Eunsoo got two spots back!! :hap57: That darling was under immense pressure and had an injury, but she managed to stay in the top 10 and got two spots back, I am utterly, wholeheartedly proud of her. Oh squirtle, whatever comes you did great at this Worlds
If Young goes up Korea are likely to get three spots!!
And to bring more stress on myself: Is ATS going to release a statement or not? I'm tired of being anxious about it all the time
(deep sigh) Hello, you must be new to Korean figure skating. To answer your questions, the short version is: KSU (Korean Fed) is utterly corrupt and incompetent, there is close to zero support for the skaters, and figure skating only took root after Yuna appeared out of nowhere and became the Queen. I assume you're thinking of Russia as the 'standard' way, well Korea can't be farther from that.
Long version answers, but please do take it with a grain of salt since I am only just a fan, and have been one only since the Queen and Vancouver.
- KSU is corrupt to the core, there are multiple issues for all three of short track, speed skating, and figure skating. Hell, for short track it has been revealed that the athletes were physically, mentally, and sexually abused by the coaches, and short track is the most successful and therefore most influential branch. Need I say more about the situation here.
- Funding does exist, but it's not really enough (winter sports are not that popular in Korea, and for skating sports the most successful, and therefore most popular one is short track) for the skaters to get what all they need. And sponsorship started happening after the Queen started winning everything (the companies that sponsored her, KB Bank most notably, started sponsoring figure skating competitions and skaters), so it's been about 10 years only. The skaters often have to personally pay for their training/supplies/etc, sometimes even if they get funding.
- When Yuna was a junior she had to practice in rinks made for short track skaters, there were no proper rinks back then. Now there are a few figure skating rinks, but not enough for the skaters to train freely. I've never skated so I don't know how crowded the rinks are, but I don't think the skaters have enough time or space.
- There are born-and-bred Korean trainers, the few skaters that existed before Yuna happened became the coaches. Some notable coaches include Coach Shin (the Queen's first (and after her break with Brian Orser, the subsequent) coach), Coach Chi (Eunsoo used to train with her before moving to California), Coach Lee (Dabin's coach during the Olympics), Coach Choi (Haneul's coach), Coach Han (coaches a lot of junior girls). They're all women by the way, there are few male coaches but none are the primary coaches of known/rising skaters. Korea not having male skaters date way back, see. And
zero coaches for pairs. Since the Olympics there have been efforts to cultivate Ice Dance by this one person (forgot his name), he helped our only junior ID team form (both came over from singles). Their coach is a woman too, though (and not specializing in dance for what I know).
- Korea has some history of ballet (thanks to Kang Soojin and all), but ballet is not widely spread as in, say, Russia, and is considered a 'high' art that only a select few enjoy. And doing ballet in Korea is difficult in itself, so ballet-trained skaters are virtually non-existent. Same applies to artistic (i.e. non-pop) dancing. The roots for figure skating doesn't have strong roots here, mostly because they didn't arise naturally and was planted during colonialism and such, but that's a whole history thing that doesn't belong here.
- Management companies exist because 1)it makes it easier for sponsors to make contracts 2)once a skater is a known figure they are exposed to the media. They don't supply the money for the skaters to train abroad, their sponsors and/or their families do. The management company's job is to 1)help the skater gain sponsors 2)look after the skater's schedule and help provide the equipment 3)represent the skater for sponsor meetings/media attention, there's other things they do too but that's basically the most important things they do.
- Some parents are ambitious, yes. But most parents are just trying to support their child follow their dream, especially for elite skaters. You can't train in only Korea to reach your full potential, the environment and everything are insufficient. Eunsoo chose to move to California because for her talent to bloom she needed better. Her mother lives with her actually, it's her father (and her puppy) that she sees only once or twice a year (if that few, she does come to Korea for domestic competitions and there are too many of them). She trains for most of the week, yes, but that's only making optimum use of her time. She does have a life outside skating (she bakes, she goes shopping with her mother, etc), and most of all the lifestyle is of her choice. Same applies to Junhwan, he trains six days a week and only takes Sundays off to study (he's a senior in high school so he needs to), but he has said that the decision to do so is for him to become an athlete of a level that he desires to be.
This got long and I may have gotten some stuff wrong (please, other Korean skating fans, correct me if I did), but I tried to explain to the best of my extent.