'This country can change and accept you for who you are.'

It seems that Hines Ward, the Pittsburgh Steelers' receiver who earlier this year was voted the most valuable player has wasted no time in highlighting the plight of mixed-race children in South Korea.

Hines' success at leading the stealers to the superbowl have made him a hero in South Korea, where he has received near-blanket media coverage during his first homecoming since leaving the country as a baby.

Seven year-old Kim Gwan-woo could barely hide his excitement at a 'hope-sharing' event Hines held Saturday with dozens of children, who like him are of mixed-race.

'Uncle Hines Ward, you are cool and I love you!' Kim, clutching a microphone, said in Korean, triggering a big laugh and applause from the audience, which included the children, their parents and organisers.

Kim shares the same racial background as Hines, they both have Korean mothers and African-American fathers stationed in South Korea with the U.S. military, whose relationships ultimately broke up. That same background for Kim is a source of hardship in a country that has traditionally scorned Koreans with mixed roots.

Kim, a second grader who aspires to be a scientist, often comes home from school crying, taunted by schoolmates shouting racial slurs, said his aunt and guardian, Kim Jae-yon, who runs a small restaurant in central Seoul.

But Hines Ward gave Kim and the other mixed-race children present some hopeful words for a better future.

'I know you guys go through a great deal of hardship with prejudice and having people discriminating against you,' Ward told the children, recalling his school life in the United States that he called 'hard' because of discrimination.

'Hopefully, I can kind of lead the way for you guys,' he said. 'If the country can accept me for who I am and accept me for being a Korean, then I'm pretty sure that this country can change and accept you for who you are.'

Hines then gave each of the children a football with his autograph on it as well as a hug and a few words of encouragement.

Hines' emotional homecoming has focused nationwide attention on the plight of mixed-race children and may be having a positive impact.

National newspapers and broadcast outlets are campaigning for an end to the prejudice while the ruling party is considering enacting a law aimed at helping those of mixed heritage.

'This really is a good opportunity to drastically change the perception about mixed-race people,' said Kim Tong-won, a social welfare professor at Seoul's Sungkyunkwan University. 'Now is the turning point.'

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