Korean NT 2021

  • With KYK no longer a part of the NT, it looks like they are starting to push for the return of the Lee twins. Today, Jo Hea-jung, a member of the NT that won the bronze medal at the 1976 Montréal Olympics, said in an interview that she thinks the NT will be able to achieve a good result in the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou if LJY and LDY return to fill the void left by KYK and Kim Suji.


    I won't be surprised if the twins will be part of the 2022 NT but also won't expect anything less than drama. There are many "fans" already voicing their concerns lol.


    Interesting point, and I see, by suminj's post that it is already a controversial one.

    By the way, at this point how do the twins stand in this whole thing? IIRC, I remember reading they were banned indeterminately by KVA and I think maybe I saw people saying they might eventually be able to play abroad? Right now are they waiting for some official authorization for that to happen? Also, after they apologized did they ever express something else later? Like, that they would be cheering for their colleagues in the Olympics, or that they wished to be able to play volleyball again, or something like that? Or did they just vanish from the social media world? (I have no idea, I can barely keep up with this side of the news about players from my own country...)

    Yang Hyojin announced her retirement from NT ( i personally think she could go on for at least 1-2 more years)


    https://n.news.naver.com/sport…ll/article/421/0005544867

    Damn, they're being just brutal with these anouncements! It seems like everyone is quitting these days! :|

  • And on the case of Heejin's, sounds like sasaeng fans to me. Stalking, invasion of privacy, etc and since Rio OG - 5 long years. How did she endure it? Could have taken legal action earlier.


    Some crazy world we live in. :white:

  • Sad to hear about Yang Hyojin's retirement, she did say she was intending to but I was hoping for one more cycle, or at least a few more years :(

    But I guess since she's married now and already achieved 4th place this Olympics. It's time for a new generation of players in Korea.


    Scary to hear that Heejin has stalkers too who have been harassing not only her but her family and acquaintances since Rio 2016...


    Postyates just a summary for you below (bit long)

  • I think since Hyojin has decided that she doesn't want to hang around till Paris 2024, it makes sense to retire now and start giving the young MBs more chances to play. But... ;(;(;(;(;(


    I will miss Hyojin's block on international stage. Here's one that got everyone excited.


    Unexpected score with a dig (plus two amazing digs from KYK and Soyoung)


    The evolution of Yang Hyojin's ace dance:


    With all three retiring, hopefully we'll get to see more content during the off-season from them.

    img.gif

  • i have a question, why do they call hyojin yang pong?

    It's a nickname that fellow volleyball player Baek Mok-hwa gave Hyojin a long time ago. Then the unnies started to use it --> the coaching staff started to use it --> all the fans started to use it. (It got popular enough that fans even use it to call Hyojin's attack style of tipping the ball into empty space.) ^^


    The answer was given by Hyojin in this video (featuring a very cute Gwiyomi dance):


    The nickname appeared in this Special V clip from the 07-08 season (at 6:14):

  • Thank you very much the summary, it's very comprehensive. By the way, totally by chance yesterday I was skimmig by Volleyball.it's section about the international market and learned that the twins were somehow linked to Greece's PAOK, but had no idea about the circumstances.


    I think it's tricky. I believe they should be held responsible for their actions and receive some sort of reasonable penalty. At the same, it seems to be a messy situation, since they claim things weren't exactly like it's been presented, and that allegedly Pink Spiders forced them to issue that formal apology. But I think they should be allowed to play again. At the same time, if they're ever to allowed to play in the Korean League again, I wonder which teams would be willing to offer them a contract...


    Do you guys think that realistically we could expect to seem them in the NT in the next olympic cycle up to Paris? Do you think they should be pardoned?

  • Thank you very much the summary, it's very comprehensive. By the way, totally by chance yesterday I was skimmig by Volleyball.it's section about the international market and learned that the twins were somehow linked to Greece's PAOK, but had no idea about the circumstances.


    I think it's tricky. I believe they should be held responsible for their actions and receive some sort of reasonable penalty. At the same, it seems to be a messy situation, since they claim things weren't exactly like it's been presented, and that allegedly Pink Spiders forced them to issue that formal apology. But I think they should be allowed to play again. At the same time, if they're ever to allowed to play in the Korean League again, I wonder which teams would be willing to offer them a contract...


    Do you guys think that realistically we could expect to seem them in the NT in the next olympic cycle up to Paris? Do you think they should be pardoned?

    The situation is indeed messy like you said. suminj provided the comprehensive version, but along the way there are many many drama. Like how Heungkuk had to backtrack their decision to register the twins for the new season (but still ban them from playing) due to an organized effort from people who don't want to see the twins in the league (protesting truck).

