[Anchor]
The father of Park Geun-seo, who was drafted by the Lotte Giants in the recent KBO rookie draft, became a major sensation by singing, "Ba-la-la-la La Bamba!"
Reporter Bae Jeonghun met with the "La Bamba family" in person.
[Reporter]
[Park Ja-sik / Park Geun-seo's father: "Mr. Host, would it be okay if I sing one upbeat song before stepping down? To dance to La Bamba, to dance to La Bamba, you need a little bit of luck."]
The person who turned the draft venue into a sea of laughter was the father of Park Geun-seo, who was selected by Lotte with the fourth overall pick.
[Park Ja-sik / Park Geun-seo's father: "To dance to La Bamba, I'm the captain, the captain. I'm Park Ja-sik."]
The family shared their honest feelings about that moment.
[Park Geun-seo / Lotte-drafted pitcher: "I told him (my dad), 'Don't drag it out too long, let's just come down,' but Dad put on that performance right there, so I was pretty flustered."]
[Kim Hye-ryeon / Park Geun-seo's mother: "I told him to keep it moderate too, but I expected he wouldn't actually do it moderately."]
The father defended himself, saying that his son, though initially embarrassed, soon enjoyed it.
[Park Ja-sik / Park Geun-seo's father: "He must have won first place at a (school) athletic event, and he said, 'Thank you, La Bamba!'"]
[Park Geun-seo: "Thank you, La Bamba~"]
[Park Ja-sik / Park Geun-seo's father: "Why did he complain to me when he enjoyed it like that himself?"]
Another talking point of this draft is his special connection with former Major Leaguer Choi Ji-man.
Park Geun-seo nurtured his dream of becoming a baseball player after watching Choi Ji-man play in person during a trip to the United States with his father when he was young.
[Park Ja-sik / Park Geun-seo's father: "Choi Ji-man did well that day too. And now they've become fellow peers in this draft."]
[Park Geun-seo / Lotte-drafted pitcher: "(Senior Choi Ji-man) told me such nice things, saying, 'I'm so grateful that there was someone who played baseball watching me,' so I'm really thankful."]
Unable to hide his overwhelming emotions at the thought of his son—who has now achieved his dream—leaving his nest,
[Park Ja-sik / Park Geun-seo's father: "Now our family of four has been living together, but one swallow is leaving. We won't be able to gather together like this anymore. So thank you for everything up until now. And we will come visit you. Thank you."]
The son replied that he would dedicate his walk-up song to his father.
[Park Geun-seo / Lotte-drafted pitcher: "It feels like the atmosphere is such that I really have to use it (as my walk-up song) now, which is great. Me too, La Bamba."]
Meeting home fans for the first time at Sajik Stadium the day after tomorrow (October 10), Park Geun-seo is dreaming of a powerful flight like a seagull.
[La Bamba!]
(Photo: Yonhap News / Video by Yoo Dong-hyuk, Video Editing by Park Gi-deok, Design by SOOIN, Footage courtesy of Major Ji-man's Instagram '@jih.lao')
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