2020-21 South Korean Figure Skating | Golden Skate

2020-21 South Korean Figure Skating

Ichatdelune

Long live the Queen and her successors
Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 22, 2018
Country
South-Korea
So, although the existence of the season is in question :( with June coming soon and other threads being started, I thought I'd make a new thread as well. As a recap, here are the national teams, both main and reserve*:

Main Team

Ladies: You Young, Lee Haein, Kim Yelim, Lim Eunsoo, Ji Seoyeon, Kim Haneul, Wi Seoyoung, To Jihun
Men: Cha Junhwan, Lee Junhyeong, Lee Sihyeong, Cha Younghyun

Reserve Team
Ladies : Yun Ahsun, Mo Jiwon, Kim Minchae, Seo Heewon, Won Chaeeun, Lee Siwon, Song Siwoo, Kim Seoyoung (born April 25th), Moon Boin
Men: Park Sunghoon, Kim Hangil, Park Geonwoo

*Min/Eaton, our one and only ID team, is automatically included (yes Jeon/Choi split by the way)

And as the teams don't consider senior/junior eligibility, some additional info on current ages and whether they will/could come up (including skaters not on the national teams)

Haein - 15 years and 1 month (coming up to seniors)
Jihun - 16 years and 8 months (coming up to seniors)
Wi Seoyoung - 15 years and 2 months (not sure, could do half-and-half)
Seoyeon - 14 years and 5 months
Yeonjeong - 14 years and 4 months
Ahsun - 13 years and 3 months (coming up to juniors)
Jiwon - 14 years and 10 months (coming up to juniors)
Heewon - 13 years and 7 months (age eligible for juniors, needs to get 7th level*)
Siwoo - 12 years and 11 months (age eligible for juniors, needs to get 7th level*)
Kim Seoyoung (4/25) - 14 years and 1 month (coming up to juniors)
Won Chaeeun - 14 years and 7 months
Minchae - 14 years and 3 months
Hwang Chaebin - 13 years and 1 month (age eligible for juniors, needs to get 7th level*)
Jeong Minseo - 13 years and 9 months (coming up to juniors)

Sihyeong - 19 years and 5 months (coming up to seniors)
Younghyun - 16 years and 8 months (probably half-and-half)
Sunghoon - 17 years and 6 months (half-and-half, if he does do international competitions)
Jaeseok - 19 years and 7 months (coming up to seniors)

*needs two out of 3Lo, 3F, 3Lz to get, is required for national level senior competitions and international junior competitions assignments, is acquired via tests that (usually) take place in April, July, September, and November


19-20 Season's Bests

7th You Young 223.23
17th Lee Haein 203.40
19th Kim Yelim 202.76
22nd Lim Eunsoo 200.59
26th Wi Seoyoung 193.30
36th Park Yeonjeong 186.58
40th Kim Haneul 182.50
48th Ji Seoyeon 179.23
67th To Jihun 167.66
85th Choi Dabin 157.18
123rd Lee Siwon 142.73
153rd Choi Yujin 131.48

8th Cha Junhwan 265.43
46th Lee Sihyeong 218.31
66th Lee Junhyeong 205.20
73rd Cha Younghyun 199.12
86th Byeon Sejong 190.40
112nd Kyeong Jaeseok 176.86


Questions for the season:

- Will there even be one?????
- With JGPs being cancelled left and right will the JGP qualifier even take place? If so, will the July level placement tests actually happen (decides the junior Nats medalists' availability)? How would everything be scheduled?
- What would Wi Seoyoung (my beloved one)'s season look like (assuming there is a season)? Would JGP be an option when half of the circuit has been cancelled?
- Would Young resume training her quads? Would Haein start seriously going for 3As or quads? How would everybody fare now? Would Dabin's comeback be a posibility?
- Assuming the season and WC takes place, will three spots for Beijing be possible? Same with the men, could Junhwan somehow procure two spots?
- Could Younghyun actually get a 3A and challenge senior level? What would Sunghoon's Schroedinger's 3A look like now? Could there be surprises in the men's department?
- How much would've Min/Eaton, a new team, gelled as a team in this situation? Is junior ice dancing doomed now?

