"Gwangju has more Korean food than Pittsburgh".

Street scene in Chungjangro (충장로), Gwangju's busiest commercial district.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ran a profile yesterday on infielder Jung-ho Kang (강정호) and his transition to life in Pittsburgh, ahead of his second season in the Major Leagues.

MBC announcer Kim Sun-shin (김선신) chats with Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Kang Jung-ho before an exhibition game between Pittsburgh and Minnesota. Kim is in Florida reporting on Korean Major League players during Spring Training; there are more photos on her Instagram page (@sunshinann).

Jung-ho Kang back in Pittsburgh.

PennsylvAsia reporting on the Korean media reporting on Jung-ho Kang's Instagram. The Pittsburgh Pirates infielder posted this on his Instagram (@sdew0405) on Wednesday:

너무 무리하지 말고, 푹 쉬고 지내게

Pitt's new wushu club.

Today's Pitt News profiles Gina Bao,a first-year student at the University of Pittsburgh who started a wushu club there in December.

Before she had ever attended class, had midnight fries at market or swiped her panther card, Gina Bao had already written the constitution for her wushu club at Pitt.

Bao, a first-year student studying neuroscience, started the club in December 2015 to teach students about wushu, a modern version of kung fu that involves combat martial arts moves with jumps and aerials. The club held its second practice Jan. 9, when eight members from all experience levels showed up to learn wushu techniques in the William Pitt Union Dance Studio. Beginning with simple lessons in bowing and stretching and progressing to complex combinations of running and kicking, Bao hopes to train the members to compete in a national collegiate wushu tournament in just four months.

Jung-ho Kang on the cover of Korea's first The Red Bulletin.

via TVDaily.

The Red Bulletin, a "global men's active lifestyle magazine" started in 2009, launched in South Korea this month, and features Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Jung-ho Kang on its first cover. The cover story and interview is here, in Korean.

Jung-ho Kang out for season with broken leg.

via Kang's Instagram.

Pittsburgh Pirates rookie infielder Jung-ho Kang is out for the rest of the 2015 season with a broken leg, after a hard slide on Thursday.

The Pirates said Kang underwent surgery at Allegheny General Hospital to repair a tibial plateau fracture with a lateral meniscal repair. The South Korean rookie, playing shortstop against the Chicago Cubs earlier in the day, was injured in the first inning when Chris Coghlan slid hard into Kang's left leg to break up a double play at PNC Park.

Kang, who made a hard throw to first to complete the twin killing, went down in pain immediately, and was later helped off the field by trainer Ben Potenziano and interpreter H.K. Kim.

The recovery time is estimated at six to eight months.

K-pop star Hyomin throws out first pitch in Pittsburgh before today's game.

via @hyominn.

This afternoon, Hyomin (효민) of the K-pop group T-ara threw out the first pitch before the Pirates played the Milwaukee Brewers. Hyomin announced this on her Instagram back on August 31. Friend and Pirates rookie Jung-ho Kang caught it.


via 스포츠조선.

T-ara's Hyomin practicing for PNC Park first pitch.

Hyomin, of K-pop group T-ara, has been practicing her windup ahead of throwing out the first pitch in Pittsburgh on Sunday, September 13. Last week she warmed up with Sang-Woo Cho of the Nexen Heroes, pictured above. She's leaving from Incheon International Airport in the 11th, the papers say.

It's not the first time she's thrown a first pitch. In 2011, she had a decent delivery at an LG Twins game:

헐, T-ara's Hyomin to throw first pitch in Pittsburgh at September 13 Pirates game.

With Pittsburgh rookie infielder Jung-ho Kang, via 효민's Instagram on August 31.

Hyomin, the lead singer of the K-pop group T-ara, will throw out the first pitch at PNC Park on September 13, Korean outlets have reported today. The Pirates will play the Milwaukee Brewers in the 1:35 Sunday afternoon game.

Kang fan.

Earlier this month, Pittsburgh Pirates play-by-play announcer Greg Brown retweeted a gift he received from Sunshin Kim (김선신), a sports reporter with MBC in South Korea who was doing a piece on .

Thanks for the gift, Sunshine & the team at MBC Korea! Enjoyed the interview about Pgh media's take on Jung Ho. pic.twitter.com/iEsB7gFiCs

— Greg Brown (@gbrowniepoints) July 7, 2015

The fan showed up on Roots Sports as well.



Via a collection of MBC Sports coverage of Kang through mid-July.

