SEOUL (Korea) / Shenzhen (China) – Korea couldn’t have asked for a better timing for the overseas experience of Park Ji-Hyun.
Heading into Shenzhen for the FIBA Women’s Asia Cup 2025, Korea’s cabinet is the most copious amongst the eight teams in Division A.
Korea jointly – along with hosts of this edition China – hold the record number of titles, both having emerged champions of FIBA Asia’s flagship event for women a dozen times each.
Korea are also 11 times runners-up, three times bronze medallists and have made the Semi-Finals of all but one edition.
That “all but one” occurrence, which took place in the 2023 edition at Sydney when Korea lost in the Qualification to the Semi-Finals stage to Australia, remains a thorn that pricks the skin in the Korean basketball fraternity.
Acting as a catalyst to the Korean hopes for regaining that status is Park Ji-Hyun’s multi-faceted overseas experience.
Park Ji-Hyun, who led Korea’s scoring at Sydney – averaging 14 points point per game – has ever since played in four different leagues – three of them overseas.
The 2018 WKBL No 1 Draftee and eventual Rookie of the Year wound up her sixth successive WKBL season for Woori Bank Wibee leading the team to their 11th title before moving to Bankstown Bruins in the Australian NBL1, where she averaged 19.4 points, 8.4 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game in 12 games.
The 25-year-old then donned the colours of Tokomanawa Queens in the New Zealand-Tauihi Basketball Aoteroa for 14 games with returns of 15.4 points and 5.6 rebounds per game.
She then moved across continents to Europe and played a critical role in Azul Marino progressing to the Semi-Finals of the Spanish LF league.
“It was a year in which so many things suddenly happened,” said the 25-year-old in the Korean women’s National Team’s maiden interaction with the media.
“I wasn't just on one team, but on three different teams in one year. Thinking back now, I even wonder, 'Has it only been a year?', because in this one year I gained so much experience,” she added.
“It was a challenging, but exciting experience. So many things kept changing. The environment changed; the training schedules and styles kept changing; teammates, coaches, and managers also changed very quickly. It wasn’t easy, but it was a challenge I took on because I wanted to learn from it,” she said.
“I am so happy and glad I did."
Park Ji-Hyun remains hungry and is certain to return to playing overseas the next season too, but the responsibility of playing for the “Taegeuk” mark – the symbol of pride for every Korean sport team – remains right on top her mind.
“Playing for the national team by itself brings a sense of responsibility. But this this time with my experience of playing overseas this responsibility is even more,” she said.
FIBA