Lastly, known choreographer/music selections for new programs:

Seoyeon - David Wilson, El Tango de Roxanne
Young - Lori Nichol (both SP and FS), oriental/Egyptian theme involved (did Cleopatra hands when asked for hints)
Eunsoo - Jeffrey Buttle
 

YuBluByMe

May Rika spin her hair into GOLD….in 2026.
Final Flight
Joined
Mar 21, 2018
19-20 Season's Bests


8th Cha Junhwan 265.43
46th Lee Sihyeong 218.31
66th Lee Junhyeong 205.20
73rd Cha Younghyun 199.12
86th Byeon Sejong 190.40
112nd Kyeong Jaeseok 176.86


Questions for the season:

- Would Young resume training her quads? Would Haein start seriously going for 3As or quads?

Lee could. She’s solid enough with her triples as is You. International judges like her, too. But You should work on solidfying her 3A before moving on to a quad. She’s landing the 3A now, but it ain’t pretty. Her non-jump elements aren’t the strongest; therefore, she cannot rely on a buffer if she makes mistakes on her tech. If there’s one thing that was made clear this season it’s that base value and technical ability are not the same thing.

- Assuming the season and WC takes place, will three spots for Beijing be possible? Same with the men, could Junhwan somehow procure two spots?

Absolutely. I think the Korean ladies would have definitely earned that third spot had Worlds took place this year. There’s a very realistic way that the Korean and American ladies both could have gotten that last spot with the Japanese keeping all three of theirs: (5+8, 6+7, 4+9). But there’s this year! If it happens.

As for the men, Cha is easily a top-10 skater. He needs the ability to comfortably score over 250 to make the top 10 and he can and has done this. A skate like the one he had at 4CC would do the trick. Even with the UR calls, that score would put him in the top 6 range. The real issue is whether that second spot could be kept. Are there any other Korean men competitive on the international level? Because that SB list is telling me that even if Cha were to get that second spot it will be lost the year after.

....That’s one pro for not having a Worlds this year.
 

skycastles

Rinkside
Joined
May 27, 2020
Country
United-States
It's interesting how close Lee Haein, Kim Yelim, and Lim Eunsoo are. They are all within 3 points of each other, and it will be interesting to see how that develops.
 

Ichatdelune

Long live the Queen and her successors
Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 22, 2018
Country
South-Korea
One astonishing update: Sunghoon is going to be a part of a new idol reality show https://twitter.com/mnetiland/status/1267283005384519681?s=19
Apparently he has been an idol trainee for two years and a month, I literally have no idea how he managed both skating and being a trainee... Anyway, this means that he's not going to take part in the upcoming(ish) season if it's not a full-out retirement from skating, the JGP may not happen at all I know but now who's going to use the remaining tickets for our men...
 

surimi

Onward and forward, Sota!
Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 12, 2013
South Korea used to have a pair as well, about two seasons ago. I think their names were Kim/Kam? Does the pair still exist?
I'm looking forward to -hopefully- seeing the Korean ladies on the GP circuit. Young You and EunSoo caught my eye before already, but this last season I was really impressed by Haein Lee as well.
 

Ichatdelune

Long live the Queen and her successors
Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 22, 2018
Country
South-Korea
2020-2012? Title of thread needs adjusting

I know, it was a typo :( I can't find a way to edit the thread title (I've tried, the only thing I can do is edit my starter post) so hopefully a mod will come and fix the issue


South Korea used to have a pair as well, about two seasons ago. I think their names were Kim/Kam? Does the pair still exist?

