Hines Ward is making a difference for Korea’s bi-racial youth

Posted on 02 February 2009 by Korean Beacon

Tags: Half, Half Korean, Hines Ward, Ohm Youngmisuk

Daily News sportswriter Ohm Youngmisuk writes a story on how Hines Ward has reached back to his roots – his bi-racial heritage – and is making a difference. The Hines Ward story brings up something many Koreans can’t deny and that is Korean’s haven’t always been the most open or accepting society. Well, times have changed and the efforts of Hines Ward will only help bring healing and a dialogue.

Ward’s success and popularity spread to Korea, and he became an instant celebrity, partly because of his MVP performance, but also because of his half-Korean ethnicity and the respect and gratitude he shows for his mother.

“It was something I needed in life,” says Ward, who has a tattoo of his name in Korean on his right bicep. “My life was empty and wasn’t complete if I didn’t go back to Korea. It was something that I have experienced, the highest enjoyment of life, winning the Super Bowl and the MVP, but there was still something missing.”

Ward is is a celebrity who is considered a “savior” for half-Koreans who are treated like second-class citizens. He’s become an inspiration to Koreans and a force to alter some of the country’s old-school traditional views and attitudes toward race, and much like the way he plays on the field, Ward is not going to stop until his message is heard. Read>