Korean baseball is in crisis. In the first round of Group B of the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC), it recorded two wins and two losses, ranking third in the group. It failed to advance to the second round, where the quarterfinals were competing, and had to return home early in a bundle. It was eliminated from the first round for the third time in a row following the 2013 and 2017 WBC.

Korean baseball succeeded in advancing to the semifinals at the first WBC tournament in 2006 and won the gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, while Korean baseball, which was runner-up at the 2009 WBC, has been in a slump on the world stage for 10 years.There are many reasons why the Korean baseball team lost at 2023WBC.
Above all, the problem was the weak mound without a reliable ace pitcher.The Korean national baseball team scored seven points in the first round of the WBC finals against Australia at the Tokyo Dome on March 9, but lost after giving up eight points. Despite putting as many as seven pitchers in the match against Australia, which was a watershed for advancing to the quarterfinals, they failed to beat Australia’s bat, which was considered one step below. In the second game against Japan on March 10, even after scoring three points first, the pitching staff fell into a row and lost 4-13. Team Korea also conceded three points in Game 3 against the ‘weak’ Czech Republic, which consists of amateur players. Korean baseball performed well in international competitions when the national team’s pitching power was strong.

The sweetness of success that led to the 2006 WBC, which succeeded in advancing to the semifinals, the 2008 Beijing Olympics, which won the gold medal, and the 2009 WBC runner-up was based on a solid mound. Major pitchers such as Bong Joong-geun, Jung Hyun-wook, Ryu Hyun-jin and Kim Kwang-hyun proved the strong side of Korean baseball with special ace-like pitching in every important game. The first reason why Team Korea was eliminated in the first round at 2023WBC was that there was no entirely reliable ace following the collapse of the 2017 WBC, where Kim Kwang-hyun and others were absent due to injuries. In the process of preparing for the 2023 WBC, the Korean national team made a wrong decision as a result. They set up a camp in Arizona, the U.S., where there is a 17 hour time difference from Tokyo, Japan, where the first round will be held. KT Wiz, the KBO League team of national team manager Lee Kang-chul, is training there, so they could play the role of the national team coach and his team coach together. However, the two-week off-season training in Arizona was ruined due to bad weather conditions in the region. Above all, pitchers failed to pitch properly. There was a rare scene in which pitchers went on pitching training all at once on a sunny day because there were no indoor pitching training facilities in the local camp. Even when returning home from off-season training, the plane was unable to fly due to weather problems, forcing it to travel 530 miles (about 850 kilometers) from Tucson, Arizona, by bus for eight hours. He played the first round in Tokyo without having to adjust his condition due to fatigue and jet lag caused by long-distance travel, so he couldn’t be better. Manager Lee Kang-chul and KBO are responsible for the mistake in selecting the off-season training site. When the Korean national baseball team returned home via Incheon International Airport on March 14, few fans came out. they was worried about throwing eggs or swearing, but it was quiet.The return of the national team, which had no criticism or encouragement, reflected the cold hearts of baseball fans. Criticism also comes with affection and interest. Indifference will be the biggest crisis facing Korean baseball.

Doug Hwang
Staff Writer

Korean winter sports speed skating star (Sanghwa) and Japanese star (Nao Kodaira) were rivals in the world championships and the Olympics, but they are showing off their strong friendship to support and encourage each other. They have different nationalities, but at the crossroads of injury and retirement, the two continued to warm up once again at the PyeongChang Olympics and this Beijing Winter Olympics, and they could see their sincerity with hot tears. And as long as it’s ambiguous.We also look forward to this politically in our relationship.

Prime Minister Kim Bu-kyum said on the 22nd about Korea-Japan relations, “I hope it will serve as an opportunity to resolve the Korea-Japan relationship that was blocked when Japanese Prime Minister Kishida and Foreign Minister Hayashi were present.”

When asked at a meeting of the Seoul Foreign Journalists Club held at the Korea Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea’s Prime Minister Kim replied, “Prime Minister Kishida and Hayashi are politicians who value friendly and good relations among Northeast Asian countries.”

Prime Minister Kim also said, “The two countries acknowledge that there are much more things that they have cooperated with, leaving different positions, and I think there are many issues for politicians at the time to talk together,” adding, “We need some symbolic measures that can trust each other and understand.”

Citing the late Lee Soo-hyun, who died while saving Japanese in the past, and the recent case of “Lee Sang-hwa-Kodaira” at the Beijing Winter Olympics speed skating, he said, “The next generation of Korea has shown that they can be trusted friends with each other. “Politicians should not widen the gap between the citizens of both countries for their political reasons,” he stressed.