Kyueun and Kangchan split after the Olympics, Kyueun had teamed up with Maxime Deschamps after that but he unceremoniously dumped her :disapp: and now she's retired. To be honest there's zero infrastructure for pairs here, both the Kim siblings (unrelated to Kyueun btw) and Kim/Kam went through so much hardship while trying out pairs here. I think it's going to take a long, long while until we have a stable pair team :( :( :(
 

Ichatdelune

Long live the Queen and her successors
Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 22, 2018
Country
South-Korea
So folks, the KSU has posted schedules for the upcoming domestic events:

Name Date Venue

2020 JGP Qualifiers, TBA, TBA
22nd Figure Skating Young Hopes Competition, 2020.10.15 - 2020.10.18, TBA (mostly pre-novice to novice, some domestic level juniors)
2020 Ranking Competition, 2020.12.18 - 2020.12.20, TBA
75th Korean Figure Skating Championships (Nats)*, 2021.1.8 - 2021.1. 10, TBA
102nd National Winter Sports Festival, 2021.2.1 - 2021.2.5, TBA
63rd National Figure Skating Competition*, 2021.4.8 - 2021.4.11, TBA

* Bringing back the explanation between Nats and the National Figure Skating Competition from my post in the 2019-2020 season thread:

y'know how there's RusNats and the Russian Cup Final, and while both are of a national scale the latter is less prestigious with most of the big names missing? What I translate as "Nats", 종합선수권, is like RusNats while 종별선수권, the one I translate as "National Figure Skating Competition", is like the Russian Cup Final.

And just in case, the explanation on the National Winter Sports Festival:

The National Winter Sports Festival is not organized by KSU but the KOC (Korean Olympic&Sports Committee). It's not mandatory for international competition entries and whatnot, but it is technically the biggest domestic competition after Nats (they have prelims and all), to non-internationally competitive skaters it really is big. It also has merit in that it's the competition you can use for your college portfolio



With that out of the way, two things to take notice of. 1) JGP Qualifiers are up in the air, which means that KSU isn't sure whether the whole circuit will happen or not, 2) all venues are listed as TBA, which is of course due to the pandemic but is not helpful for the people planning to attend competitions (like me). And of course, no word about the level placement tests
 

Ichatdelune

Long live the Queen and her successors
Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 22, 2018
Country
South-Korea
Update: The Young Hopes Competition, aka the Kyobo Cup, has been cancelled
 

Ichatdelune

Long live the Queen and her successors
Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 22, 2018
Country
South-Korea
Fresh news just aired: my beloved Seoyoung was just on an interview show, and when asked for hints on her new programs she did a drinking motion and said "as if drinking a potion of love", fans are now assuming she's doing Donizetti's The Elixir of Love. If this is the case then a) are they going to use Una Furtiva Lagrima for a female skater? and b) if not which arias are they going to use? :think:
Or it could be something like Tristan and Isolde, but I'm not banking on it since Wagner is pretty heavy for a 15-year-old.

Edit: Was just reminded that Maxime Rodriguez's version of Tristan and Isolde exists too, so add that on the table
 

elektra blue

mother of skaters
Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 11, 2018
Country
Italy
Fresh news just aired: my beloved Seoyoung was just on an interview show, and when asked for hints on her new programs she did a drinking motion and said "as if drinking a potion of love", fans are now assuming she's doing Donizetti's The Elixir of Love. If this is the case then a) are they going to use Una Furtiva Lagrima for a female skater? and b) if not which arias are they going to use? :think:
Or it could be something like Tristan and Isolde, but I'm not banking on it since Wagner is pretty heavy for a 15-year-old.

Edit: Was just reminded that Maxime Rodriguez's version of Tristan and Isolde exists too, so add that on the table

i was thinking of Tristan and Isolde too, after all it's more popular than Donizetti
 

Bluediamonds09

Medalist
Joined
Sep 8, 2016
Haein Lee...... she’s my favorite junior, I pray for her to have amazing results! I’m still bitter that she didn’t even reach 60+ in pcs at the jgpf. Any recent updates?
 

Ichatdelune

Long live the Queen and her successors
Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 22, 2018
Country
South-Korea
Haein Lee...... she’s my favorite junior, I pray for her to have amazing results! I’m still bitter that she didn’t even reach 60+ in pcs at the jgpf. Any recent updates?

Haein did post this video of her jumping rope for Olympic day: https://www.instagram.com/p/CBxpuuAJ4tD/?igshid=13bvjo5r8s6ik
I haven't seen any footage of her training on-ice or news about her new programs, I do hope that her senior debut programs are as amazing as her programs last season (and of course, that her senior debut actually gets to take place)
 
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