By Min Lee
Ahead of the inaugural Junior GSOC U25 and U15 events in Nisku, Alta., Team Bobae Kang of Jeonbuk claimed the championship title at the Korea Junior Curling Championships.
The reigning world junior champions topped Pool B with a 2–0 record in the round robin, then defeated Yubong Girls' High School 8-4 in the semifinal and dominated Songhyeon High School 12–1 in the final to secure back-to-back national titles.
The team will aim to defend its World Junior Curling Championship crown in Tårnby, Denmark, next February.
On the mixed doubles side, Team Bobae Kang and Hakjun Kim also captured the national title. They went undefeated in the round robin with a 3–0 record, then beat Team Park/Kang from Chungbuk 9–3 in the semifinal and Team Lee/Kim from Daegu 8–3 in the final.
The duo earned a bronze medal at the 2025 Booster Juice World Junior Mixed Doubles Championship in Edmonton earlier this year and will look to change the colour of that medal at next season’s championship in Geneva, Switzerland.
It is shaping up to be another busy year for Kang, but she has no plans to slow down.
"It is always an honour to represent my country and compete with athletes from around the world who are my age," she said.
Reflecting on her GSOC experience, she added, "Ever since I was a kid, I’ve dreamed of competing in the Slams. We definitely felt the energy from the crowd at the Tier 2 event in London, and it felt like the players were enjoying it just as much.”
Team Kang narrowly missed the playoffs last month at the GSOC Masters Tier 2 in London, Ont., losing a 4–3 extra-end heartbreaker to Team Tabitha Peterson in the tiebreaker.
This week at the Junior GSOC U25 in Nisku, Alta., they’ll be looking to bounce back.
"Adapting to the ice was key," Kang noted. "Now that we’ve experienced our first GSOC event, we understand the importance and the magnitude of it. We’re ready to keep climbing and compete with the best in the world."
It certainly sounds like this will not be the last time we see Team Kang on the GSOC stage.
