[IR] Props to the Toothless Canadians

When I think of Korean sports, I think of the big three: archery, taekwondo, and baseball.  Recently, another word has burrowed into my mind when I associate sports with Korea: the Olympics. Not only is one of the most promising figure skaters in the 2014  winter Olympics a young Korean woman (my queen, Kim Yuna), but it was also just revealed that the next winter Olympics will be held in Pyongchang, South Korea.  Ohhhh yeah, baby, I will definitely be watching that.  In preparation for the next winter Olympics, South Korea will not only be prepping for a flood of international visitors, but also prepping their sports teams for world domination in the form of high-stress physical competitions.  Now, Koreans are definitely good at working under stress to live up to high expectations (have you seen their intense schooling standards?), but it looks like some sports teams may be turning to international assistance to up their game.  
My favorite Korean newspaper, 한겨레 (The Hankyoreh), just wrote an article on two Canadian men, Michael Swift and Brian Young, who have applied for (and received) Naturalization from the Ministry of Justice.  In other words, they now have dual citizenship in Canada and South Korea.  The reason these well-recognized NHL players have revoked their complete Canadianism is so that they can play for South Korea's Olympic men's hockey team.  When I heard this, part of me thought "why the heck would you leave Canada to play hockey in Korea?"  I mean, Korea is by no means recognized for its hockey-playing abilities. I also thought, "what right do these guys have to saunter into Korea with their pucks and heavy-duty padding and join a team of Korean guys who are probably half their size?"  After reading the article on these men, I softened up to the idea as I saw how genuinely engaged in Korean culture and language these men are. They really admire the way Koreans have a genuine concern for each other's well being. They might look like hillbillies with their toothless grins, but they study Korean with a tutor twice a week and even know who is on the 10,000 won bill (which I must admit I would not be able to tell you off the top of my head, even though it's the most famous Korean man to ever live).  Swift and Young even own traditional hanboks, which are the Korean version of kimonos.  I'm impressed with them and I think they will add the aggressive touch to the Korean national hockey team, which is apparently known for its insane speed and epic scoring abilities.  Needless to say, I am so pumped for the 2018 Olympics in Pyongchang.  I hope to see these guys in the rink!

Original article (in English): http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_entertainment/620886.html