Rick Barry - Seoul, South Korea

By Peter Hinchliffe, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

RICK BARRY was an instinctive hero on a flight from Seoul to London.

A passenger grabbed a door handle and tried to open it, shouting "I want to kill. I want to die and I will take you with me." There were 350 passengers on the KLM jet. "He was deadly serious," says Rick. "I just waded in and felled him with a punch." Rick and two other passengers then pinned the man down until he was handcuffed by a flight attendant.

"I am usually a mild-mannered person," says Rick. "We just acted on instinct."

Rick is half-way through a two-year contract as a sales manager based in South Korea for Hopkinsons of Birkby.

His partner Cathryn French and three children, Gemma, Adam and Joshua, live in Fenay Bridge.

Rick is setting up a joint company to manufacture some Hopkinsons products in Seoul. The firm will have a small number of employees. Work will be outsourced.

Rick was born in Liverpool and began his engineering career with British Rail in Crewe.

"Korea is difficult because of the language barrier," he says. "It's not easy to find the place where you want to be. "It's like being given loads of information then being set down blindfold in London to find one's way around. "I've actually been in places I was trying to find and not realised I was there. "Life is pretty good here though. I've made loads of friends."

Rick plays in goal for a British football team wwhich competes against teams representing some of South Korea's most famous firms. "We play on a gravel pitch. The standard of football here is pretty good, but we are doing all right. We play every week and we haven't lost since November."

South Korea and Japan are jointly staging the World Cup in 2002.

"I went to a friendly match between South Korea and Japan," says Rick. "I thought it would be an opportunity to wear my Huddersfield Town shirt. "Apart from the players I was the only one in the stadium wearing a football shirt. There were thousands in suits and ties.

"The South Korean supporters are tremendously enthusiastic. They cheer every time one of their players has the ball."

Rick also plays cricket for a team called the Commonwealth Cavaliers. They play in a five-team league which includes sides representing India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Korea. He's a wicket keeper.

"The grounds aren't too good," he says. "In fact they are appalling. Once again we play on shale. We play limited 25-over matches and we have a lot of fun."

He is also a member of an outdoor activity group which engages in a variety of sports and challenges, including canoeing, water skiing and rafting.

The Dutch airline KLM rewarded Rick's bravery. When he now flies with them he is upgraded to a better class with an increased baggage allowance.

His e-mail address is: rbarry@kornet.net