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Cha Du-ri’s `too big father`

Posted April. 02, 2015 07:18,   

한국어

It was impressive to see a man who was embracing his father and pouring tears. With a bundle of flowers from his father, he hugged his father and cried. He has always been called “Cha Bum-kun’s son.” Cha Du-ri must have had mixed feelings when he embraced his father, whom he always wanted to but could not overcome as a soccer player, and retired from the national soccer team. What would the senior Cha have felt while patting his son’s back? While watching Cha Du-ri’s retirement ceremony during the half-time of the warm-up match between the national soccer team and the New Zealand team on Tuesday, I thought about all fathers and sons in the world.

“Cha Du-ri is my family’s enemy,” Cha Bum-kun wrote in an article in October 2013 after he learned his son had tattoos on both of his arms. “Since then, Cha Du-ri could not go downstairs from his room for about a month. He could not taste meals that his mother made.” Then, the father who was strict about discipline at home began to defend his son slightly. “Beckham is a problem. Beckham.” It means his son did so following David Beckham’s tattoos. The father has a warm heart, trying to understand his son.

A father-son relationship is not as comfortable as a mother-daughter relationship. Fathers want their son to be better and stronger than them. However, sons feel uncomfortable about it and feel a distance from their father. This is commonly found in all ages and countries around the world, and there is also psychological analysis on this. “I sometimes hated the fact that my father was a very good soccer player. I was frustrated sometimes because I could not be like him, however hard I tried,” Cha Du-ri said. “But my father is a person whom I respect and love most. He was my role model.”

Fans liked Cha Du-ri not because he was an excellent player. Although he was not as good as other players, they applauded him for his efforts to overcome his shortcomings and his positive attitude with a bright smile. As Cha Du-ri gets more popular today, Cha Bum-kun must be proud of being called “Cha Du-ri’s father.”



eligius@donga.com