Martin Hyun
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Martin Hyun | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Martin Hyun (born May 4th, 1979 in Krefeld, Germany) is a former ice hockey player in Germany's Deutsche Eishockey-Liga.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Hockey career
The son of Korean immigrants to Germany, he began playing ice hockey at the age of 5, progressing his way through local youth leagues and into the Krefeld Pinguine's youth development system.[2] He became a regular player for the German Junior National Team. In 1997 he was called up by Coach Doug Mason and Manager Rüdiger Noack to begin the season with the Elite league team at the age of 17, where he scored two goals in five preseason games. Hyun played most of the season with the second-league playing development team.[citation needed] In 1998 Hyun decided to go to the United States to further his education and pursue his hockey career at the same time. He first studied at Benilde-St. Margaret's High School, a Catholic school in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, later transferring to Northwood Prep School in Lake Placid, New York.[2]
Soon after arriving in the United States, Hyun became a fan of National Hockey League player Paul Kariya. After failing to be picked in the NHL draft during the World U-17 Championships in Moncton, Canada in 1997, Hyun put aside his pursuit of a professional NHL hockey career, and enrolled in Colchester, Vermont's Saint Michael's College, where he played NCAA Division II hockey.[2] In 2002 Hyun won the ECAC Division II Northeast Championship with the Purple Knights.[citation needed] Upon graduation in 2003, he entered a masters' program at the University of Kent's Brussels campus; while a student, he also played for a Belgian Hockey League team in Leuven. He returned to Germany in 2004 to sign with the Krefeld Pinguine.[2] With his signing Hyun became the first Korean to ever make it to the highest professional league in Germany. In April 2005 Hyun was invited by German President Horst Köhler to attend the state banquet in honour of the state visit of South Korean President Roh Moh-hyun. Hyun is only the third player of Korean heritage to play in the highest league, the earlier two being Jim Paek and Richard Park.[citation needed]
[edit] Retirement
After only one season, Hyun retired from professional ice hockey to move to South Korea, where he worked with the National Assembly and the Ministry of Health and Welfare to promote ice hockey. Though Hyun sometimes faced racism and exclusion in Germany, he stated that he felt like even more of a stranger in South Korea; he returned to Germany to enrol in a doctoral programme at the University of Regensburg, where he is writing his thesis on the experiences of second-generation Korean youth in Germany.[2] He also gained more experience in the political world with the German Parliament and the Ministry of Generations, Family, Women and Integration. He is currently writing a book entitled Lautlos-JA Sprachlos-NEIN (Silent-YES Speechless-NO) on second generation Koreans in Germany, which is anticipated to be published in Germany by the beginning of 2008.[citation needed]
[edit] Awards
- 1997 World U-17 Hockey Championships, Moncton, Canada[citation needed]
- 2002 ECAC Division II Northeast Champion, USA[citation needed]
