All-time Korean volleyball legend to officially retire on Oct. 18

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All-time Korean volleyball legend to officially retire on Oct. 18

Published: 12 Oct. 2025, 13:58 Updated: 12 Oct. 2025, 16:26

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Kim Yeon-koung speaks at the V League awards ceremony at Swiss Grand Hotel in western Seoul on April 14. [YONHAP]

Korean volleyball legend Kim Yeon-koung will say farewell to fans at a retirement ceremony held by her former team, the Heungkuk Life Insurance Pink Spiders, on Oct. 18.

The event will take place during the 2025-26 V League opening match between the Pink Spiders and Daejeon Jung Kwan Jang Red Sparks at Samsan World Gymnasium in Incheon, the Pink Spiders announced on Saturday.

While the Pink Spiders have yet to disclose details of the ceremony, the team is reportedly planning to retire Kim’s No. 10 jersey, effectively enshrining her legacy.

Kim, 37, retired after the end of the 2024-25 V League season in April, which she capped off by sweeping both league and championship titles with the Pink Spiders.

Her career has spanned 20 years, during which she also spent time playing in Japan, Turkey and China, clinching five V League titles — in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2023 and 2025 — in addition to four championship trophies in 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2025 in Korea.

She was also an integral part of the Korean national team at the 2012 and 2020 Summer Olympics, leading the country to semifinal finishes at both tournaments.

The retirement event by the Pink Spiders on Oct. 18 comes after Kim held a farewell ceremony at the KYK Invitational 2025 All-Star game series at Incheon Samsan World Gymnasium in Incheon on May 17 and 18, where she participated as a player-coach in the exhibition series featuring the national squad and stars from around the world.

Kim has featured in MBC's volleyball-themed show “The Wonder Coach,” as a head coach since her retirement, where she coaches the Pilsung Wonderdogs with the goal of making the squad a pro team and entering the V League. The Wonderdogs consist of expelled players from the V League or retired players, who look to play in the pro league again.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KO BONG-JUN, PAIK JI-HWAN [[email protected]]