    Or how the transfer situation went from Dayeong signed with PAOK but Heungkuk didn't know about it to Heungkuk helped Dayeong with the transferring process to Dayeong wants to stay in Korea but Heungkuk forced her to transfer and now it's at Dayeong and Jaeyeong have flown to Greece and Heungkuk is no longer involved in this.

    I really thought the transfer wouldn't happen when the twins said that it against DY's wishes but oh boy I was sooo wrong.


    About the penalty, the twins did receive some. They lost their job at Heungkuk and as well as their spots on the Olympics team even though they played a major role in the qualification process. Has this "punishment" been enough? Some will say yes. To others, it will never be enough.


    Imo the most important thing that will decide the twins' future in the NT and domestic league is the result of the police investigation (not sure what's taking them so long :gone:). Both sides (twins and victims) have come on TV and some claims they made are direct opposite of each other (the knife thing for example). The KVA has been citing this scandal as the reason for banning the twins from the NT as well as for not issuing the ITCs they need to play abroad. So if the investigation result is in favor of the twins, I think returning to the NT is not out of the question.


    Let's not forget about the feud between DY and KYK. At the moment, a common view is that DY tried to sabotage KYK's career by those Instagram posts of hers. So there's plenty of hate directed at the twins from KYK fans, and unfortunately I don't think this hate train will stop, regardless of the investigation result.

    Can't help but wonder if this will somehow be resolved or if we'll ever find out what happened.

  • Or how the transfer situation went from Dayeong signed with PAOK but Heungkuk didn't know about it to Heungkuk helped Dayeong with the transferring process to Dayeong wants to stay in Korea but Heungkuk forced her to transfer and now it's at Dayeong and Jaeyeong have flown to Greece and Heungkuk is no longer involved in this.

    I really thought the transfer wouldn't happen when the twins said that it against DY's wishes but oh boy I was sooo wrong.

    Oh, the humanity! :what:

  • Let's not forget about the feud between DY and KYK. At the moment, a common view is that DY tried to sabotage KYK's career by those Instagram posts of hers. So there's plenty of hate directed at the twins from KYK fans, and unfortunately I don't think this hate train will stop, regardless of the investigation result.

    Can't help but wonder if this will somehow be resolved or if we'll ever find out what happened.

    i think besides the hate from KYK's fans, the general public don't have a favourable opinion of DY regarding this (if we put aside what they did when they were younger).


    I did ask 2 of my korean friends (they don't watch volleyball btw, but knew about the issue) their thoughts on it, they said KYK is very respected in Korea, so for DY do something like that (and we don't know the actual story) is totally out of line.


    I personally think, they likely would be back in NT for the next OG, (i don't know how they will return haha), if the police investigation is in favour of them, it'll be easier. If it isn't... maybe time and their absence (lie low in greece) will help.


    team korea does need a OH and a (better) setter. :gone:

  • Or how the transfer situation went from Dayeong signed with PAOK but Heungkuk didn't know about it to Heungkuk helped Dayeong with the transferring process to Dayeong wants to stay in Korea but Heungkuk forced her to transfer and now it's at Dayeong and Jaeyeong have flown to Greece and Heungkuk is no longer involved in this.

    I really thought the transfer wouldn't happen when the twins said that it against DY's wishes but oh boy I was sooo wrong.

    Since we decided to delve into this topic...

    What she said was that she would have preferred to stay in Korea to play for Pink Spiders instead of being sent overseas (PS wanted to keep JY in Korea, and transfer DY overseas). So it simply wasn't her intention to, not that she was necessarily strongly against it.

    But the decision was upsetting because the news release made Koreans hate her even more, thinking she was arranging all these behind the back of her club & KVA during their suspension.


    Factors why they went ahead with it:

    - She was already signed to PAOK, not sure how things changed with PS out of the picture but it'll be difficult to cancel the contract

    - No club in Korea let them compete, as sports players they have to find a way to stay in condition. By July it'll be hard for them to find another club/league to play in, so might as well continue on.


    Let's not forget about the feud between DY and KYK. At the moment, a common view is that DY tried to sabotage KYK's career by those Instagram posts of hers. So there's plenty of hate directed at the twins from KYK fans, and unfortunately I don't think this hate train will stop, regardless of the investigation result.

    Can't help but wonder if this will somehow be resolved or if we'll ever find out what happened.

    Honestly, I think this part is the most contentious of all.


    As for returning to NT, I honestly just cancelled the possibility of it in my mind though I'd like for it to happen, its very unlikely. Everyone who watch volleyball in Korea will know KYK after all, so with everything the public isn't going to want them back or represent the country.

