He was born in Seoul, South Kore. Hines mother Kim Younghee is Korean while his father Hines Ward Sr is African-American. He was brought up in the Atlanta area. Lately, Hines has been an advocate for foreigners in Korea social acceptance, as well as specially blended and mixed-race youth. When Hines was one year old, his family relocated to Atlanta and East Point, Georgia. His father moved to Germany to serve a tour of duty.
The following year, Hines’s parents divorced and he went to live with his mother. After a short period, his father went to a family court and said that because Kim didn’t know English, she was unable to raise Hines independently. As a result of the allegations, the court ruled out that Hines would stay with his paternal grandmother. He later reunited with his mother at the age of 7 years. Hines stated that he does not talk to his father regularly and is yet to reconcile with him after abandoning him at the age of 2.
