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Catching dreams: Deaf Korean hopes to play MLB

Katie Scott | Catholic Herald

Gilwon Seo, standing in front of Gallaudet, hopes to be accepted to the university and play college baseball under a former major leaguer.

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Gilwon Seo writes out answers to interview questions for Manshik Kim, a parishioner of St. Paul Chung Church in Fairfax, to translate into English. The parish is helping support Seo as he attempts to enroll at Gallaudet University in Washington.

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Gilwon Seo, who is deaf, is a catcher from South Korea with dreams of playing professional baseball.

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Some dreams are so big they extend beyond one country and
continent. Such is the case for Gilwon Seo, a 19-year-old
from South Korea who hopes to play professional baseball in
both his native country and the United States.

But for Seo to start chipping away at his dream, he’s had to
cross not just a great geographic distance, but two
linguistic ones simultaneously.

Seo, a Catholic, was born deaf and grew up learning Korean
Sign Language along with written Korean at a boarding school
far from his home, in the North Chungcheong Province.

Since arriving in the United States last December, Seo’s
vision for his future hinges on mastering written English and
American Sign Language while adjusting to a new country and
culture.

“Some people who are deaf (say), ‘I am deaf, so I can’t do
anything,'” said Seo. “That is not right. Instead, deaf
people can do anything with hard work.”

Pitching in for a dream

On a Friday evening in early October, I met Seo at D.C.’s
Gallaudet University, established in 1864 as the first
university in the world for people who are deaf and hard of
hearing. It’s also the jumping-off point for Seo’s dreams.
South Korea has no universities focused on serving the deaf
community.

The young athlete has a small frame for a catcher, but what
Seo lacks in size he’s made up for with his hard work, and he
carries himself with confidence.

Sitting in the Gallaudet student center, I asked a few
questions in my limited ASL, but portions of the interview
involved a circuitous translation process similar to what Seo
navigates internally every day. I’d ask a question in
English, and Manshik Kim – a parishioner of St. Paul Chung
Church in Fairfax, one of a handful of Korean parishes in the
region – would write it down in Korean. Seo then answered
through written Korean, and Manshik would translate it into
English for me.

Eventually we switched to texting, a faster mode and one in
which Seo could practice his written English. Given he’s
studied the language for less than a year, his grammar and
spelling are impressive.

“When I arrived in the U.S., I only knew the ABCs in
English,” said Seo.

He is in the States thanks to the encouragement and financial
support of his principal in South Korea and the St. Paul
Chung community.

Sister Myeong-Hui Chang – the former principal of Chungju
Sungsim, a Catholic school for the deaf Seo attended – was
moved by Seo’s determination and set out to assist him.
Through a St. Paul Chung parishioner she knew, Sister Chang
reached out to the Northern Virginia parish for help.

Seo currently is enrolled in Gallaudet’s English Language
Institute and studying for the ACT, a standardized test for
college admissions. He must achieve specific scores to be
accepted into Gallaudet and play baseball for head coach
Curtis Pride. Pride, who is deaf, is a former major leaguer
whose career included stints with the New York Yankees and
Boston Red Sox.

Seo has taken the ACT four times. His score continues to
improve, but he still needs to pass the reading section.

“It really takes double time and effort to learn English sign
language and English in a new cultural environment,” said
Sister Chang in an email.

St. Paul Chung parishioner Moon Kim said most of his fellow
parishioners are first-generation immigrants and have
firsthand knowledge of the challenges Seo faces.

“We had a hard time coming here, but for him it’s a double
whammy learning two languages,” said Kim. “We want to help in
whatever way we can so he can be the person he wants to be.”

Mastering curve balls

Seo was born in the small suburban town of Hongseong, in the
South Chungcheong Province, to deaf parents. His father had
difficulty supporting the family as a farmer, and the
financial stress led to his parents’ divorce when Seo was
young. At just 5 years old, Seo was sent to live and study at
Chungju, the school for the deaf.

“Living with a disability, as the product of deaf, divorced
parents (has been) difficult,” Seo wrote in a personal
statement he used for scholarship applications. “I grew up
missing my family, longing for love and at times even
contemplating giving up on everything.”

With the help of his faith – Seo converted to Catholicism in
the sixth grade – and the support of his teachers and
principal, Seo said he “began dreaming about a brighter
future.”

In middle school he started playing baseball, and loneliness
gradually gave way to confidence.

“I learned independence and responsibility,” said Seo. “And I
loved baseball.”

Even during his high school team’s tough patches, Sister
Chang witnessed great strength in Seo.

“At times of low morale, fatigue and exhaustion, he has
always performed well as the top player on his team and
maintained a positive attitude,” said Sister Chang, adding
that he “never uttered a single complaint.”

Seo went on to earn a national player-of-the-year award and
for two consecutive years helped his team win a silver medal
at the Asia-Pacific Deaf Baseball Tournament in Tokyo.

Along with serving as captain of his baseball team his senior
year, Seo was student council president and a resident
adviser in his dorm.

In 2011, the stand-out leader and athlete had an opportunity
that gave his future focus.

A Korean broadcasting network spent a year shadowing his
baseball team for a documentary. As part of the film, the
team was given the chance to visit Gallaudet and play against
a high school for the deaf in Washington.

Seeing so many thriving deaf college students made an
impression on Seo, and he told himself someday he would
return to Gallaudet.

The university “seemed to open up a new doorway to my
future,” said Seo, who met Pride during the visit. The coach
encouraged Seo to apply.

As he works to meet admission standards for Gallaudet, Seo
thinks about all the people who have made his dream possible.

“He would sacrifice anything to prove that a deaf student can
succeed,” said Sister Chang.

Playing professional baseball is really just the first step
toward Seo’s vision of success. He eventually wants to coach
and inspire other deaf baseball players in South Korea.

“(I) want to return to Korea with all of my challenges,
experiences and newfound wisdom and become … a mentor
to others,” he said. “That is really my dream.”

How to help

To help support Gilwon Seo, mail checks to St. Paul Chung
Church, Atten: Caritas Wonju International Relief Inc., 4712
Rippling Pond Dr., Fairfax, VA 22033. Write “Gilwon Seo” in
the memo line.

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