hankyoreh

Jan. 21. (by Lee Jeong-ah

By Nam Ji-eun, staff reporter

When the reporter asked who invented Hangul, the Korean alphabet, the hockey player pulled a 10,000 won (US$9.39) bill out of his pocket and pointed right at King Sejong. “King Sejong made Hangul, and Yi Sun-sin made the turtle ship,” he said. His pronunciation was a little rough, but his face was beaming with pride.

Forward Michael Swift, 26, and defenseman Bryan Young, 27, imported players for the High1 ice hockey team, became naturalized South Koreans on Jan. 21. They were granted dual citizenship according to a South Korean law that allows people with outstanding ability to be naturalized.

The two blue-eyed hockey players were overjoyed to make it through the final interview by the Ministry of Justice’s naturalization review board on Jan. 21. “We were nervous that it wouldn’t work out, and we‘re so happy,” Swift said. “We want to put the South Korean flag [Taeguk] on our uniforms and compete in the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.”

Young and Swift, who are maternal cousins, hail from Canada, where hockey is the most popular sport. In 2004, Young played in the NHL, the world’s ultimate proving ground for the sport, before coming to Korea in 2010. With a sturdy frame (186cm, 86kg), Young is full of energy and has a knack for managing the game.

Swift, who played on the Ontario Hockey League, is not as big (175cm), but he makes up for it in speed and intelligent play. During his time at High1, Swift has strutted his stuff in the Asia League, which includes teams from South Korea, China, and Japan. During the past two seasons, Swift swept all the major offensive categories in the Asia League: scoring, assist, points.

When Young was in the NHL, he made at least US$450,000 a year and even now receives offers from teams in the Swiss League. Even so, Young says that he wants to play in South Korea for a long time. “I don’t want to leave Korea even if another country offers me a lot of money. I really appreciate the warmth of Korea. In some countries, people are cold to each other, but in Korea, they genuinely accept, care for, and think about each other,” he said.

“I really hope that Korean ice hockey keeps growing,” Swift said, “and I want to do my part to help.”

Before the naturalization hearing, the two players printed out the expected list of questions and studied them until they had them memorized. This was the second attempt for Young, whose application was rejected in March 2013.

“Do you know what the four duties of citizens are? The duty to defend the country, the duty to work, the duty to pay taxes, and the duty of education.” Young countered by asking if the reporter knew what the mandatory education level was for Koreans.

The two players study Korean language with a private tutor twice a week. When they have a day off, they also visit museums and historical sites.

“During their studies, the thing that was most unfamiliar to them was the duty to defend the country,” said a member of High1’s PR team. “They understood it when I explained about the military sports team.”

The goal of the two players is to be part of the South Korean team in the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.

“The strength of Korean ice hockey is its speed,” said Young. “Players here are faster and better at scoring than in other leagues. If we throw in the strengths of the Canadian league where I grew up, the Korean team will become even better.”

“In order to have a good showing in the Pyeongchang Olympics, we need to work on our defensive ability. We can’t get pushed around when the game gets physical,” Swift said.

Including Brock Radunske (30, Canada), a player with Anyang Halla who was naturalized in March 2013, there are now three foreign-born players on the South Korean national team. This is expected to give the team a major boost in talent.

Young and Swift took part as “special guest athletes” in a friendly match with the powerful Kazakhstan team on the ice rink in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, in Nov. 2013, helping South Korea reach a 2-2 draw. It is likely that the two players will put on the Taeguk badge and compete in the 1A group preliminary match at Goyang in April for the 2014 World Championships.

Even though South Korea is the host country for the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, it is not yet clear whether it will automatically qualify in the ice hockey category. Currently, Korea is ranked 25th in the world. The team must perform better in international competitions and rack up as many points as possible.

To celebrate their newly gained South Korean citizenship, the two players donned Hanbok, or traditional Korean attire, and had a Korean meal. When the reporter asked if Koreans could expect their best performance ever in April, the players said they were felt confident they could pull it off.

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]