Honorary Seoul citizenship brings Hines Ward to tears

From Yonhap:

Hines Ward, MVP of the U.S. Super Bowl, shed tears Wednesday when he became an honorary citizen of Seoul during his first-ever trip to his birthplace as an adult.

"I'm at a loss for words, very emotional," Ward said after receiving the citizenship certificate and a gold medal from Seoul Mayor Lee Myung-bak.

He said he felt sorry that he didn't want to associate with Korea as a child.

"I used to be ashamed of myself that I was born in Korea... Thank you guys," he said, wiping tears from his eyes with a hankerchief offered by the mayor.

His mother Kim Young-hee also became teary-eyed as silence filled the hall.

Lee gave him a book showing Seoul scenery and refrigerator magnets with pictures of the Cheonggye stream, which was restored last year and runs through downtown Seoul. Ward gave the mayor a jersey of his team, the Pittsburgh Steelers.

"We were surprised. It was emotional. When I heard what he said, I thought he is an upright young man with proper thinking," Lee Jin-woo, the city government's marketing department official who prepared the gifts, said.

Ward, 29, born in Seoul to an African-American serviceman and Korean mother, is one of the few sports figures to get the honorary citizenship that has been given mostly to political or economic dignitaries. Honorees are invited to serve as advisors on public events organized by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and receive free entrance to public museums and parks, city officials said.

Guus Hiddink, the Dutch football coach who led the Korean team to the semifinals in the 2002 World Cup, received the citizenship in 2002.

Ward arrived in Korea on Monday for the first time since he left at the age of one. He met President Roh Moo-hyun on Tuesday and plans to meet Korean children of mixed parentage Saturday.