The words of Choo Shin-soo (40, SSG) have been heating up online for several days. If this is the controversy that was intended in the first place, the intention was hit.
However, as an ‘awakened senior’ and a successful person, if you wanted to go over the Taegeuk mark, Korean citizenship, the culture of seniors and juniors in the sports world, and the lack of infrastructure, Shin-soo Choo’s misjudgment and arrogance were far too far-fetched.
In the first place, we should not have dared to discuss the Taegeuk mark without respect and understanding. At a time when Korean baseball should put its life and death on the WBC, the third party’s misunderstanding and lack of empathy seem to have only increased the accumulated negative perception of the Korean baseball team. Choo Shin-soo’s good influence accumulated as a ‘culture changer’ as an individual was distorted, and only his extremely personal past moves were highlighted.
Choo Shin-soo’s remarks on the Korean radio station ‘DKNET’ in Dallas, Texas on the 21st (Korean time) did not resonate with the public, and have been criticized for several days.
Even online or offline where people gathered during the Lunar New Year holiday, ‘Choo Shin-soo’s words’ became a hot topic. Choo Shin-soo literally poured out the words of the problem through this broadcast. It’s not just one or two issues.
‘Ahn Woo-jin did something wrong, but it’s a pity. It seems that forgiveness is not easy in Korea.’ ‘Ahn Woo-jin is being treated unreasonably, but the seniors are silent.’ ‘Not everyone who was born early is a senior.’ ‘The WBC should have picked a new player.’ ‘How long will Kim Gwang-hyeon and Yang Hyeon-jong last?’ ‘I play baseball in Korea, but there are so many things I don’t understand’ ‘Korea is at the level of Double A because of its infrastructure’ ‘I want to ask again. Is there any reason not to go (as a national representative)? I’m not sick, so why don’t I go out?’ He made so many problematic remarks that it is difficult to enumerate, such as ‘I don’t know the story’.
However, if you look at the contents and meaning of Choo Shin-soo’s words, you can’t see his advanced perspective as a legend or his affection for Korean baseball. Rather, only the group bias as an anachronistic baseball insider or a sense of choice as someone who experienced wealth and success in the major leagues early on stands out. In addition, in such remarks, he spent a long time on his personal clarification of the ‘national team eating and running controversy’ following himself or the wrong defense of Ahn Woo-jin’s ‘academic violence controversy’, failing to draw sympathy and only frowning.
Choo Shin-soo was mistaken, and the first issue that made a mistake is that school violence is no longer an issue of tolerance, but is accepted by many as a gigantic evil in Korean society.
Choo Shin-soo said this about the fact that Ahn Woo-jin (24, Kiwoom), who was permanently disqualified from participating in international competitions such as the Olympics due to school violence discipline in high school, was not selected for the WBC team.
Choo Shin-soo said, “It seems that forgiveness is not easy in Korea. He made mistakes as a child, but now he has regrets and has been suspended. However, he pointed out that he cannot go to international competitions as a national representative,” and said, “He is the second most talented player after senior Park Chan-ho. There are many things I don’t understand. I’m not trying to cover this player. He obviously did something wrong. However, he said, “It is really unfortunate to see only being heard and seen as a third person.”
At the same time, Choo Shin-soo said, “There is something I want to say to baseball seniors. He is not a senior just because he was born early. If there is a junior who is looking at the unreasonable part, he must take off his feet. But no one is stepping out. Just because you played baseball early or because you were born first doesn’t make you a senior. Be a voice and be helpful. But everyone is watching,” he said.
As a result of these remarks, Choo Shin-soo came to denounce Korean society as an unreasonable group. In addition, instead of sounding an alarm at school violence, it was clearly covered with an insider’s gaze, and cases in which there was no forgiveness from the victim or remorse from the perpetrator were evaluated as ‘unreasonable parts’. In addition, he even expressed the view of disparaging seniors who contributed to Korean baseball so far as ‘older people’.
As many people point out, the ‘academic violence controversy’, which has been an important topic in Korean society for several years, is a serious social problem unlike what is recognized within the so-called sports clubs or sports groups. At the same time, it is a great evil in society that must be corrected. Choo Shin-soo portrayed Ahn Woo-jin as if he were a ‘victim’ suffering from the ‘unforgiving Korean society’, caught up in past issues.
However, on the contrary, the strong punishment of disqualification from the Korea Sports Association and the Korea Baseball Softball Association became an important inflection point in resolving the problem of violence that had been deeply rooted in Ama Sports for decades. Ahn Woo-jin’s Tasanji-seok prevented numerous victims and raised the topic of ‘collective violence’ in our society. This is also the darkest point of Korean society, which has been brought to light once again through the recent popular drama ‘Glory’.