강정호의 "해적"티셔츠.

Commonwealth Press has designed Jung-ho Kang t-shirts with "Pirates" in Korean, 해적, across the front.



In Korean, the singular Pirate is the same as the plural. The unisex shirt is $15.

홈런볼 대박!

Pittsburgh Pirates rookie Jung-ho Kang (강정호) got a care package from Korea recently, says Root sports, including the chocolate-filled snack "Home Run Ball" (홈런볼) pictured above.

Sports Seoul looks at Jung-ho Kang, his English study, and his apartment.

South Korean news site 스포츠서울 briefly profile Jung-ho Kang today, his life in Pittsburgh so far, and his apartment.





What does he do on his days off? Study English with a personal tutor:

쉬는 날에도 빼놓지 않고 하는 것이 있다. 바로 영어공부다. 강정호는 피츠버그와 계약을 맺을 때, 계약서에 영어공부에 대한 내용도 삽입했다. 구단은 연간 6만 달러(6700만원)의 영어 학습비를 지원한다. 현재 강정호는 영어 과외를 받고 있다. 과외교사는 현지 남성으로서 장소에 구애받지 않고 강정호에게 영어회화를 가르치고 있다. 강정호는 지난 13일 필라델피아 전을 앞두고 홈구장 PNC파크에서 약 한 시간 동안 영어 공부 삼매경에 빠지기도 했다. 현재 강정호는 영어로 간단한 문장을 만들 수 있다. ‘절친’인 션 로드리게스와는 영어로 장난을 치기도 한다. 강정호는 “영어를 많이 쓰려고 한다. 아직까지도 현지 생활이 조금 어렵긴 한데, 그래도 버틸 만 하다”고 말했다.

The Associated Press has a lengthy profile on Pirates Jung-ho Kang (강정호), who is enjoying a successful rookie season as first Korean Baseball Organization position player in the Major Leagues. An excerpt:

[H]e's up for anything, a mindset that allowed a leap that many of his countrymen have not taken. Kang transitioned in the middle of his prime to a contender after signing a four-year, $11-million deal in January.

"A lot of guys are afraid to come over here, but he did it," said Texas Rangers outfielder Shin-Soo Choo, who signed with Seattle as an teenager out of South Korea in 2000 then worked through the minors for nearly a decade before becoming an everyday player.

"He's not afraid. He wants to play here," Choo said.

Former Pirates draft pick throws out first pitch in Gwangju.

Mike Pill, drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 2nd round of the 1977 Amateur Draft, threw out the first pitch at a game in Gwangju between the Kia Tigers and the Nexen Heroes of the Korean Baseball Organization. His son, Brett, pitches for Kia. 일간스포츠 profiled the family today on their first trip to South Korea. The photograph below shows both men's jerseys; Brett's says "Pill", Mike's says "Pill's dad".

Kang hits first home run of Major League career.

On Sunday, May 3, Jung-ho Kang hit the first home run of his Major League Baseball career in the 9th inning against the Cardinals' Trevor Rosenthal. Kang is the first Korean position player in Pittsburgh Pirates history.

Jung-ho Kang on Instagram.

The Korean media is watching Jung-ho Kang's Instagram, too.


Via 스포츠투데이.

"눈오는날 야구를하다니. .처음이다 ㅋ" Kang wrote on the 23rd. Roughly: "Playing baseball in the snow . . That's a first ha". His handle is sdew0405.

The Korean media is paying close attention to Pittsburgh and to infielder Jung-ho Kang this season.


Via Newsis.

Kang gets first hit of Major League career.

From 스포츠조선.

On Sunday, Jung-ho Kang (강정호) hit a single off Milwaukee's Kyle Lohse in the 7th inning. The hit was Kang's first in Major League Baseball, and made him the first Korean to record a hit in a Pittsburgh Pirates uniform. Kang is the second Korean to play for Pittsburgh in the regular season, following pitcher Chan-ho Park in 2010.

이재은 scores Jung-ho Kang autograph, Clint Hurdle scores Jung-ho Kang shirt.

MBC TV personality Jae-eun Lee (이재은) scores a Jung-ho Kang autograph at Pirates Spring Training. For the first time, Korean media are covering the Pirates and Kang remains one of the top sports stories in South Korea this winter.



She caught up with manager Clint Hurdle in his new Kang t-shirt:



Meanwhile, a local writer objects to the attention Kang is getting.