How to Change a Society

Heroes, role models, mentors and leaders all have major roles. Heroes can pave the way to changing hearts and minds relatively quickly. Admiring someone for something you love or at least understand, can lead to loosening up on something you think you don't like, or learning more about something you don't understand.

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward, Most Valuable Player of this year's Super Bowl, is the son of a Korean mother and a black father. He was born in South Korea, although he left 30 years ago. This week he and his mother have returned for a visit, and although American football is not a well-known sport in Korea, the whole world saw the Super Bowl. He was greeted as a hero, his arrival covered on live TV, and will receive state honors.

And this note from the report in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette

Ward, whose father is black, will also be meeting with children of mixed-race backgrounds. Ward's fame here has prompted introspection about the treatment of such children, who have typically faced prejudice in conservative Korean society where pure blood ties are emphasized.