PHIGHTING!!!!
When Yong Eun Yang stunned the world by beating Tiger Woods for the PGA Championship yesterday, he became the first Korean (and full-blooded Asian) to win a major golf tournament. That thumping sound you hear? It's 48,000,000 South Koreans beating their collective chests today in pride of their countryman's achievement. (Take that, Japan!) Koreans been had math and science on lock but nothing makes a nation feel prouder than sticking it to Whitey excellence in sports. And—as with Korean entertainers—there's no better place to make a name than on the biggest stage of all: the U.S. of fucking A.
To that end, and in honor of Yang, we're celebrating the greatest Korean athletes in U.S. sports. Grab a plate of ddukboki, light up a cigarette, and enjoy! Pilsung Korea!
NAME: Se Ri Pak
SPORT: Golf
ACHIEVEMENT: Yang's the man, but respect the architect: When Se Ri joined the LPGA in 1998, she was the tour's only Korean woman; nowadays, Korean chicks dominate golf like they do high-end plastic surgery. With 30 tournament wins, Se Ri was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2007.
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NAME: Chan Ho Park
SPORT: Baseball
ACHIEVEMENT: Park was the first Korean to break through in U.S. sports when he debuted as a pitcher with the L.A. Dodgers in 1994. For that alone, he's a legend in Korea. Currently a reliever with the Phillies, Park has had a rollercoaster career most notable for a ludicrously fat contract (five years, $65 million with Texas) and one incredibly badass moment: the 1999 scissor-kick of Tim Belcher. Hi-yaaaaaa!
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NAME: John Lee
SPORT: Pro football
ACHIEVEMENT: Many mistakenly credit former Patriots offensive lineman Eugene Chung as the NFL's first Korean player, but they're forgetting the homie John Lee. Lee broke nearly every kicking record at UCLA before being drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1986. He converted eight of 13 field goals and 14 of 17 PATs in his rookie (and only) NFL season. Pretty shitty, but word is he's fucking awesome at karaoke.
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NAME: Jim Paek
SPORT: Ice hockey
ACHIEVEMENT: After immigrating with his family to Canada as an infant, Paek became the first Korean to play in the NHL and the first Korean to be part of an American championship team—twice with the Pittsburgh Penguins in '91 and '92. Paek's also the only hockey player to eat ramen out of the Stanley Cup.
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NAME: Seung Jin Ha
SPORT: Basketball
ACHIEVEMENT: Koreans were excited when Ha was drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers with the 46th overall pick in 2004, becoming the first-ever Korean to make it to the NBA. The league reaction? Kinda like his surname: Ha. Ha. Ha. After accumulating mega splinters over three NBA seasons, the 7'3" giant went back to Korea, where he's presumably dominating the fuck out of short ass Korean dudes.
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NAME: Myung Bo Hong
SPORT: Soccer
ACHIEVEMENT: Hong was part of the Korean national soccer team that shocked the world by finishing fourth in the 2002 World Cup. The following year, Hong moved to L.A. to join the Galaxy of the MLS, where he had one uneventful season—on the pitch, at least. We're sure he did his thing in the K-town room salons.
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NAME: Duk Koo Kim
SPORT: Boxing
ACHIEVEMENT: Korea's actually churned out some decent fighters over the years but sadly, the most famous one is probably Kim, who died four days after a brutal fight with Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini in November 1982. There's a pretty good Korean movie about Kim's life. Check it out if you don't mind subtitles.
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NAME: Yu Na Kim
SPORT: Figure skating
ACHIEVEMENT: She might not be a household name yet, but Korea has high hopes that Kim will become a global icon next year when she reps the taegugki in the Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Kim is the reigning world champion in figure skating and probably Korea's most popular athlete. Walk around any street in Seoul and you're bound to see huge billboards and ads featuring the nation's "little sister," as she is fondly called. Don't worry, fellas—she's 18.
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NAME: Hong Man Choi
SPORT: MMA
ACHIEVEMENT: The "Techno Goliath" put down Jose Canseco in less than 90 seconds in their "fight" last May. Beat up a 7'2" Korean in martial arts? No fucking way, Jose.
