Champion golfer Kim Hyo-ju gets busier post-season

Kim Hyo-ju, who reigned supreme in the Korea LPGA tour the past season, is busy this week. After wrapping up her last tournament of the season in Incheon, on the very next day, she attended a charity fund-raising golfing tournament for promising young golfers and a mentoring program for youths. This weekend, she competes in an event hosted by her apparel sponsor Hazzy’s Golf.

A good rest after the season is over seems strange to her. “I think during the season was less busy,” Kim said with laughter. She garnered four honors in the KLPGA tour with five wins, receiving the most prize money of 1.2 billion won (approx. 1 million U.S. dollars) in KLPGA history. Her stellar records are making her famous with the baggage that comes with fame, but she is taking it positively. “When I was younger, so many people helped me. That has led to these opportunities. I want to do my part for those who follow in my footsteps. I should never forget my fans and sponsors’ interest in me, either.”

After her nationwide tour, she will still be on the go next week as well. After attending a spate of awards ceremonies, she plans a trip to Tokyo to visit the head office of Yonex, the manufacturer of her clubs, to work on making clubs to use next year.

Kim also set out to do her part for charity. Hailing from Wonju in Gangwon Province, she has pledged to donate some 44,000 dollars to the bereaved families of Gangwon fire fighters who died on duty in a recent helicopter crash. She also delivered sponsorship money to Unicef and for children with cancer at Korea University Anam Medical Center in Seoul.

She might be very busy, but there is something Kim does not neglect a single day. She studies English with a native speaker tutor via a teleconference session from 8:30 p.m. every evening. Studying English ahead of her venture into the LPGA, Kim will get laser eye surgery, which she had postponed due to her hectic schedule, then leave for an overseas training trip to Thailand early next year.