Kim Yeon-koung (37) of Heungkuk Life Pink Spiders could not hide her disappointment at the retirement of Moon Sung-min (39) of Hyundai Capital Skywalkers.
Kim Yeon-koung, in an interview on the 21st at the media day for the 2024-2025 V-League postseason held at the Rivera Hotel in Seoul, expressed her feelings ahead of her last spring volleyball, saying, "It feels great to have finished the last regular season well. There is still the postseason championship match left, and if I can wrap this up well, I think I can leave with a light heart. More than anyone, I have a strong desire to achieve the overall championship."
Debuting in professional volleyball with Heungkuk Life in the 2005-2006 season, Kim Yeon-koung has played as a world-class outside hitter for a remarkable 21 years until this year. Having played in various overseas leagues, including Japan, Turkey, and China, Kim returned to her home team Heungkuk Life in the 2020-2021 season and played at the top level of the league until this season. However, she decided to mark the end of her long career by announcing her retirement after this season.
Prior to the media day, on the 20th, there was a retirement match for Moon Sung-min of Hyundai Capital. Moon, who retired after this match, stated, "I feel lucky to have played volleyball. I started my player career at the best team and met many good players from seniors to friends and juniors, which is why I feel I have been able to enjoy volleyball for so long. From the beginning, I received an overwhelming amount of love. I am grateful and humbled by all the congratulations I received even at the retirement ceremony," shedding tears.
Kim Yeon-koung noted, "I couldn't watch it live because it was on at the same time as our game, but I watched the videos later," and expressed her sorrow about Moon's retirement, saying, "Since we are of similar age and played volleyball together, I felt disappointed. Still, we all have to retire someday, so I support her in her second life. I think she showed some tears yesterday, but she might not have felt great. I believe everyone feels that way when they see me."
Watching Moon Sung-min shed tears at his retirement ceremony, Kim Yeon-koung said, "Many people asked if I would cry at the retirement ceremony. I am not an actor, so even if I need to cry, I am not the type who can easily shed tears. It depends on the situation, the emotions at that moment, and the outcome of the game. I don't know myself either," and added, "Right now, all I can think about is winning. I hope to win and wrap everything up well."
Hwang Seung-bin, a fellow setter who briefly played with Moon Sung-min at Hyundai Capital, also expressed regret about Moon's retirement. Hwang said, "I played with (Moon) Sung-min for about six months, but it felt like we had been together for six years. Since he was a role model I watched since childhood, it was disappointing and saddening to see him retire not due to declining skills but due to the pain in his body, unable to play volleyball as he wished. I heard his knees are not well. I had never felt that during training, but they say just jumping is a miracle. Hearing that was both impressive and pitiful."
Hwang Seung-bin, who had given Moon Sung-min the chance to score his final point, reflected on that moment, saying, "Even if it meant giving away the third set, I wanted to keep setting for Sung-min. However, I assumed he wouldn’t want to lose the set like that. As a setter, I had a responsibility to win the game. I wanted to manage the game in a way that would win, while also giving Sung-min a chance to finish beautifully if the opportunity arose."
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