Buan-gun Office Yacht Lee Young-eun Wins at Jeju International Competition

Same Team Josucheol Men's Division 3rd Place 'Good Performance'
Only Domestic Official International Tournament Standout
Expectations for Buan Cup National Tournament at End of October

Yacht athlete Lee Young-eun (Buan County Office·Kitefoil) won the women's division at the "2nd Jeju International Super Cup Kiteboarding Competition," held over five days from the 4th to the 8th at the beach area of Jongdal-ri, Gujwa-eup, Jeju. Jo Soo-cheol (Kitefoil), from the same team, placed third in the men's division.

Now in its second year, this competition is the only official international kiteboarding event in Korea. Kiteboarding, a yacht sub-discipline, is an official sport in the Olympics and Asian Games. Earlier, on August 31 (local time), the Korea Kiteboarding Association was officially approved as a national member at the IWSA (International Wingfoil Association) General Assembly held in Switzerland.

Lee Young-eun, who won the women's division, is a bronze medalist from the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games and a leading star of Korean yachting, actively competing on the international stage.

On the 8th, the awards ceremony for the women's division of the 2nd Jeju International Super Cup Kiteboarding Competition. From the left: Kim Seong-hyun, Chairman of the Competition Committee; Saki Gajiwa (3rd place, Japan); Lee Young-eun (1st place, Buan County Office); Kim Min-seul (2nd place, Dongmyung University 1).
[Photo by Kim Geon-wan yaccht@]

Lee Young-eun said, "I am grateful to Buan County Office for their support, which helped me achieve good results in the competition," adding, "I will not be satisfied with this victory and will devote all my efforts to challenging the Olympics."

In the men's division, Jo Soo-cheol (Buan County Office) had to settle for third place behind world-ranked 7th Qiuin Huang (China) and Bob (Thailand) due to a shortage of matches caused by weather conditions.

This competition was divided into three classes: Kitefoil (international grade), Twintip, and Wing Foil, where participants competed fiercely for their country's honor. About 300 people, including athletes and international officials from 13 countries?Korea, China, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, Spain, France, Canada, India, Hong Kong, Thailand, Vietnam, and Russia?participated.

Kwon Ik-hyun, the governor of Buan County, said, "Kiteboarding, a new popular yacht sport, is a board sport where you fly a kite over the sea," adding, "The Buan County Office yacht professional team is nurturing and developing this thrilling and spectacular water sport."

Meanwhile, Buan County, a mecca of marine sports, will host the "Buan Cup National Kiteboarding Competition" for the first time at Byeonsan Beach at the end of October as a regionally specialized project. The county is working hard to promote this competition as a local tourism product.