Woo-je Sung, coming full circle

Woo-je Sung recently joined Halla as part of a group of seven new players. Woo-je is a little different than the average Korean player. When he was a teenager he moved to Canada to learn hockey and played in the Alberta Juniour Hockey League with the Mustangs and then went to play in Finland. After a short time in Finland he was brought back to Korea to play for Anyang Halla. He has a soft-spoken and friendly demeanour. Sung recently sat down with Eurohockey to discuss his fresh career.

Eurohockey: Tell us a little about yourself
Woo-je: I went to Canada when I was 13, to learn Canadian hockey. Then I went through bantam, midget and junior hockey there. This year I finally got to go to pro in Finland. It was a tough time there, but then I got to come back to the Asia League.

EH: So did your whole family move there?

WJ: No, At first I went there by myself and then my mom joined, and my sister joined, but my dad couldn’t come because he had to work here.

EH: What was it like growing up as a Korean in Canada playing hockey? Were there a lot of other Koreans playing there? Did you have any trouble with discrimination or anything like that?
WJ: In Calgary, where I’m from, there was not a single Korean hockey player. A lot of people, at first, looked at me kind of weird, you know,  Asian player playing hockey. But as time went by, they really liked me, it was enjoyable.

EH: Were your parents disappointed that you chose hockey over speed skating?
WJ: No, no. Maybe sports like baseball or soccer, but no. And you know, speed skating or short track skating is not the type of sport I would enjoy.

EH: You played in the U-18 for Korea, that was the first time in a long time maybe that you’d played together with Koreans. Did you get a lot of practice with them, How was that?
WJ: No no, I only got to practice for a week, a bit longer. Then I got to go straight to Denmark.

EH: How do your parents feel about you coming back to Korea to play for Halla instead of playing in Europe?
WJ: Playing in Mestis was a good experience, but we weren’t getting, the guys that went there, weren’t getting the ice time we wanted there, so, my parents just said, I think it’s a good idea if you come back here and play more and then maybe try to go back next year.

EH: How do you find the play styles compare between North America, Europe and Asia?
WJ: Well here it is more speed, less physical, maybe less systematic, but in Canada it’s go go go up up, hit, rough style hockey. It’s a lot smaller rink too.

EH: Do you want to bring that rough style a bit to Korea? Do you think that would help the team in some games?
WJ: I don’t know. The Ice here in the Asia league, they’re all Olympic size. It’s pretty big, so I’d have to think about that. Maybe European hockey would be a better fit, cause the ice size is similar.

EH: You are still quite young, what do you hope for your career? Do you want to continue playing here? Do you want to go back to Europe? Try and get back to North America?
WJ: Ah, If everything works out, I would like to go somewhere else than here, the Asia League. Maybe try something new in Europe, maybe North America.

EH: How’s the reception been with the team, the fans, and everything else?
WJ: These guys, I’ve known them since I was 17, I came here every summer to practice with the team, so I know a lot of these guys. Fan wise it’s my first year here playing, so it’s a bit different.

Sung attempts to redirect a puck against the Freeblades

EH: What do you feel, kind of the highlight of your career so far has been? It’s been a short career, but what has really stuck out for you?
WJ: You know, the Olympic qualification games that I went to was big, kind of a shock. Good experience, a turnover in my hockey career. Coming from Europe, I felt that the Koreans and Japanese players, really have grown. I’ve only seen Canadian players, European players play. I’ve never actually played against or with these guys, the national team. I guess you could say I kind of opened my eyes a bit more.

EH: How was the Olympic qualifier experience? You guys were this close to going on, if Japan had scored and gone to overtime you might have got it, if you’d beat Japan in overtime it would have been very very close. How did the guys feel? They didn’t advance, but, they came closer than the Koreans had ever come before.
WJ: At first, going into the tournament, we knew we could beat Great Britain. We only played them twice before and it was only a 1 goal difference. Hockey here has grown a lot. We kind of had a little bit of confidence in beating them. But then Japan, it’s always a rivalry game, everybody was kind of pumped up to play and everything, and it was a really close game. It was a good game, so I think everybody..

EH: Were you guys at the Japan and Great Britain game?
WJ: Yes, we were at the game. When Great Britain scored two goals, we thought, now it’s time for Japan to score. Unfortunately they couldn’t.

EH: What did you guys take from that?
WJ: I think we felt that it’s one step closer to the 2018 Olympics.

EH: Do you guys think you might be able to get a chance to get close enough to qualify?
WJ: Yes, we do.

EH: Thanks very much, we appreciate it!
WJ No problem

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