The Hamilton Spectator

Canadians in Pyeonchang

Two will be South Korea in women’s hockey at 2018 Olympics

- RYAN MCKENNA

When Caroline Park received a Facebook message in 2013 asking her if she would be interested in playing women’s hockey for South Korea at the Olympics, she thought it was fake.

Four years later, the forward from Brampton, is months away from trading her stethoscop­e for hockey skates at the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchan­g. Park’s parents were born in Korea, making her eligible for the national team.

“I initially thought it was a spam email or someone kind of joking and pranking me, but turned out to be legit,” Park said in a phone interview from New York, where she’s currently studying medicine at Columbia University.

The 27-year-old Park is one of two Canadians playing for the host South Koreans along with Toronto forward Danelle Im, whose parents were also born in South Korea. Former St. Francis Xavier goaltender So Jung Shin will be in net.

Park, who started med school in 2015 and plans to graduate in 2020, still has to finish another clinical rotation before taking a leave of absence and joining the team in October.

Between school and preparing for the Olympics, Park says the juggling act has its challenges.

“It’s definitely pretty tough in terms of time management, especially now that I’m in the clinical rotation for med school which is a lot more demanding in terms of time commitment,” Park said. “So it’s been a bit of a challenge, I guess, trying to balance both. “It’s a grind, but it’s fun.” Hockey hasn’t always been Park’s sole hobby. As an actor she appeared in “Degrassi: The Next Generation” — although she never had any scenes with Drake — and “Naturally, Sadie” from 2005-07 while in high school.

Her acting career started at a young age when she was randomly selected to be in a Nike commercial and grew from there. She appeared in a few more commercial­s along with the TV shows.

“I kind of think what would of happened if I just kept acting, but I’m generally pretty well with how things have turned out now,” she said.

Park was applying to med school while working at an orthopedic hospital when she received the Facebook message from a member of the Korea Ice Hockey Associatio­n asking her if she would be interested in trying out for the South Koreans. Each summer, Park and Im would travel back to South Korea after the school year to train with the team.

“It was really perfect timing,” she said. “If I had been in med school it would have been a lot more difficult to commit to that, but I went out there within a week.”

In order to play for South Korea, both Park and Im needed Korean citizenshi­p. Park received hers in 2015 while Im obtained hers within the past year. Park and Im had never met each other prior to their first trip to South Korea in 2013, but have seen their relationsh­ip grow in the past years. Park’s family has since moved to Toronto.

 ?? AHN YOUNG-JOON, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ?? South Korean players celebrate after winning against the Netherland­s during their IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championsh­ip Division 2 Group A game in Gangneung, South Korea, April 17.
AHN YOUNG-JOON, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS South Korean players celebrate after winning against the Netherland­s during their IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championsh­ip Division 2 Group A game in Gangneung, South Korea, April 17.

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