Kim Ha-neul and Hong Ran "Retirement, a New Beginning"..."How to Plan the Second Act of Life?"

Kim Ha-neul "Challenges in Broadcasting such as YouTube", Hong Ran "Mentor for Aspiring Talents", Bae Kyung-eun "Challenges in KLPGA Senior Tour"

Kim Ha-neul (left) has opened a personal YouTube channel to communicate with fans.

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] ‘Retirement’.

The dictionary definition is to step down from a position or withdraw from social activities and live leisurely. On the other hand, it is also a new beginning. The same goes for golfers. It is a ‘second life’ where they can pursue things they couldn’t do during their active careers with more passion. There are protagonists who have left behind the times of sweating on the field and embarked on new challenges. This is the story of golfers who are busily preparing for life after retirement.

Kim Ha-neul (33) has recently been transforming into a broadcaster. She achieved 8 wins on the Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour and 6 wins on the Japan Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour, and held her farewell match last month at the SK Shielders·SK Telecom Championship. Since putting down her golf clubs, she has been appearing in front of the camera more often. On the 2nd of last month, she opened her personal YouTube channel sharing her daily life and actively communicating with fans. She smiled saying, "I’ve become a YouTuber now."

She uploads videos every Wednesday at 5 p.m. and meets her audience with various content beyond golf. These include glamping, cake making, and learning dance. She also plans to actively learn tennis, skiing, and wakeboarding, which she couldn’t do before due to injury risks. Besides YouTube, she will appear on TV golf variety shows. She is also preparing fashion, beauty, and golf academy projects. She is determined to "show a new side that I haven’t been able to reveal until now."

Hong Ran (center) serves as a mentor at the women's golf academy for aspiring players operated by her agency.

Hong Ran (35, Samchully) aims to ‘nurture young talents.’ She is a veteran who played on the KLPGA Tour for 17 years and accumulated 4 career wins. She holds remarkable records such as being the first to surpass 1000 rounds, most appearances (356 times), and most final round qualifications (287 times). She serves as a mentor at the ‘Samchully Golf Academy,’ which her agency Samchully operates to foster female golf prospects. She responded that "it’s fun to be with the juniors."

Bae Kyung-eun (36) is looking forward to another life on the field. She was the champion of the major KLPGA Championship in 2001 when she was a first-year high school student. After retiring in 2014, she showed her resilience by passing the qualifying tournament last year and returning to the first division tour after 7 years. She said, "I’m happy to have unforgettable memories," and "Now I’m going back to being a weekday golfer." Her career as a player is not over. She is preparing for the senior tour, which she can join when she turns 41 in Korean age.

The "former golf king" Jack Nicklaus is engaged in various businesses such as tournament founding, apparel business, and course design.

In fact, many players are more active after retirement. Jack Nicklaus (USA) is engaged in businesses such as founding PGA Tour events, apparel, and course design. He is a ‘former golf king’ with a total of 73 wins including 18 majors. Now 81 years old, he is still actively creating golf courses. He has designed over 425 courses in 45 countries worldwide. These are premium golf courses that transcend eras.

‘The Great White Shark’ Greg Norman (Australia) shows his entrepreneurial spirit in wine, apparel, real estate, and private equity. In the U.S., he even has a vineyard inside a course he designed. Recently, he has been actively promoting the Premier Golf League (PGL), led by Saudi Arabian capital, through LIV Golf Investments, where he serves as CEO. Former golf queen Annika S?renstam (Sweden) is also involved in wine, course design, and golf academy businesses.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.