After a few weeks of skating silence, this past weekend has certainly brought back excitement with the Russian Cup Final, Challenge Cup 2021, and, of course, Korean Nationals. Korean Nationals is always a little bit of an odd event. In most years, there are multiple, smaller competitions leading up to nationals that never seem to make any sense, and then when the actual nationals competition rolls around, it ends up looking informal. This year, Korea opted for a closed nationals, with no crowd, and the streams were only available after the fact versus a livestream. Nonetheless, it was great to see Korean skaters again- other than Young You, I don't recall seeing any of these people compete at all since the pandemic started a year ago- and I was also curious to see who continued to pull themselves together, and whose skills may have dipped with COVID. I always look forward to Korean skating. The flowing style is so similar to Japanese skaters, and brings back the feelings of watching Yuna Kim. Plus it was just nice to see new programs besides the same Russian programs we've been seeing for the last 6 months.
#3: Honestly? The entire top tier of the ladies field
The ladies portion of Korean Nationals is actually quite important because they have a group of ~6 ladies who are all at around the same skill and consistency level. It's always a toss up as to who is actually going to come out ahead when the moment comes. It's also important to mention that the Korean women go ABOVE AND BEYOND in their costuming- it's worth watching Korean competitions just to see the phenomenal dresses. Eunsoo Lim is one of my all time favorites, and I know she ended up 6th here, but her performance and movement quality is still spectacular despite her jump mistakes. Young You's triple axel (...when she lands it...) is always exciting to watch, but there's definitely some sort of technique issues going on with her right now, which landed her in 4th. And Haein Lee was one of my favorite skaters from last season- her long program on the junior circuit in 2019-2020 was just spectacular, but I felt here that, even though I still enjoy her skating, both programs seemed a little empty. Since she's been chosen to represent Korea at the World Championships, I'm hoping she spends the next few weeks bolstering some choreographic confidence. And the 2nd place skater, Ahsun Yun, who've I've never heard of, had the most thoughtful Star Wars program I think I've ever seen, paired with a beautiful costume. I was uber impressed with her skate. And realizing how much all these different skaters have to offer just underscores how lucky Korea is to have such a deep, talented ladies field.
#2: JUN!
Sometimes I forget how much I love to watch Junhwan Cha. He comes out with a very Hanyu-esq vibe, and it's very exciting. At this competition, I thought the long was particularly strong. It's the same long program from last season, but the performance was definitely there, I really enjoy the step sequence choreography (thanks Shae-Lynn), and it was good to see that the majority of his quads are still intact. The salchow sequence towards the end was unique, and his dedication to his Ina Bauer is spectacular, especially in a venue larger than the one he had here. He's also still miles ahead of even the second place Korean man at this point. My only negative comment? The hair is too long. I know it's his trademark, but you shouldn't have to push your hair out of your face mid-program to see. Come on, Jun...
#1: Yelim Kim
Yelim Kim has always been a skater who is enjoyable to watch, but never leaves any large impression. She has beautiful dresses and thoughtful choreography (especially the Jeff Buttle long program she's repeating from last season), and I thought this was the first time her performance really left a mark....which is good considering that she's now the new Korean Ladies National Champion. I think part of the reason for this is likely due to the fact that she simply seemed the most consistent and in-shape of the ladies, but I also think she's growing into her movement more, which makes the performances more exciting! I'll be curious to see where she ends up in the World Championship rankings...
Special Shoutout
Special shoutout at this competition goes to Seoyoung Kim. Did she end up in 20th place? Yes. But she did what she had to do for us- she skated to Twilight music. We love you, Seoyoung!
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