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Super Bowl MVP Hines Ward embarked on his nine-day trip to Korea by making good on a promise to his mother, and he left by issuing another: He'd be back.
Ward, born to an African-American serviceman and a Korean mother, Kim Young-hee, told Kim he would make his first trip his native country after the Super Bowl, and he did.
Now, after a week that has seen him treated to a hero's welcome, meet the president and raise the profile of biracial children - a culturally sensitive issue in a country known for its homogeneity - Ward has vowed to return soon and launch a foundation to support mixed-race kids.
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U.S. Super Bowl MVP Hines Ward and his mother Kim Young-hee leave Korea at the Incheon International Airport on Wednesday, wrapping up their 9-night 10-day visit to Korea.
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But for Kim, it was a trip back in time.
She got to show her native land to her son, whose feet had not touched Korean soil in over 29 years. As 30-year-old Hines and his mother prepared to depart Korea on Wednesday at the country's gateway Incheon Airport, there was no end to the spilling of emotion.
As he said repeatedly during his trip, he's not too big to shed some tears when he feels emotional.
Kim said that she had wanted to guide Ward through Namdaemun Market and some of the ancient palaces where traditional Korean culture still lives and breathes despite the country's explosive growth. She also wanted to show him the sea at Incheon, but their tight schedule meant they had to cross them off the list.
However, if Hines has his way, there will soon be more opportunities to do so.
Kim said she was overwhelmed by the hospitality shown to her and her football hero son by the Korean people. She was so nervous in front of President Roh Moo-hyun that she could not even touch the feast placed before her. At the airport, Hines simply held his mother¡¯s hand and put in a word for her, saying that the experience was a¡°huge honor for me.¡±
Ward said that, at school, he had not been accepted by either the Caucasians, the African-Americans or the Korean-Americans - all of whom pointed to his 'otherness' and alienated him.
Not so in Korea this time round, he said, when the Koreans called me Korean. Then, in what is appearing to be his signature move off the pitch these days, he began to choke up.
At 9:53 a.m., just before boarding Korean Air flight KE035 for Atlanta, Hines said with a generous smile that he loves everything about Korea. Ward said he would visit Korea again with his wife and his son, to show them the affection and warmth of the Korean people. He said he wants to give something back. And that's where the foundation comes in.
But his mother was already putting her mind to practical matters at home.¡°I will plant peppers and lettuce when I get home. I will get ready to work again,¡± she said.
The trip seems to have had an equally profound effect on her too. When she arrived April 3, she looked serious and stern. Now her son's contagious grin appeared to have rubbed off.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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