What choice will "Volleyball Empress" Kim Yeon-koung (36, Heungkuk Life Pink Spiders) make? No decision has been made yet on how long she will continue her career. However, attention is paid to her next move. She is a world-class volleyball player born in Korea and an "eternal icon" of Korean volleyball.

Kim Yeon-koung, who is currently training in Shanghai, China, said, "There were some training sites in Japan and Korea, but the general manager asked me, 'How about Shanghai, China?' so I said, 'It's okay.' The hotel I am staying at now is also a place where I stayed when I was a player in Shanghai, so I am doing well as if I am in my hometown. It was nice to meet the former coach, staff and players on the first day," adding, "I thought you would have changed your picture, but you still have a lot of old pictures hanging up." When I asked the head of the Shanghai team, "Did you not change your picture?" he told an episode, "He said he would not change your picture forever."

Kim was busy after finishing the last season. In June, she played a retirement match for the Korean national team and held a retirement ceremony, while also visiting the site of the 2024 Paris Olympics as an honorary ambassador for the selection of the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB).

"The idea of the national team's retirement ceremony came from the pursuit of the World All Star Games. That's how the idea came to be," Kim said. "At first, people talked about having the national team retirement ceremony alone, but now the ceremony has been expanded to include the older sisters who played with the national team. It was good that it ended successfully. They thanked me a lot." Kim Yeon-koung, Yang Hyo-jin, Kim Su-ji, Kim Hae-ran, Hwang Yeon-ju, Han Yu-mi, Han Song-i, Lee Hyo-hee, Lee Sook-ja, Kim Sani, and Im Jeong-eun (former Lim Hyo-sook) also joined the national team's retirement ceremony, receiving applause.

Kim Yeon-kyung, who led the women's volleyball team to the semifinals at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, attracted attention by attending the Paris Olympics as a promotional ambassador, not as a player.

"When the FIVB invited me as a goodwill ambassador for the 2024 Paris Olympics, I was a bit cautious because it overlapped with the team's schedule, but the team told me to go because it was such a good opportunity," Kim said. "However, the FIVB schedule was so tight and busy that I didn't have much time to enjoy other sports." On the day of the volleyball game, I participated in an event with my fans before the game, had time to experience volleyball and took pictures together. On the day of the game, I felt like I was working as if I were going to work. That's why I haven't watched more games at the Olympics than when I was in Korea. The only game I saw on the field was the bronze medal match for the women's team table tennis."

It was a moment of mixed emotions. "It felt different to me that I could see the scenery around the stadium that I couldn't see when I was an athlete. When I participated as an athlete, I used to go back and forth only to the athletes' village and the stadium, but this time I stayed outside altogether. As a result, I remembered the past when I heard people cheering for me and thinking, "People are so passionate about the Olympics," and "I didn't know that I played in such a place." Nevertheless, I was deeply disappointed that Korean volleyball couldn't come to the Olympics

Kim's goal in the upcoming 2024-2025 season is to win the title as well. "Since I have won a lot of championships before, I knew the sweetness well, so I had a great desire to win the title. I still have a lot of regrets about winning the runner-up prize for two consecutive seasons. That's why I think I want to have fun in the upcoming season rather than obsessing about winning the title. Rather, I think I can get better results if I enjoy it."

Kim Yeon-koung then said, "Winning is based on how much effort we have made in the off-season. I think it would be good if that finish paid off with a win. That's what any team wants, but I think I've realized over the past two years that it can't be done just by skill or effort. But that doesn't mean that I shouldn't do it, but I have to start the season with the goal of winning. The club has also been supporting a lot this year with more staff. As much as the club desperately wants to win, it remains the same that it will do its best."

Kim Yeon-kyung, who still has a lot of concerns about her life after retirement, said her "priority" has recently changed. "I'm drawing various pictures in my head, but my priorities have changed a little recently," said Kim Yeon-kyung. "If I used to have the lowest desire to become a leader after retirement, I want to become a leader who teaches players and leads a team on the field." Originally, the higher priority was that I wanted to do something as a volleyball administrator and sports administrator, but these days, I think there are many things I can change in the field. Of course, people around me and my aides fiercely oppose this idea. The opposite is quite big."  프라그마틱 슬롯 사이트

There is always a saying that a leader who used to be a superstar cannot succeed. However, she disagrees. "I don't care about such myths. People around me pay a lot of attention and say, 'At best, I have to be a leader.'" Kim said, "I recently visited Fukuoka to watch the VNL in person and watched the Paris Olympics, and this led me to think again, 'Is this the right place for me?' Of course, nothing has been decided yet, and everyone around me is against it. People around me ask why you want to undermine the honor and reputation you have built as a leader, but I don't want to do what I want to do with that in mind."

The "Volleyball empress" is still agonizing over the issue. Attention is focusing on what finale Kim will make in the 2024-2025 V-League and what choices she will make after that.