Prime Minister Kim Bu-kyum said on the 22nd about Korea-Japan relations, “I hope it will serve as an opportunity to resolve the Korea-Japan relationship that was blocked when Japanese Prime Minister Kishida and Foreign Minister Hayashi were present.”

When asked at a meeting of the Seoul Foreign Journalists Club held at the Korea Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul, Prime Minister Kim replied, “Prime Minister Kishida and Foreign Minister Hayashi are politicians who value friendly and good relations among Northeast Asian countries.”

Prime Minister Kim also said, “The two countries acknowledge that there are much more things that they have cooperated with, leaving different positions, and I think there are many issues for politicians at the time to talk together,” adding, “We need some symbolic measures that can trust each other and understand.”

Citing the late Lee Soo-hyun, who died while saving Japanese in the past, and the recent case of “Lee Sang-hwa-Kodaira” at the Beijing Winter Olympics speed skating, he said, “The next generation of Korea has shown that they can be trusted friends with each other. “Politicians should not widen the gap between the citizens of both countries for their political reasons,” he stressed.

“I have a lot of regrets about the current situation in Korea-Japan relations,” he said. Prime Minister Kim said, “Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1965, we have shared the values of human rights, democracy, and market economy over the past decades.

We have grown together into a responsible country in Northeast Asia. “Past history issues, court decisions related to this,

Problems such as trade conflicts between Korea and Japan are homeworks that must be solved for the long-term future of Korea-Japan relations, he said.

“The end-of-war declaration will be the best momentum to resolve the deadlock on the Korean Peninsula and resume various talks,” he said. “It is because it shows the will of the parties to end hostilities and promote mutual trust to denuclearize and establish peace on the Korean Peninsula.” “Our government will do its best to create the conditions until the end,” he said. Regarding inter-Korean relations, he said, “I think there have been great achievements and regrets.” Prime Minister Kim said, “I think it is an unimaginable step for North Korea’s top leader to come to the international community to hold summits with the U.S. president several times and meet between the two Koreas,” adding, “There have been disagreements over the roadmap of denuclearization, but I think these difficulties are part of the Korean Peninsula.”

“South Korea and the United States are blood alliances,” he stressed. As confirmed at the Korea-U.S. summit in May, the Korea-U.S. alliance has been upgraded beyond military alliances to comprehensive and reciprocal alliances, including economic and technological alliances, Prime Minister Kim said. “South Korea and the U.S. will respect each other’s positions in various international relations and strive for peace in Northeast Asia.”

He also said, “South Korea and China are neighboring countries that mark the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations this year and are ‘strategic cooperation partners’.” Prime Minister Kim said, “China is Korea’s largest trading partner and has been with us for a long time in Northeast Asia,” and added, “Geographically, it is the ‘nearest neighbor’ and in many ways, ‘partner who cannot leave each other’.” Prime Minister Kim said, “There have been many ups and downs between Korea and China, but fundamental trust and cooperation with each other have not been shaken,” adding, “Even if there are temporary difficulties, I think the relationship between the two countries will develop further in the future.”

Mike Choi

Asia Journal

Photo by Gabe Roux

On June 26, 2017, So-yeon Ryu won the championship at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship with an 18-under-par, 195 in total. It is her second win since the first major championship at the ANA Inflation Championship in April. After winning the LPGA event in Arkansas over the weekend, Ryu has risen to No.1 in the Women’s Golf World Rankings. She became the third player this year to rise to No.1 in the Women’s World Golf World Rankings after Jiyai Shin and Inbee Park.

So-yeon Ryu has always been a strong player on the tour, but she had no luck in the championship. However, she went a step closer to the championship last year with a swing correction. According to her interview, she said that she practiced the swing correction, and it is hard to change. She feels both fun and stress every day, but still enjoys golf very much. With such enthusiasm and efforts, Ryu finally won the LPGA Tour’s 2nd prize in 2017, the first place in the prize-list, and the first place in the world ranking. She had not received much attention in the past, but due to her winning the LPGA Tour in April, she received a lot of media attention. Unfortunately, some media have focused on her family history, and rumors about the champagne or water ceremony which were requested to be banned by the LPGA. I think the role of the media is to accurately assess and inform a lighting of So-yeon, Rye as a player itself rather than gossip.

Dean Lee
K-Herald Korea
(Los Angeles Times Advertising Supplement)

Starter Wook Kyu-min tossed four shutout innings, and No. 2 hitter Seo Geon-chang went 5-for-5 at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul to lead South Korea to its third straight victory in the lead-up to the tournament.

South Korea earlier defeated Cuba in back-to-back games last weekend.