    There was a rule that any sports athlete suspended for 3 years or more will be permanently suspended from NT. But due to recent bullying news, I think they are revising that to 1 year or more. Not entirely sure, but if I interpreted the article correctly, it'll mean that if twins are still suspended till next year >1 year mark, they will be permanently banned from NT.


    Idk why the lawsuit is taking so long to conclude but with the victims stance its clear they don't intend to back down. But any potential return will rely on the lawsuit results. KVA said they will consider changing their stance when the results come out, but I just question why KVA didn't investigate it themselves before suspending twins from NT right before Olympics. (they likely just took the apology letter as full acknowledgement, and twins had no chance to voice out due to Pink Spiders stopping them)

  • I believe they should be held responsible for their actions and receive some sort of reasonable penalty. Do you think they should be pardoned?

    What do you suggest is a reasonable penalty for bullying in middle school when the perpetrator was underage?

    Whatever they committed should have been punished back then as students like suspension from school or not being allowed to play for the school team.
    If the victims words are true, I think the adults in charge like the coach should be made to take responsibility for not reporting this to the school and showing favouritism to players. If it was true that a knife was held to the victim's neck while being threatened, their parents should have reported it to the police, and have a police/hospital record of it + DY punished by law. The school should also have kept a discipline record of this on the student's record.

    What we hear from DY is that she had kneeled and apologized to the entire team & teammate back then and resolved it with her, and twins had switched schools in middle school too.


    According to knetz, the only way back is if they receive the forgiveness of their victims.

    I agree to only a certain extent, but because while the victim isn't obliged to grant forgiveness at all, I don't think it means that they have full rights to decide whether or not the perpetrator can move on with their lives. Even criminals have deadlines to their prison sentences.


    Regarding this, because I've been following the news, I do feel I believe the words of the twins more than the victims.

    (but it doesn't change that what DY did in the past was wrong, and if we don't accept that apology she already made in the past, I think the suspension from NT & past v-league season is already a lot + losing all their endorsements + having their past mistakes made public & stay with them for life. But, what about JY who didn't do anything?)


    I think NT participation is up to Korea Association & Koreans to decide since it represents the country. V-league is up to the clubs whether they want to sign players with such reputation/history.

    But I don't think it makes sense to block them from playing overseas too. Being a volleyball player is literally their livelihood, they became pros right after high school so they have no other certification.

  • Also not to mention, Double standards in Korea is severe.

    That too, but its also due to the large difference in their popularity, and made worse since it involved KYK


    But one difference is that his victim was willing to accept his apology and settle

    It doesn't seem like the twins accusers have any intention at all to do so (+ whether or not their claims were really false/exaggerated, we don't know yet)
    Not that they are obliged to accept apology and forgive as victims, but it puts into question how much power we place into their hands to decide the future of their bullies even if they are apologetic and have changed

  • Now I have to ask you about this KGC black sheep incident... :whistle:

    To be perfectly honest, I actually don't know what exactly should be considered a fair penalty, cause this case... it just seems too messed up. But I think I agree with you, because all your points sound very reasonable to me. I think there is way too many issues involved in this. The media aspect seems to be key, cause it involves the previous image people had about Dae-Yeong, her relationship to Kim Yeon-Koung, etc. Also the previous history of KVA and the clubs handling this types of issues... So, yeah... I definitely believe the judicial process should run its course to determine what exactly was the twins' responsibility in this matter. But I don't find fair to ostracize them indefinitely, making it impossible to for them to play again, wherever it is.


    As for the NT, I think if all of this got cleared up, I think they should be given the opportunity to return. But as of right now, yeah, it doesn't seem like that's gonna happen. The KVA would have to backtrack a lot on how they handled the whole situation and it doesn't seem likely they ever will.

  • Now I have to ask you about this KGC black sheep incident... :whistle:

    Haha er, basically Yeom had a really bad season as a setter on KGC and fans noticed that other KGC players were excluding her from their celebrations on court/ off court and basically ostracizing her. Treating her differently, or not hitting her sets properly.

    Fans then found out that multiple KGC teammates unfollowed her on Instagram, and some had even blocked her (supposedly OJY).


    After the news broke out, KGC acknowledged that there was an argument within the team due to their poor performance, but they had resolved it after performing better. The KGC teammates immediately followed Yeom on Instagram a day after the article was released about the discord.

    (source: https://www.insight.co.kr/news/324317, https://www.insight.co.kr/news/324497)


    It was so much worse than what happened on Pink Spiders, which KYK said happened due to a misunderstanding that was resolved.

    The atmosphere on court for KGC was really horrible for quite a long period of time, whereas for Pink Spiders, aside from a few moments in 2-3 matches during Round 3, you could barely tell - or not at all, if you hadn't read about it in articles.

    But naturally there was barely any coverage on KGC by the media or YouTube creators, neither did most fans care about it.