Legendary Women's Basketball Coach Youngbo Lim, Who Excelled in Korea and Japan, Dies at 92

Youngbo Lim, a former director who was active in both South Korean and Japanese women's basketball, has passed away.

Youngbo Lim, Former Director

According to his family on the 23rd, Lim died of old age on this day. He was 92 years old.

He was born in September 1933 in Haeju, Hwanghae Province. During the Korean War, he came south as a member of the North Korean army, was captured as a prisoner of war by the South Korean military, and was released as an anti-communist prisoner, after which he served in the South Korean army. While serving in the military, he began playing basketball, later becoming a semi-professional player. However, due to injury, he retired and started his coaching career in 1955 as a coach at Sudo Girls’ High School.

Known for his strict leadership style that earned him the nickname "Tiger Coach," Lim led Kookmin Bank to a 28-game winning streak in the 1980s, marking a golden era. He also served as the head coach of the South Korean women's national basketball team.

Starting in 1997, he took charge of the Japan Airlines (JAL) women's basketball team, which was in the third division at the time, and led them to the championship at the 2005 All-Japan Basketball Championship. He coached JAL until 2009 and, from 2011, served as a traveling coach in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. The story of the JAL women's basketball team's victory was later adapted into both a novel and a film in Japan.

Even in his 80s, in 2013, Lim was appointed head coach of the Yamanashi Queenbees, a Japanese women's basketball team. The Yamanashi Queenbees had lost all 22 games in the 2012-2013 season, but in December 2013, they managed to break a 35-game losing streak.

He is survived by his sons Daejin Lim, Daeyoung Lim, and Daehak Lim, and his daughter Kyungmi Lim. The funeral will be held in Room 2 of Yonsei University Yongin Funeral Hall, with the burial scheduled for the 25th.