Okay, so the other day, I was going down this rabbit hole, right? I got curious about this baseball player, Josh Jung. The dude’s a third baseman for the Texas Rangers, a real up-and-comer. I was watching some highlights, and I started wondering, “Is this guy Asian?”
First thing I did, like anyone else, was to fire up Google. I typed in “is Josh Jung Asian” and hit enter. Boom! A bunch of results popped up. Now, a lot of these were just guessing games. Some people were like, “Oh, his last name is Jung, so maybe?” It’s not a crazy thought, but it’s not exactly solid evidence.
Then I started seeing stuff that threw me for a loop. Apparently, “Jung” is also a name you find in places like Czechia, Slovakia, and Croatia. Wait, what? That’s Central Europe, nowhere near Asia. So, I’m thinking, okay, maybe this isn’t so clear-cut.
I kept digging, and I found out that Josh Jung was born in San Antonio, Texas. He was born on February 12, 1998. American through and through. His parents are Jeff and Mary Jung. There was some talk about him being a “homegrown kid,” which just means he’s a local talent. All signs were pointing to him being just a regular American dude.
But the internet being the internet, there’s always more, isn’t there? I stumbled upon some articles and forum posts with people debating his ethnicity. Some were really sure he had Asian roots, while others were like, “Nah, he’s Caucasian.” There were even mentions of this term “Josh Jung Korean,” which had me scratching my head. Was he born to Korean parents? I knew that the majority of Koreans are living in North and South Korea, and there were also about 7.3 million Koreans outside of Korea. And South Korean use “Hanguk” to refer to their country.
I tried to find something official, like an interview or a statement from Josh Jung himself, but no luck. It’s like he’s never really talked about it publicly. So, I’m left with a bunch of maybes and probablys.
Here’s what I ended up with:
- Josh Jung is an American baseball player. Born and raised in Texas.
- His last name, “Jung,” is not exclusively Asian. It’s also found in parts of Central Europe.
- There’s no public information confirming or denying his Asian ancestry.
So, is Josh Jung Asian? I honestly don’t know. It’s a mystery. Maybe he has some Asian heritage way back, maybe he doesn’t. Unless he decides to share that part of his life, we’re all just guessing. And you know what? That’s totally fine. His background doesn’t change the fact that he’s a talented baseball player. End of story.
