By Jolene Latimer
Of all the differences between curling in Korea and North America, what Bo-yeong Lee will remember most from her first Grand Slam of Curling Tier 1 isn’t the ice — it’s the casino.
“It was the first time I actually saw inside a casino, and that was a culture shock,” she said through an interpreter from her Lake Tahoe hotel room at a casino resort on the Nevada side of the lake. "There are only one or two that locals can go to in all of Korea.”
The 19-year-old alternate for South Korea’s Team Kang is too young to gamble in Nevada, but the sight of her first casino will stick with her.
In the meantime, her team is putting all their chips on their on-ice performance. After earning their way to their first Tier 1 appearance at KIOTI GSOC Tahoe, they’re looking to keep building on their momentum from recent years, which includes topping the podium at World Junior Curling Championships last season and earning their second consecutive national junior title in Korea last month.
They finished the round robin this week with a 2-2 record and stunned Team Einarson, the four-time Scotties Tournament of Hearts champions, with a 7-0 shutout in a tiebreaker to qualify for the playoffs.
“When we set our goals, we set them high — sometimes too high — so that we can believe in ourselves to go up to the top level. We watch a lot of games and try to mimic the high-end teams to be able to become one,” she said.
Their goal is to become Korea’s national team and compete at the Winter Olympics — a dream Lee never envisioned just eight years ago, when she was introduced to curling as a sixth grader watching the PyeongChang Games. She recalls gathering with classmates in the school gym to cheer on Team Kim's silver-medal performance.
“They are rockstars,” Lee said. She hails from the same hometown as Team Kim, so Olympic fever was at an all-time high amongst her classmates.
“They were people from our neighborhood. They are known to everyone in Korea, but especially in our hometown,” she said.
It was those Games that piqued her interest in curling; the following year, she joined a team.
“I never thought I’d be here, I thought I’d just curl within Korea, playing the same domestic teams every season. But one thing led to another, I’m here now, and it’s a dream come true for me and the whole team to play against and with stars we saw in the media. It fuels me and the team, we feel like we have to play better every time we face those teams to be able to compete against them,” she said.
Doing it alongside teammates who have turned into friends makes it more special.
“Teamwork is our best strength. That often leads to great shot-making; some of the difficult shots are doable because of our teamwork,” she said.
Lee says each person on the team brings a different element to the dynamic. She’s known as the happiest and brightest personality and often tasked with buoying the mood, but she said it’s their second, Min-seo Kim, who can always be counted on to get her point across loudly on the ice.
“She’s got great enunciation,” Lee said.
She called lead Ji-soo Kim the one with the best smile, third Yu-jeong Kim the fittest and best sweeper, and skip Bo-bae Kang the most misunderstood.
“The Korean media have dubbed her the 'Ice Princess' because she doesn’t smile and doesn’t show emotions, but when you get to know her, she’s the fun one of the team,” Lee said.
That bond helps them stay grounded through long stretches away from home — but Lee also has her own way of staying motivated on the road. When she needs to dig deep, she turns to highlight reels. Not just of curlers, but teams across all sports, as long as they’re winning. Most recently, it was MLB’s World Series matchup featuring the Toronto Blue Jays and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“The whole atmosphere and mood get me going in the right direction,” she said.
That strategy seems to be working. At the Autumn Gold Curling Classic in Alberta, Team Kang made a statement, defeating Team Tirinzoni 4–2 in their first-ever meeting to advance to the semifinals.
“Our whole team felt the presence of Tirinzoni and played with respect. We were honoured to play against them and learned a lot,” she said.
Those are the same takeaways her team will take home from Tahoe. It’s been a bonspiel of milestones, growth and learning for the team, each step part of their long-term vision.
“Whatever standing we record, it’s a good experience with such great players around the world,” she said. “We just hope something like this event could be in Korea — that would be just awesome.”
