American Go E-Journal

6th Haesung Korean Female Kisung: Yoonyoung Kim, Choi Jeong, Eunji Kim and Kim Chaeyoung Reach Semi-Finals

Monday December 12, 2022

Yoonyoung Kim 8P (l) defeats Oh Yujin 9P on Nov. 22, broadcast by BadukTV

From November 21-29, Yoonyoung Kim 8P, Choi Jeong 9P, Eunji Kim 5P, and Kim Chaeyoung 7P made their ways to the semi-finals round of the 6th Haesung Korean Women’s Kisung. The tournament is a notable women’s championship in Korea featuring top female Korean professional players. Most games have been broadcast live on BadukTV, and the total prize pool sums to 121 million won (US $93,000) with a top prize of 50 million won ($38,000).

On December 12th, Yoonyoung Kim will face off against Kim Eunji. In the past two months, Yoonyoung Kim has achieved an impressive 12-game winning streak, during which she defeated world champion Oh Yujin 9P and Asian Games gold medalist Cho Hyeyeon 9P. Coincidently her winning streak was ended by rising star Kim Eunji on Dec. 4 in the Nanseolheon Cup championship match, but it ensures an exciting and perhaps emotional battle between the two in the Female Kisung semi-final.

The Korean Baduk Association has built a robust support system to ensure that generations of female players will continue to thrive. From as young as 15 years old, Kim Eunji 3P was able to play as many as 156 official games this year, winning 108. Choi Jeong 9P and Kim Chaeyoung, both aged 26, logged 95 and 94 rated games, and won 69 and 65 games respectively. Yoonyoung Kim 8P, aged 33, is a young mom who also spent several years teaching go in North America. Still, she managed to play 45 matches at around a 70% win ratio, and delivered enormous victories for her team in the Women’s Baduk League.

The marked black stone in the middle is believed to be a critical error, and Kim 8P wisely seized the opportunity to counter with the arrow-marked white stone.

Tournament table and game records can be found on the “GotoEveryone” website.

Analysis of game on Baduk TV:
Choi Jeong vs. Kim Eunseon: https://youtu.be/sRUsQPGusIU
Yoonyoung Kim vs.. Oh Yujin: https://youtu.be/AzwrS86hxAQ
Kim Chaeyoung vs. Kim Hyemin: https://youtu.be/sNgsyDA-Mpc
Kim Eunji vs. Heo Seohyun: https://youtu.be/gnBLvxDZnto