South Korea will host Pool A games in the first round against Israel, the Netherlands and Chinese Taipei, starting on March 6. Australia has been paired with Japan, Cuba and China in Pool B, with Tokyo as the host city.

The top two teams from Pools A and B will clash in the second round, which will also take place in Tokyo. South Korea scored the first run in the bottom third. Leadoff man Lee Yong-kyu drew a walk to start the inning, and came all the way around to score on an ensuing double by Seo.

However, the middle of the order that had been quiet in earlier games was silent yet again. No. 3 hitter Kim Tae-kyun popped out to first, and cleanup Choi Hyoung-woo and No. 5 man Lee Dae-ho both grounded out to third, leaving Seo at third base.

South Korea added three more runs in the bottom fourth, with former big leaguer Ryan Rowland-Smith on the mound as Australia’s second pitcher. With one out and men on first and second, No. 9 hitter Kim Jae-ho hit a double down the third base line for a 2-0 lead. Lee Yong-kyu followed up with a sacrifice fly, and Seo hit a single to left to knock in the third run of the frame.

South Korea could have tagged on more runs, but Kim Tae-kyun struck out looking for the inning’s final out.

Australia got a run back in the top sixth, as Mitch Dening hit an RBI single off the left foot of new pitcher Cha Woo-chan. The ball sailed over the outstretched glove of second baseman Seo Geon-chang and into shallow center field, and James Beresford, who’d hit a double off the South Korean left-hander, came home easily.

South Korea responded right away in the bottom sixth, as Kim Tae-kyun delivered an RBI double for a 5-1 cushion.

Australia countered with a pair of runs in the eighth, off South Korea’s third pitcher, Rhee Dae-eun. Allan de San Miguel hit a line-drive solo shot to left field to cut it to 5-2. Trent D’Antonio followed up with a double, and came home to make it a 5-3 game after a wild pitch and a groundout.

Kim Tae-kyun gave South Korea a bit more breathing room with a two-run double in the bottom eighth, and Oh Jae-won’s single later in the inning made it 8-3. Though South Korea pounded out 15 hits, the 3-4-5 hitters, Kim Tae-kyun, Choi Hyoung-woo and Lee Dae-ho, went a combined 2-for-10 with a walk and two strikeouts. Both hits belonged to Kim, who did have three RBIs. Choi and Lee were lifted after the fifth inning.

On the mound, Woo, a right-hander for the Samsung Lions with a sidearm delivery, was far from spectacular, but was good enough to keep Australia off the board. He worked around a one-out double in the second, and stranded a two-out single in the third inning. He made 65 pitches, 41 for strikes, with a mix of fastball, curve, slider and changeup.

Cha walked the tightrope in his three innings of work. He gave up some well-hit balls — three of them flying all the way to the track — before allowing a two-out double to Beresford and that comebacker off the bat of Dening in the sixth.

Cha gave up another double with one out in the seventh, but escaped the inning unscathed. Rhee was just as shaky, giving up a home run to Australia’s No.9 hitter in what turned out to be a two-run eighth inning.

The main delegation of 72 athletes and officials in cross-country skiing, women‘s hockey and biathlon received a hero’s welcome at Incheon International Airport. Athletes in sports that had concluded before Sunday‘s closing ceremony already returned home last week.

South Korea grabbed 16 gold medals and 50 medals in total to finish in second place in the medal standings behind Japan at the Sapporo Asian Winter Games, which wrapped up Sunday after an eight-day run.

Both the gold medal and the overall medal tallies were South Korea’s records at a single Asian Winter Games. At the 2011 competition in Kazakhstan, South Korea won 13 gold medals and 38 medals in all.

South Korea‘s stated goal in Sapporo was to capture at least 15 gold medals, and it surpassed the target on the penultimate day of the competition, thanks to gold medals by alpine skier Jung Dong-hyun and figure skater Choi Da-bin.

South Korea picked up its first gold medal on the first day of the Asian Games, with alpine snowboarder Lee Sang-ho winning the giant slalom title on Feb. 19. And the country kept on rolling, collecting six gold medals from speed skating and five more from short track.

There were also gold medals in alpine skiing and cross-country skiing, an encouraging development for a nation that has long struggled in snow events.

The athletes’ performances bode well for their prospects at the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea‘s PyeongChang. The country sent most of its top winter sports athletes to Sapporo, hoping to see how they would stack up against the regional rivals.

Lee Kee-heung, president of the Korean Sport and Olympic Committee (KSOC), greeted the delegation at the airport, saying the strong Winter Asia ad campaign sets up nicely for the PyeongChang Olympics.

