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Every day, a battle unfolds in Anaheim, California between the U.S., Japanese and Korean press to capture every movement of Kim In-shik, the man many believe is ultimately responsible for Korea¡¯s stellar success at the World Baseball Classic. Kim has shown up every night like clockwork on the main news programs of Korean broadcasters. Already his name has become the no. 1 search on all the main portal sites. The nickname for the man -- Deok Jang (benevolent general) -- is even seen on political circles. "What we need is a deok jang in the running of the country, not just on the baseball field," some reason.
With his ruddy face and his slow and gentle way of speaking, Kim seems like a kindly provincial uncle. But this is the man behind the miracle of Korea's unbeaten WBC performance. What is it that makes him special? There have been plenty of images: Kim¡¯s figure in the dugout before and after the game, in bars near his hotel after games, in the hospital after his breakdown.
Journalists who have come close say Kim In-sik is a man of many contradictions: while unwavering in his quest for victory on the grounds, in normal life he is just an elderly fellow who is scared of driving and worries that the elevator will break down. He values friendship and loyalty to the point where he is said to spend all his pocket money in a bar run by a friend who is retired from baseball, to help keep the place up and running. Yet in tense situations on the pitch, Kim is always calm and friendly. He sportingly made a victory sign when a newspaper asked him to match the copy that had already gone to press. And Kim is also something of a comedian with a nice line in pithy humor.
He needs his ice cream before every game -- if somebody eats it up before he gets to it, he sulks -- and he worries that his daughter will end up an old maid. Books could be filled, and no doubt will be, with the walking, talking compendium of contradictions that is Kim In-sik story.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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