Tears and joy filled the Tsukisamu Gymnasium in Sapporo on Feb. 23.

The Korean women’s national ice hockey team won the women's tournament at the Asian Winter Games 2017 in Sapporo, defeating the Chinese team.

With tears and smiles, the Korean athletes hugged each other and shared the joy of victory after defeating the Chinese by 3-2 in the fourth match between the teams. Unlike other winter disciplines, in international ice hockey matches the winning team is honored with its national anthem. The eyes of all the Korean athletes were all wet as they listened to the Korean national anthem.

The teams were neck-and-neck until the third period. In the first period, China’s defenseman Yu Bai Wei scored the first goal by throwing a mid-range shot at 10 minutes and 37 seconds. It was soon chased by Korea’s Park Jong-ah who shook the net after receiving a pass from Park Chae-lin.

In the second period, Kong Minghui of China scored the second goal, but Korea’s Park Eun-jung then got an equalizer. Nothing changed until the nine athletes of each team made shoot-outs in overtime. The mood began to change when Korea’s Shin So-jeong blocked a shot from China. Then, Park Jong-ah successfully scored Korea's third goal, bringing victory to the Korean team.



Shin So-jeong, who made some threatening shoots during the match, said through tears that, “I used to have bruises from so many shots. Finally, a victory came to us.”

“I didn't think of winning a medal. Instead, I focused on defeating China. Today’s game showed us our potential,” she said.

The match was meaningful for all Korean athletes. Earlier on Feb. 18, the team defeated Thailand with a score of 20-0. However, that was not quite like the match against China. In the past, the Korean team lost all seven matches against China. The Chinese team even humiliated the Korean team 30-1 in the Winter Asian Games in Aomori, Japan, in 2003.


The Korean women’s ice hockey team is not one of the strongest teams to win a medal. However, it has been making remarkable improvements. Earlier on Feb. 20, the team lost a match against Japan, ranked seventh in the world, by 3-0. The next day, it lost a game against Kazakhstan, ranked 18th in the world, by 1-0. The Korean team has been playing with world-leading countries on equal terms. This can be more vivid when looking at the past record of the team from 1999 to 2011, as the team lost all 15 matches in which it participated at four Asian Winter Games.

Improvements in the Korean team surprised for another reason, too. It was 1999 when the team was formed for the first time in order to participate in the Asian Winter Games in Gangwon. Hurriedly made, the team lacked everything. It didn't even have enough members to fill a 22-person roster. Three years later in 2003, the team participated in the Asian Winter Games in Aomori where it allowed 80 goals in four games, while scoring only one.

In Korea, there are no ice hockey teams, either at universities or professional sports teams. There's no domestic league, either. The Korean national women’s ice hockey team has been overcoming such hardship through its passion and hard work.

By Yoon Sojung
Korea.net Staff Writer
Photos: HockeyPhoto = ChaeWoo Lim, Yonhap News
arete@korea.kr