Kim Yeon-kyung confesses her cautious feelings

Kim Yeon-kyung shared her thoughts on her debut as a commentator.

Ahead of the opening of the Asian Games, KBS unveiled the lineup of 'K-Representative' commentators, consisting of 'legends' in each field, including volleyball's Kim Yeon-kyung, soccer's Lee Young-pyo, baseball's Park Chan-ho and Park Yong-taek, golf's Choi Na-yeon, and basketball's Yang Dong-geun. Meanwhile, the commentators' 'national representative-level' remarks at the KBS 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games production presentation held on the 1st attracted attention.

First, 'Volleyball Empress' Kim Yeon-kyung, who attempted to become a commentator for the first time in her life, said, "I want to provide a commentary that can be listened to comfortably. I am trying to avoid talking directly as much as possible, but I am worried that it will end up like that." He expressed his thoughts on his debut as a commentator. Park Yong-taek, who heard this, made people laugh by saying, "I don't think (viewers) will expect something like that. To be honest, if you don't bake bread (I think it will work)."

Basketball commentator Yang Dong-geun, like Kim Yeon-kyung, will make his debut as an official commentator through the Asian Games. When asked, "How did you prepare?" Yang Dong-geun recalled the past, saying, "I participated in the Asian Games three times, and I was on the bench when my performance was the worst, and I was on the bench when my performance was the best." At the same time, he expressed his feelings about his debut full of expectations, saying, "I will be able to convey the feelings of the players sitting on the bench and cheering well."

Golf commentator Choi Na-yeon also predicted an immersive commentary, saying, “Because I have been playing as a professional for a long time, I will give commentary while imagining myself playing on the field.” Choi Na-yeon, who drew attention by citing volleyball commentator Kim Yeon-kyung as her ‘spiritual leader,’ said, “I’ve known her since I graduated from high school, and there was a lot to learn from her. “I fell in love with volleyball and Kim Yeon-kyung,” he said, creating a warm feeling through the deep friendship and fan spirit among the commentators.

Park Yong-taek made everyone laugh by saying about his collaboration with Chan-ho Park, who is called the 'Yong-Hoh-Sang-Park Duo', "We worked together at the last WBC tournament, and as I feared, there was a lot of talk." Next, he asked Chan-ho Park, “Can I talk about this?” and said, “After WBC, I got a Korean teacher and am receiving training from speech to pronunciation correction.” Chan-ho Park burst into laughter by answering, "While taking a Korean language class, I was able to see the reason for the numerous 'Chan-ho memes' on the Internet."

Lee Young-pyo aroused curiosity by saying, "I participated in the Asian Games, but did not win. I was the biggest reason why I did not win the gold medal." And he brought up a painful memory, saying, "In the semifinals of the 2002 Asian Games, we went to a penalty shootout against Iran, and I was the player who made the decisive miss. I've been made fun of for that for 20 years." Chan-ho Park responded by saying, "Of course I should. I'm being bullied so much for 'Han Dumpling'...", making the scene burst into laughter. ‘Hanmandu’ is a term referring to an incident in 1999 when Park Chan-ho, a player for the LA Dodgers, allowed ‘two grand slam home runs in one inning’ in a game against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Meanwhile, 45 countries will participate in the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, and 482 games will be held in 40 sports. The Korean team is aiming to win as many as 50 gold medals and secure third place overall. KBS, which will broadcast the Asian Games on both 1TV and 2TV with 'super-special' commentators representing the times, plans to present differentiated and lively broadcasts by watching the largest number of events among domestic broadcasters.

Ten Asia Reporter Kim Seo-yoon seogugu@tenasia.co.kr