“It’s all due to your dedication and hard work that you were able to accomplish so much in Sapporo,” Lee told the athletes. “And the KSOC will spare no effort to create perfect training environments for you.”

Kim Sang-hang, South Korea‘s chef de mission, said the athletes were able to accomplish their goal “all thanks to the support of our people.

Cross-country skier Kim Magnus, who captured three medals, including a gold in the 1.4km individual sprint classic, said his successful Asian Games gave his confidence a major boost.

”I don’t necessarily think I‘ve gotten closer to an Olympic medal after the Asian Games, but it’s all part of the process,“ said Kim, born to a Norwegian father and a Korean mother, ”It was an unbelievable feeling to accomplish something I‘d wanted to for a long time. And gaining confidence was huge.“

Kim’s gold medal came early in the Asian Games. And figure skater Choi Da-bin emerged as a star later in the competition, as she won the women‘s singles gold medal on Saturday, a day before the closing ceremony.

Choi, 17, became the first South Korean figure skater to win an Asian Games gold. She was a last-minute injury replacement for Park So-youn, and Choi said she exceeded her own expectations in Sapporo.

Choi set new personal-high scores in free skate (126.24) and total points (187.54) en route to the gold.

Choi will next compete at the world championships in Finland starting on March 29, with the 2018 Olympic spots at stake. Choi will once again be an injury replacement there after Kim Na-hyun withdrew with an ankle injury.

”I’ll try to maintain my form until the world championships,“ Choi said. ”It‘s going to be an important event.“

If Choi finishes in the top two at the worlds, South Korea will receive three berths to the Olympics. Skaters finishing between third and 10th place will earn two Olympic berths for their country. Anyone below that will bring home one Olympic ticket.

Choi said she will continue to train in South Korea instead of going overseas.

”If I get hurt while training in a foreign country, I might not get proper treatments and it could make the injury worse,“ she said. ”I plan to stay at home because I’d like to minimize that risk.”

From November last year to April, the PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games is slated to hold 26 international events.

Test events are in full swing this month, with the venues in PyeongChang and the neighboring city of Gangneung having hosted the Cross-country and Nordic combined World Cups and International Skating Union Single Distance Speed Skating Championships.

Alpensia Ski Jumping Centre in Pyeongchang (Park Hyun-koo/The Korea Herald)

These events, however, also presented potential challenges for hosting thousands of tourists in a region where the two main host cities, PyeongChang and Gangneung, only have populations of some 44,000 and 217,000, respectively.

Traffic and accommodations are the primary issues.

One of the events to commemorate the upcoming games, the Gyeongpo World Fireworks Festival held in Gangneung last weekend, managed to attract 150,000 visitors. But most of them were jam-packed into narrow roads made even narrower by illegally parked cars.

It was reported that while the main venue on the beach was open to those with tickets, nearly half of the seats were empty.

Other issues raised by local media include the lack of dining options. The eateries near the games venues offer almost exclusively Korean food. As of early February, no Western-style restaurants — or non-Asian restaurants — could be found near the stadiums in PyeongChang.

Although organizers said participants of the recent test event had not complained about this — as food was provided for them at a hotel — they admitted this could be an issue for those who come to watch the games.

“There will be many international tourists, and it is true that the restaurants and accommodations are in short supply. I believe this will be dealt with before the Olympic Games,” said Kim Hee-sun of the POCOG.

Sung Baik-you, the spokesperson of the POCOG, said the new high-speed rail services connecting Seoul and PyeongChang — slated to be operational by the end of the year — will make up for the lack of hotels.

Even if tourists stay in Seoul, the transportation within PyeongChang remains problematic. The four-lane road leading to the venue for the opening and closing ceremonies is one of the wider roads in the county, but it is not able to serve thousands of visitors at once.

Moreover, there is a lack of parking space around the venues.

“Visitors will not be able to park near the arenas. … The area around the venues will be regulated,” said Kim.

This measure is to minimize traffic congestion around the venues, she explained, but this also means visitors will be confined to shuttle buses when travelling to and from arenas.

Another issue was the lack of directions in foreign languages, particularly on parking and ticketing in the arenas.

The organizers said the year leading up to the opening ceremony will allow them to fix whatever shortcomings the test events have shown.

According to Kim, the POCOG plans to address the traffic problem by operating what the organizers call a “transportation hub.” They will create … several large parking areas that will be placed adjacent to the arenas, from where shuttle buses to the venues will operate.

During the World Curling Federation competition, which begins Thursday, the organizers will hold a trial operation of the transportation hub near Gyeongpo lake.

“We admit that there are areas that need work. We will check to find what these are and make sure that the appropriate measures are taken before the Olympic Games,” Kim said.