There are already murals of you up around town, I’d say they’d have trouble forgetting any time soon.

I think I can still do so much better though, you know? I know myself though, and that gives me more motivation.

Speaking of the Dodgers, when did they tell you about your bobblehead night this summer? That was such a massive deal—there’s usually only one or two non-Dodgers players who get one each year.

That was crazy. The players came to me and said, “Sonny, your bobblehead is coming.” And I said, “Oh, yeah? Cool.” And because I didn’t react much, they were very surprised. They were crazy angry about it, how little I responded—I didn’t understand how big a deal it is! So yeah, I’m very happy. The only big thing for me is I have to [do a first] pitch again. I need to practice, I want to do well again.

Looking ahead to the World Cup, all of Korea’s group stage matches are in Mexico. That’s a tough environment to play in and you’re one of the only guys on the squad who has experience playing there. How are you going about helping your teammates prepare for that?

When you play in Asia for qualification you have solid altitude conditioning, but it’s not as high as it is in Mexico. So I’m going to go into the camp and share information on my experiences. Obviously in Toluca it wasn’t as high as it is in Guadalajara, but we are in camp in Salt Lake City which has a similar altitude. I’m the only one who’s played there so I have to share all of that with the boys. I want to be helpful.

You’ve said the primary goal for the squad this year is to make the round of 32. Similarly, if you guys make it to 32 and end up playing in Los Angeles, what would you want your teammates to know about the environment and conditions?

I just want to play in Los Angeles. It’s probably got the biggest Korean community in the world outside of South Korea. How amazing it would be for the Korean community here. That would probably be one of the great moments of their lives, and for the team too I think. But for now our aim is just trying to finish out well and make the round of 32.

You’ve partnered with huge brand names like Adidas and Calvin Klein. What made Hyundai feel like the right fit?

I think Hyundai just saw the vision and the campaign. It’s a Korean brand, so being a Korean brand ambassador on the global stage ahead of the World Cup just made me so proud. This new campaign we have, Next Starts Now, it just says a lot to me: never give up, wherever we go we go together.

There’s an element of the campaign that leans into supporting youth soccer. I know the sport is massive in South Korea, but it hasn’t caught on in the same way in the States, though it’s definitely rising in popularity. There’s a lot of debate about how to best get kids involved in the sport at a young age and have them grow the game. What do you think American soccer needs to grow the game the same way it’s taken hold in South Korea?

I mean, it’s really cool seeing kids here going to school wearing their favorite football jersey. They seem so happy. And I love seeing kids storing their footballs in their backpacks. The thing about the US, though, is they have so many options. Even in college, you have the option of baseball, American football, golf. So there’s a lot of sports and just as many athletes. In Korea, we just don’t have as many options. You either like soccer or baseball.

But the sport is growing in the US so much, which I didn’t realize before I joined MLS. When my friend first suggested I come to MLS, I thought he was joking. But since I arrived here I’ve seen how much people care about the league and growing it. And more players are coming here to make it an even bigger league. So it’s moving in a good direction. In terms of the national team, which helps a lot in building the sport, my point of view is they just have to keep going the way they’re going. Don’t fall apart. Obviously Mauricio [Pochettino] is my ex-coach and my second dad, the man who taught me a lot of the things I know today, and I just wish him the best luck with Team USA. I think them doing well would make soccer much bigger in the country.