Son Seo-yeon, a rising star in Korean women’s volleyball who won the U-16 Asian Championship last year
Leading the way to the quarterfinals of the World Championship
U-17 He scored 179 points in nine games
2nd place in scoring
U-19 World Championship, national team, etc. Preparation work begins to achieve new goals
Son Seo-yeon (16, Seonmyeong Girls’ High School), who does not want to lose to anyone, is called the second Kim Yeon-kyung’s biggest weapon. At the U-17 Women’s Volleyball World Championship, which ended on the 17th, he led South Korea to sixth place and tied for second place in scoring (179 points), but he was not satisfied. Son Seo-yeon, who can’t afford to lose, visited the gym the day after returning from a long flight in Chile on the other side of the world and prepared for another leap forward.
In a recent interview with Maeil Business Newspaper, Son Seo-yeon said, “If you skip the exercise for a day because you are tired, you should more than double the next day,” and stressed, “You should not neglect training to achieve new goals, such as doing well and being selected as a national team at the U-19 World Championship.”
Son Seo-yeon, who became a high school student this year, started volleyball in earnest when she was a third grader in elementary school. As a regular student, his desire to win also played a decisive role in joining the volleyball team. Since then, he was selected as the youth representative for the first time last year, showing rapid growth, and participated in the U-16 Asian Championship.
Son Seo-yeon, who scored 141 points, led South Korea to the championship and swept the top scorer and MVP award. This time, he proved that his skills worked on the world stage. He scored 179 points in nine games and tied for second place in scoring.
Son Seo-yeon said, “I learned what my strengths and weaknesses are through this competition. In order to become a better player, I think I need to supplement my receiving and defensive abilities. We will make more efforts to become recognized globally beyond Asia,” he pledged.
He cited attack power and blocking as his weapons. “I think it’s my own strength to finish with a score in an offensive situation and to prevent spikes,” he said. “In the case of blocking, I think he opened his eyes anew this year. “Now I’m looking at the opponent’s movements and taking the next move, and it’s definitely better than last year,” he explained.
He also has excellent physical abilities. Son Seo-yeon, who is 182cm tall, has a spike reach and a blocking reach of 295cm and 287cm, respectively. It exceeded 295cm and 282cm of Kang So-hwi (180cm), the national outside heater, the best player in the women’s division of the Korean professional volleyball V-League.
Hard work is also one of Son Seo-yeon’s special talents. Realizing the importance of the preparation process early in elementary school, he became the epitome of sincerity in leaving the training site first and last. “The best way to shake off negative thoughts about the outcome is through training. When you sweat hard, your thoughts disappear. I’m the type to get anxious if I don’t exercise, so I’m even doing night training myself,” he said.
Son Seo-yeon’s spike, which has a high success rate that makes the opponent shake, was completed through night training. “There is no skill to be mine in one day,” he said. “You have to work steadily to get something. I think I did night training almost every day to strengthen my attack power,” he stressed.
He said that winning the U-16 Asian Championship last year and advancing to the quarterfinals of the U-17 World Championship were the results of his team’s efforts. Although South Korea won the U-16 Asian Championship last year, not many expected it to do well at the U-17 World Championship. It didn’t seem easy to pass the group stage as strong teams such as the United States, Italy and Turkiye were all out.
However, the U-17 national team, united with captain Son Seo-yeon at the center, was strong. It showed the power of Korean women’s volleyball by winning all five games in the group stage and defeating the Philippines in the round of 16. Son Seo-yeon said, “Volleyball doesn’t lead to good results just because you’re good alone. Each position must play its role well to create synergy. “The spirit of the original team helped Korea to perform well in recent international competitions,” he said.
Son Seo-yeon, who knows well that her development stops the moment she is satisfied, has already erased her good memories in her head. He immediately began preparations to participate in the newly set U-19 World Championship and select the national team.
Son Seo-yeon said, “I’m trying to focus on making up for my shortcomings in the rest of the period so that I can be selected for the U-19 national team,” adding, “I really want to play as a national team someday. I will continue to develop until I become a necessary player for the national team,” he said.
He also expressed his ambition to become a player worthy of the modifier of the second Kim Yeon-kyung. Son Seo-yeon said, “It is true that I feel a lot of pressure when I hear the story of the next generation Kim Yeon-kyung,” but added, “I feel grateful for singing in the sense that I should do better than now.” It’s also motivating me to work harder, but I’ll be a player who meets my expectations,” he said with a smile.
Playing in overseas leagues is another goal that Son Seo-yeon has. Son, who confirmed her potential through the U-17 World Championships, now dreams of a day to test herself on a bigger stage. Son Seo-yeon said, “After playing two international competitions, I came to think about overseas expansion,” adding, “If I have a chance, I’m going to try overseas leagues.”
