Meet the”Barbie Doll” of Korean Golf and Find Out the Struggles Behind Her Beauty

With her spectacular game and looks, there is a female golfer who is currently attracting most attention in Korea. She is Gyeol Park (26), known as the “Barbie doll of the Korean golf world.”

With her height of 167 cm, long, slender arms and legs, and beautiful face, she has been selected as a “PR model” for five consecutive years since 2004, and is the face of women’s golf in Korea.

The reason why Park Gyeol, who has been a professional for seven years this year since passing the professional test in 2003, is now attracting attention is because of her career. Contrary to her spectacular visuals, she has had many hardships in her professional career.

As an amateur, she represented Korea‛s national team and won a gold medal in the individual competition at the Incheon Asian Games‛14. She was also consistently seeded on the Korean Women’s Professional Golf Tour, and in ‛18 she achieved her long-sought first victory and quickly rose the ladder to star status. However, despite the high expectations and attention from those around her, her second win was far away. Last season, she failed to qualify for 13 of the 28 tournaments she played in, with two abstentions, and was ranked 69th in the money list, losing her money seeding for the first time since becoming a professional. Park herself said.

Last year was the worst year of my golf career.

but she did not give up. In December of last year, she finished 27th in the “Seeded Ranking Tournament” and secured a spot on the regular tour. In April, she tied for 5th place at the opening round of the season, the Lotte Rent-A-Car Women’s Open, and then moved up the money list by tying for 3rd place at the third round, the Nexen Saint Ninth Masters. After the match, Park Gyeol revealed her feelings as follows: “From now on, I want to enjoy golf to the fullest.”

I have decided to play golf and enjoy it as much as I can. I have been able to take some of the pressure off shoulder.

She has qualified in seven of the nine tournaments she has played so far this season, ranking 24th in the money list, with prize money in excess of 100 million won (approximately 10 million yen). She is now on the path to return to the top seeding.

All that remains now is to move forward to win the second championship, which is said to be the most difficult task. Despite her pretty face, she is known as a stoic and hardworking golfer. Last season, she spent her off-season training camp in Thailand, where she practiced to improve the accuracy of her shots, reviewed her swing, strengthened her lower body, and focused on mental training.

“I have improved my distance by more than 10 yards since last year,” said Park Gyeol.

Gyeol Park’s average distance with her driver this season is about 234 yards (79th). Her overall ranking may be low, but she has become more efficient in her game.

I can say that my approach to golf and my attitude toward the tour have clearly changed from the past.

We look forward to seeing Park Gyeol’s second win and new growth as she takes on this year’s tour with a fresh start.