
Roh pledged to give more equal social opportunities to those of mixed-race, asking Ward for continued attention to his native country.
Why does it take Hines Ward an American to give these kids hopes and dreams? Roh is the President of Korea, why doesn’t he step up and give these kids hopes and dreams instead? If Ward wasn’t the Super Bowl MVP these kids would not be worthy of hopes and dreams then? Only Super Bowl MVPs are qualified to give these kids hope for a better future? President Roh and Koreans in general should have been addressing this problem long before Hines Ward showed up.
I do have to give credit to Hines Ward for stepping up and bringing attention to this issue. I will be more impressed if he sticks with it and remains active in his pledge to aid mixed race children. That will mean more than just spotlighting the issue for a couple of weeks during his visit. If stays active in the problem then maybe things will change. If not then a month after he leaves all will be forgotten until the next famous mixed race person comes around.
Super Bowl MVP Hines Ward has now arrived in Korea and even brought his mother with him. Guess who the first person to see him is?:
Korea has adopted the American football star as its own, inspired by his prowess even if most people are baffled by the game.
His rags-to-riches story and his mother’s sacrifices to raise him have touched a chord in the national psyche.The visitors will lunch with President Roh Moo-hyun and his wife, Kwon Yang-sook, tomorrow and throw the first ball at the opening game of the 2006 Korea Baseball Organization season on Saturday at Jamsil Stadium in southern Seoul.
Yes the I’m not really anti-American president himself Roh Moo-hyun made sure he got his photo op with Hines Ward first. How about he instead go with Hines Ward to a mixed race orphanage and get a photo op there to draw attention to this problem in Korea?
Here is a shock; con men in Korea have been illegally using Hines Ward’s image:
Korean companies have jostled for position in an effort to associate themselves with Mr. Ward and his mother.
Some less ethical businessmen reportedly have registered copyrights related to Mr. Ward or have passed themselves off as his representative here.
Lim Sang-hyuk, a lawyer representing the gridiron hero in Korea, said, “If necessary, Mr. Ward will take legal action against the illegal use of his name, portrait and other things.”
For those that haven’t seen it yet, Newsweek ran an article last week about Hines Ward. I was actually contacted by the reporter to provide some insight into the Hines Ward phenomenon. It is kind of interesting to see how the blogosphere can influence the reporting a mainstream media outlet. Anyway, the article was well balanced between explaining Hines Ward life, his admiration for his mother, and the bias towards mixed race children in Korea, but nothing really ground breaking that we haven’t heard before.
I did find this passage interesting though:
Some Korean-American activists have also complained about the fact that Ward hasn’t contributed to the community yet. “If he’s going to be a role model, he should do something for the community,†gripes a representative of one Korean-American youth group.
I find it ironic that the same Korean-American groups that shunned him when he was younger are now making demands of him now. How about these groups do more for mixed race children themselves instead of making demands from Hines Ward.
Anyway the hysteria over the Hines Ward visit to Korea ought to provide some interesting blogging over the next few days at least.
Korean speed skaters are continuing their winning ways even after the Olympics:
Ahn Hyun-soo led a South Korean sweep of the medals in the men’s 1500 metres final at the World Short Track Championships in Minneapolis on Friday.
Hyun-soo, who won three golds and a bronze at last month’s Turin Olympics, edged team mate Lee Ho-suk by just .009 seconds to take the title in a time of two minutes, 20.572 seconds.Completing the South Korean sweep of the podium was Oh Se-jong, who was close behind in 2:20.842.
South Korea also dominated the women’s 1500 finals as Jin Sun-yu took the gold with a time of 2:21.948. Sun-yu also won three gold medals at the Winter Olympics.
Notice the Korean speed skaters received no death threats or needed a riot police escort at the Minneapolis airport to get them to the race unlike what American skater Apolo Anton Ohno had to endure in Korea.
