Hines Ward is one of those athletes we should come to admire because he really is a role model.  Charles Barkley famously said that he’s no role model, but thank goodness we have guys like Hines Ward who’s using his fame and fortune to help others.  The Hines Ward story gained national attention when the wide receiver won his first Super Bowl with the Pittsburgh Steelers.  Soon after the Super Bowl, he traveled with his Korean mother to South Korea to bring awareness to the difficulties  and discrimination that biracial children encounter, as he’s the son of a Korean mother and an African-American father.

The New York Times wrote about Hines Ward’s recent efforts when he gathered biracial children from Korea for a dinner.

“It’s a great culture,” said Ward, who was born in Seoul to a Korean mother and an African-American soldier father, and was raised mainly in Georgia by his mother. “I love everything about it. But there’s a dark side to that culture. And me, I’m just trying to shed a light on that dark side and make Korea a better place than it already is.”

Ward’s message: never be ashamed; embrace the opportunity to be part of two cultures.

For the full story, go to the New York Times.

Hines Ward, the wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers met up with the South Korean president Lee Myung-Bak during his visit to Pittsburgh during the G20 summit.   According to Hines’ tweets, he presented the South Korean president with a “signed football of Mr. Rooney, Coach Tomlin, and myself.”  Ward also noted that the South Korean President is “a big Steelers fan now.”

Hines Ward described his experience by saying he “Had an awesome visit with Korean President Lee. Again I was another President’s right hand man. I got a chance to welcome him to our great city of Pittsburgh and wished him the best trying to improve the country of Korea. I also added that I will continue to bring a positive light on bi-racial kids of Korea. Also, the first lady was very beautiful.”

Hines Ward started his public bridge to his Korean roots after he had won his first Super Bowl with the Pittsburgh Steelers.  Hines Ward is of Korean descent and his life story became an inspiration for many bi-racial kids who live in South Korea.  He has donated $1M to the Hines Ward Helping Hand Foundation to help children who suffer from discrimination.

More from the The Korea Times
President Lee Myung-bak and first lady Kim Yoon-ok met with Korean-American football star Hines Ward and leaders of the Korean community in Pittsburg upon arrival there Friday to participate in the G20 economic summit.

It was the first meeting between Lee and Ward, since the Pittsburg Steelers wide receiver was invited in February 2008 to Lee’s inauguration ceremony in Seoul.

Lee told Ward that he and U.S. President Barack Obama are both fans of the Steelers. Ward said he felt grateful for being invited and gave Lee an autographed football, Cheong Wa Dae said.

Ward has often expressed his love for the Korean people. Recently, he donated $1 million to create the Hines Ward Helping Hands Foundation, and donated another $1 million to help multicultural and Korean people in the United States.

During his visit to a Korean War memorial altar set up in 1991, Lee met with U.S. veterans who fought in the 1950-53 conflict.

Lee said South Korea will never forget those who sacrificed themselves to defend the country and promised to promote exchange programs with veterans and their families.

Lee’s meeting with the veterans is significant as Seoul and Washington are preparing joint events to mark the 60th anniversary of the outbreak of the war next year.

On Monday, first lady Kim cooked traditional Korean food and served it to some 50 U.S. veterans and their families in New York.

Early this year, the Korean government launched a 48-member committee to prepare for the 60th anniversary. The panel will work with government agencies and groups of war veterans on commemorative projects.

“Korea will work with American veterans to help post-war generations understand the war and be grateful for the countries that defended our country as members of the United Nations,” a presidential spokesman said. “We will also focus on sharing our experience of rapid economic growth with the world and promoting cultural and economic exchanges.”

For more on Hines Ward on Korean Beacon, click here.

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Thursday night was the kick-off of the NFL season.  Yesssss!  Bone crunching plays and violent collisions await us this fall and we all love it.  For many women out there, it’s the most miserable time of the year as boyfriends and husbands are lost to the TV set on Sunday afternoons.   The first game to start the season is the Pittsburgh Steelers vs. the Tennessee Titans.  The most famous player of Korean descent is Hines Ward of the Steelers.  We thought of taking this moment to share his story again.

Hines Ward, Superbowl XL MVP, is changing the way mixed-race Koreans are viewed and treated in Korean society. Koreans celebrated his accomplishments and his mother’s strong Korean character though she was shunned by her own people in the past. Hines reciprocated the process of amends by starting the Helping Hands Foundation for the support of mixed race Koreans in Korea.

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>

It’s pretty awesome that Hines Ward visited Seoul after the Super Bowl and came in touch with his roots.  During his visit with his mother, Ward “discovered a little something about himself, about who he is and where he came from.”

“I have to take advantage of this. I have to put whatever comes to me now to good use. Being Super Bowl MVP is a great thing, but it’s only truly great if you do something about it.”

Ward did something about it. He is the product of a Korean mother and an African-American father, a mixed-race child in a culture that can be especially cruel to such children. He had always wondered what would have become of him if the family had stayed in Seoul, if he hadn’t grown up in Monroe, La., and Atlanta, had the chance to play football at Georgia.

So two months after staring at his MVP trophy and lifting it toward the Ford Field ceiling, after staring into the TV cameras and giddily gushing, “I’m going to Disney World . . . and I’m taking the Bus!” with his arm around retiring teammate Jerome Bettis, Ward visited Korea with his mother, discovered a little something about himself, about who he is and where he came from.

Then he donated $1 million as seed money to start the Helping Hands Foundation, which assists children like Ward, born into a mixed racial marriage. At one point during his visit, Ward spoke to a group of racially-mixed children and he told them, “If my country can accept me for who I am and accept me for being a Korean, I’m pretty sure that this country can change and accept you for who you are.” They roared. Such are the powers of a football hero, even in a land that has never seen the game before.  Read>

Korean American!  I was reading up on the Super Bowl today and I found these headlines about Hines Ward kinda cool.

Ward was the MVP in the Steelers’ fifth Super Bowl victory against Seattle three years ago, when the Korean-American hauled in five passes for 123 yards and a touchdown.

• 4 (3- to 4-inch) beef short rib pieces with bones (about 3 pounds)

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 1 white onion, chopped

• 4 garlic cloves, chopped

• 2-inch piece ginger, chopped

• 1/4 cup rice wine (mirin)

• 1/2 cup soy sauce

• 3 tablespoons rice vinegar

• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

• 1 small apple, peeled and chopped

• Water

• 3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

• Hot cooked white rice

• Chopped green onions

• Sesame seeds

In a large, heavy saucepan or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Season the short ribs with salt and pepper. Working in batches, sear the ribs, turning, for 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer the ribs to a large plate.

Add the onion, garlic and ginger to the fat in the pan, reduce the heat, and saute for about 5 minutes. Add the rice wine and cook until almost evaporated, stirring. Add the soy sauce, vinegar, brown sugar and apple, and stir to dissolve the sugar. Return the ribs to the pan and add water to cover. Raise the heat, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, turning occasionally to keep the meat fully covered, until the meat is very tender and falling off the bone.

Remove the ribs from the braising liquid, pat dry with paper towels, and place on a wire rack above a roasting pan covered with aluminum foil.

Heat the oven to 450 degrees.

Strain the braising liquid and return half of the liquid to the pan. Cook over medium-high heat until reduced by about half and slightly thickened, for 15 to 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, brush the short ribs with the sesame oil. Roast until browned and crisp, for 10 to 12 minutes. Let rest for a couple of minutes.

Spoon the rice into shallow serving bowls, place the ribs on top, and drizzle with a small amount of the sauce. Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds, and serve immediately.