From Jaebeoljip Myeoneuri to Miss Korea... Asian Games' Most Talked-About Figures

Bridge Player Kim Hye-young, Daughter-in-law of Hyundai Family
Miss Korea and Special Forces Veteran Woo Hee-jun
'Club' Archer Medalist Joo Jae-hoon, etc.

The 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games concluded its 16-day journey with the closing ceremony at 9 PM (Korean time) on the 8th. Among the Korean athletes participating in various events, many unique stories about several distinctive players attracted much attention.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Among them, Kim Hye-young, a bridge player, stands out as the foremost figure. Kim Hye-young is the wife of Chung Mong-yoon, chairman of Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance, and the daughter-in-law of the late Chung Ju-yung, honorary chairman of Hyundai Group. She started playing bridge in 2010 and currently plays as a member of 'Team Seoul' while also serving as the vice president of the Korea Bridge Association for over ten years.

Bridge, a card game played by four players in two pairs, is a mind sport requiring intense intellectual competition and has been an official event since the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games. Kim participated in the mixed event preliminaries but unfortunately did not advance to the tournament stage.

On the 27th of last month, at the Qiyuan Chess Hall in Hangzhou, China, Kim Hye-young is preparing for a match against Singapore in the preliminary round of the mixed team bridge event at the 19th Hangzhou Asian Games.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Another athlete who drew public interest with a unique background was Woo Hee-jun, a national representative in kabaddi, a sport still unfamiliar to the general public.

Woo Hee-jun is a former Miss Korea contestant and a former special forces officer. He began his kabaddi journey in 2013 and earned the Taegeuk mark (national team selection) in 2015. He competed in the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games and the Hangzhou Asian Games. After the Jakarta Games, he placed as a runner-up in Miss Korea 2019 and served in the Army Special Warfare Command's International Peace Support Group, including deployment to Lebanon in 2021. Despite his overseas deployment, Woo's passion for kabaddi never waned, and after his discharge in June, he passed the selection trials and rejoined the national team.

On the 3rd, at the Xiaoshan Guali Sports Center in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China, during the Hangzhou Asian Games Kabaddi Women's Group A league match between Korea and India, Korean player Woo Hee-jun is being caught by the Indian defense.
[Photo by Yonhap News]
pdj6635@yna.co.kr
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Kabaddi, which means 'holding one's breath' in Hindi, is a traditional Indian sport combining elements of martial arts, tag, rugby, jiu-jitsu, and wrestling. The game is played on a mat with teams divided into offense and defense, resembling a combat match. Each half lasts 20 minutes (15 minutes for women), with seven defenders and one attacker playing a form of 'tag.' Kabaddi has been an official event since the 1990 Beijing Asian Games. The Korean kabaddi team failed to reach the semifinals in this Asian Games.

On the 7th, at the Fuyang Inhu Sports Center in Hangzhou, China, Joo Jae-hoon draws his bowstring during the bronze medal match of the men's compound individual event at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games archery competition.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

In archery, 'ordinary citizen' Joo Jae-hoon emerged as a hot topic. Joo first picked up a bow at age 24 through a club and learned techniques by studying video materials while working. After five attempts, he earned the Taegeuk mark. He nearly had to give up before last year's national team selection due to a COVID-19 diagnosis but was fortunate to compete as the event was postponed by a year. Joo, a security officer at Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power's information security department, even took a leave of absence to participate in the national team selection and evaluation matches.

On the 4th, Joo won a silver medal in the archery compound mixed team event alongside So Chae-won (Hyundai Mobis), and the next day, he earned a second silver medal in the men's compound team event with Yang Jae-won (Sangmu) and Kim Jong-ho (Hyundai Steel).

In the esports category, which was officially included for the first time in this tournament, Kim Kwan-woo attracted attention as the first Korean gold medalist in esports at age 44 in the Street Fighter V event. Having played the game for over 30 years, he quit his job three years ago to become a full-time professional gamer and won a medal at this competition.

There were also 'romantic' athletes who confessed their love during the Asian Games. Karate athlete Pi Jae-yoon (Korea Karate Federation), weightlifter Kim Soo-hyun (Busan Sports Council), and the 'diving couple' Woo Ha-ram (Korea Sports Promotion Foundation) and Jo Eun-ji (Incheon Metropolitan City Hall) were among them. Woo Ha-ram attracted attention by revealing Jo Eun-ji as his girlfriend after winning a silver medal at this event.

On the other hand, some athletes caused frowns.

'Tennis prince' Kwon Soon-woo (Dangjin City Hall) was widely criticized worldwide for unsportsmanlike conduct after losing in the second round of men's singles on the 25th of last month to world-ranked 636th Kasidit Samrej (Thailand), smashing his racket on the ground and refusing to shake hands with his opponent. Kwon later issued a handwritten apology, but public opinion remained cold.

Roller skating athlete Jeong Cheol-won (Andong City Hall) became the center of controversy for a careless celebration that cost him a gold medal. On the 2nd, at the Hangzhou Asian Games roller sports men's 3000m relay final held at the Qiantang Roller Sports Center in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China, he raised both arms just before the finish line. However, the athlete who crossed the finish line first was a Taiwanese player behind Jeong. As a result, Korea lost the gold medal by a mere 0.01 seconds, and Jeong Cheol-won's teammate Choi In-ho (Nonsan City Hall) lost the opportunity for military service exemption.

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