Next generation waits in wings as sport climbers prepare for Asian Games

When Korean sport climbers Sa Sol and Seo Chae-hyun jet off to Hangzhou, China for the Asian Games next week, 16-year-old Kim Chae-young will be closely monitoring every single dyno and heel hook.

Kwon Ki-beom, left, and Kim Chae-young pose for a photo during an interview with the JoongAng Ilbo at Seoul Mountain Climbing & Culture Center in western Seoul on Aug. 25. [JOONGANG ILBO]

When Korean sport climbers Sa Sol and Seo Chae-hyun jet off to Hangzhou, China for the Asian Games next week, 16-year-old Kim Chae-young will be closely monitoring every single dyno and heel hook.

“I want to be a climber like Kim Ja-in,” Kim Chae-young said during an interview with the JoongAng Ilbo at Seoul Mountain Climbing & Culture Center in western Seoul on Aug. 25.

Kim Ja-in, Sa Sol and Seo Chae-hyun are the three most prominent sport climbers in Korean history.

At 35-years-old, Kim Ja-in is already seen as Korean sport climbers first great athlete. Bursting on to the scene in 2010, Kim Ja-in has over 30 gold World Cup medals, two world championships and 14 Asian championships to her name, becoming the oldest woman ever to win a lead World Cup gold this year. She did not make the cut for the Asian Games this year, but could still compete for Korea at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Sa came to prominence in 2018, when she took silver at the 2018 Asian Games and the World Championship, with 19-year-old Seo made a name for herself when she won the overall lead World Cup title in her debut season in 2019.

Kim Chae-young is hoping to be the fourth athlete to join that list.

Standing at 4.92 feet, the 16-year-old claimed a silver medal in the lead discipline at the 2023 ISFC Youth World Championships that took place in western Seoul from Aug. 18 through Aug. 27.

Sport climbing is a sport in which climbers compete in three disciplines: Speed, bouldering and lead.

In speed, athletes compete to climb an identical 15-meter (50-foot) wall set at an angle of 95 degrees faster than their opponents.

In bouldering, athletes climb different routes without ropes within four minutes. The routes vary in difficulty and athletes do not get to see them in advance.

In lead, athletes attempt to climb as high as they can on a 15-meter wall within six minutes.

Kim Chae-yeong’s silver was the result of her intense training. Still in high school, she trains from 3 p.m. through 9 p.m. a day.

“I competed with Kim Ja-in and Seo Chae-hyun in this year’s national team selection,” Kim Chae-young said. “I really want to be a national team member.”

Kwon Ki-beom, 17, is another climber that secured a medal at this year’s Youth World Championships, claiming a gold in the U-18 lead discipline.

That gold was Kwon’s first-ever medal, won at his second international tournament.

“I won the award as I did [climbing] for fun,” Kwon said. “I played a lot in the playground when I was a fifth-grader and those around me suggested my parents let me start climbing. They then took me to the climbing gym in northern Seoul.”

Kwon trains at multiple climbing gyms in Seoul as if he is trying to master them all.

“The age between 16 to 17 is when sport climbers’ skills significantly improve,” Lee Chang-hyun, youth national sport climbing team head coach said. “Kwon’s ability when grabbing a climbing hold is magnificent. Kim Chae-young has a strong mentality and manages her fitness well. I think that the two will be able to do well in the World Cup too.”

Kwon and Kim Chae-young, however, will not compete in the Hangzhou Asian Games, set to start at the end of September, as they did not earn a spot in the national team.

Alongside Sa and Seo in the women's bouldering and lead competition, Lee Do-hyun and Chon Jong-won will represent Korea in the men's competition at the Hangzhou Asian Games. In the speed discipline, which prioritized how fast you get to the top of the wall over anything else, Noh Hee-ju, Jung Ji-min and Choi Na-woo will compete in the women's event, with Lee Yong-su, Lee Seung-beom and Jung Yong-jun in the men's event.

BY KIM YOUNG-JU [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]