Arena Fran Galovic stadium in Koprivnica, Croatia, was filled with joy and the horse-riding dance of “Gangnam Style” on July 14.

The dancers shouting for joy were members of the Korean women's national handball under-20 team. They were celebrating their victory against Russia in the final match of the 19th Women's Junior U20 World Championship Croatia. Korea is now the first non-European country to ever win the international championship since its establishment in 1977.



Korea initially hoped to enter the semi-finals in the Women's Junior U20 World Championship Croatia, which took place from June 28 to July 14. However, they gave a remarkable performance in each match, heralding the birth of a new champion. The Korean team had a landslide victory in the Korea-Kazakhstan match, with a score of 48-26 in late June. They did lose, however, in a match with the Czech Republic on July 1, with a score of 48-26. This match made them stronger and helped them to focus more. The Korean players entered the quarterfinals with the most points in group A. They then beat some leading European teams, such as Germany, Norway and Croatia. The Korean team finally won the final match against Russia with a score of 34-27.

Korea’s Lee Hyojin was selected as the MVP. She has also now become the top scorer of the championship, recording a total of 64 goals. Korea was previously in the finals in 1985, 1989 and 1991, but never won the championship. They were defeated each time by the Russian team. This time, however, they made history.



Lee said, “To be honest, we just hoped to do our best to pass the group matches because some strong European teams were in our group. The Korean team previously made it to the finals three times, but failed each time because of Russia. This time, too, we met the Russians, which made us try even harder.”

Coach Lee Kyechung who led the team said, “I wasn't sure whether we would be able to make it to the quarterfinal, but the players built up their confidence as they showed a better performance in each of their matches. The Korea-Czech match especially made us even stronger, though we lost the game. I am so grateful for all the players who fought to the end without getting wounded.” Lee expressed his hope with a smile that the winning spirit of the team would be able to last until the upcoming Asian Games and until the next Olympic matches, so that they would be able to win some gold medals.



The International Handball Federation (IHF) published an article quoting IHF First Vice President Miguel Roca Mas, who said, “We have seen the stars of the future.” In the article, the IHF vice president said he had, “personally not been surprised,” by the result of the women’s junior Koreans, the first ever non-European team and the only team to break into the European phalanx at this competition. “It is a problem for all European teams to face an offensive defense like this, as you cannot prepare for it,” said the IHF vice president.



By Yoon Sojung
Korea.net Staff Writer
arete@korea.kr