However, Choo Shin-soo’s remarks of ‘covering my family’, excluding this context or understanding, are not only secondary harm to the victims of the ‘Ahn Woo-jin school violence case’, but also an insult to the victims of school violence who are still moaning silently somewhere. Also, it is just a remark that further increases the understanding of Korean society. It should never be evaluated as a ‘courageous remark’ raised with awake consciousness.
If Choo Shin-soo had made the remark that ‘the violence that was prevalent in the sports world must be eradicated forever’, he would probably have received much more sympathy. It was never an issue to expand the problem of a baseball player to Korean society.
Above all, An Woo-jin’s case is not an issue that can be forgiven by a third party instead. Choo Shin-soo should not carelessly mention ‘forgiveness’, which is thoroughly the responsibility of the victim.
There are more points where Choo Shin-soo made a mistake. The national team is not a matter as light as a feather, ‘a means for individual success’, ‘a process to advance into American baseball’, or ‘no need to consider the weight of the Taegeuk mark’.
Choo Shin-soo said, “How long are Kim Gwang-hyun and Yang Hyeon-jong? Even in Japan, there is an article called ‘How long will you be Kim Kwang-hyun?’ There are many new faces just by looking at Japan. If it were me, I would have seen the future. I think I looked at the future rather than the current grades. We should have hired a new player.”
While criticizing the entry of the WBC national team with such intensity, he continued to make remarks to the effect that ‘seniors should pave the way for the success of talented juniors’ for a long time. In this process, Choo Shin-soo mentioned the real names of Kim Gwang-hyeon (34, SSG), Yang Hyeon-jong (34, KIA), and Kim Hyun-soo (35, LG) and mentioned the need for a generational shift to replace them.
However, those whom Shin-soo Choo pointed out ‘unintentionally’, saying ‘I recognize their skills’, have been dedicated to the national team for a long time, and are still the most important key players of the national team. They are the ones who raised the status of Korean baseball with ‘actions’ rather than ‘words’ during the long time when Choo Shin-soo did not play for the national team even once after receiving military service benefits for the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games. They are ‘legends to be respected’ and ‘colleagues’ who impressed many people while silently wearing the Taegeuk mark and playing in the KBO and major leagues.
Choo Shin-soo also pointed out that seniors should pave the way for brilliant talents in Korean baseball, such as Ahn Woo-jin and Moon Dong-ju (19, Hanwha), to advance into American baseball and succeed through the results of the generational change of the national team.
However, these remarks can sound like expressions containing the wrong view that the national team exists first for individual success, or that the only way to succeed is to advance to the major leagues.
At the same time, it became an insult to juniors who are currently preparing for the WBC, devoting themselves with the mindset of pouring everything aside from personal achievement for the national team. In fact, most of the players selected for the WBC national team are prepared to put in a lot of effort, looking at this tournament as another turning point that can be a ‘revival of Korean baseball’ rather than mentioning ‘individual sacrifice’.
However, Choo Shin-soo judged the weight of this Taegeuk mark with a few words from a third party, and unilaterally sold the decision containing deep concerns of the national team coaching staff, technical committee, and KBO, who struggled to create a ‘new national team’. done. 먹튀검증
After Choo Shin-soo returned to the KBO League, many ‘determined remarks’ and ‘donation’ had a good influence as a result. However, in this case, it is pointed out that Shin-soo Choo’s many controversial remarks are based on a ‘consciousness of the elect’ that views Korean baseball and Korean society low.
Choo Shin-soo defined the KBO league as the lower league level of the American minor league, saying, ‘Because of poor infrastructure, Korean baseball is at the level of Double A’ through a radio statement. For a long time, American baseball and Japanese baseball unilaterally evaluated Korean baseball, and it is an expression that substitutes ‘the gaze’ intact. This is a remark that lacks even the minimum respect to see it as a remark of ‘shock therapy’ to improve the Korean baseball infrastructure.
In particular, it was also an expression of ignoring the process in which many people contributed and made efforts in the history of professional baseball and the numerous history of the national baseball team.
Respect and understanding must always come first, and the value of a good opinion shines only when it is accompanied by action after deep consideration. Choo Shin-soo is a successful former major leaguer. He also had a long career in advanced baseball in the big leagues. However, there has never been a single time that Choo Shin-soo has been in a position to ‘evaluate Korean baseball’.