Kim Gwang-hyeon Now Enjoying His Sport

It was not a good start for Kim Gwang-hyeon (19, SK), who signed a 500-million won contract and was dubbed the “second Ryu Hyeon-jin” (20, Hanhwa) last year. He closed the season with a poor earned run average of 3.62 and a record of three wins and seven losses. However, as a surprise starter in the fourth game against Doosan in the Korean Series, he excelled and attracted the attention of his fans and the media. Usually reticent SK coach Kim Seong-geun said, “He is a super pitcher,” heaping praise on him.

Kim also helped defeat Chunichi in a preliminary match in the Konami Cup Asia Series. This reporter met him in his Tokyo Dome hotel on November 11.

“I Want to be Praised by Those Who Booed Me”-

In his blog, Kim writes, “I want to be praised by those who used to boo me.”

In an SK press conference last May, Kim said that he could pitch better than Ryu Hyeon-jin, who was named MVP last year. People criticized this and said that he was arrogant.

He explained, saying, “I wanted to show people that I’m confident, but it didn’t work that way. I was hurt by negative comments from people, and after that, I tried not to read any on Internet bulletin boards because I have faith in myself.”

For him, the Konami Cup of this year was a painful memory because Lee Byeong-gyu of Chunichi hit a two-run home run in the finals even though he led his team to victory in the preliminary game. He said, “I thought I was to blame for my team’s loss. I thought about it a lot.”

His Signature Smile-

Kim smiles a lot on the mound, which is a stark difference from the past when he used to stretch his shoulder or frown when things were not going the way he wanted to. He changed his attitude after hearing from his coach Kim Seong-geun, “Do not show your emotions.”

Even though it was difficult to break that habit since he has had it since he was a teenager, he opted to smile instead. When Kim came into the dugout after pitching the fourth match of the Korean Series, coach Kim told him, “You have finally learned how to enjoy games!”

Playing Internet Games and Chatting with Friends-

When he is not on the mound, he is an ordinary 19-year-old teenage boy. He plays Internet games with his friend Choi Jeong (20, SK) and talks with his parents using a videophone when he misses his family. He said, “I went to Shinjuku and Ginja for shopping and got gifts for my parents and 17-year-old twin brothers.” He said his hobby is to meet his friends when he has time and he said smiling shyly, “People think I’m outgoing because I smile a lot, but I’m quite an introvert.”

creating@donga.com