Judo athlete dreams of becoming Korea's first Grand Slam champion

A Korean high school sophomore boldly stated that she wants to become the first Korean female Judo player to achieve the grand slam. It may sound overly ambitious. But for the 17-year-old Lee Hyun-ji, it’s a different story. Lee has already won one out of the four pieces to complete a Grand Slam by topping the Asian Judo Championships in April 2024. A Grand Slam in Judo requires winning the Olympics, the World Judo Championships, the Asian Games and the Asian Championships.

Lee, currently a high-schooler attending Namnyung high school in Jeju Island, is a superstar rookie emerging in the Korean female judo. Competing in the heaviest weight category (surpassing 78 kilograms), Lee is recognized as invincible on the junior stage. She won both the Asian Junior Championships in September and the World Junior Championships in October. She also surprised the Judo arena by defeating senior athletes in the professional league one after another: Eom Da-hyun (29), Shin Ji-young (25) and Kim Su-min (25), respectively in the first round of the national team trials for 2025 held earlier this November. Lee even won all three matches by an ippon. In the Tbilisi Grand Slam in March, she made headlines by defeating 2021 Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Akira Sone (24, Japan), finishing in third place. Lee said her main specialties include Harai-goshi (hip technique throw), Sasae-tsurikomi-ashi (supporting foot lift-pull throw) and quick grab and added that her not-so-widely-known-yet techniques are working to her advantage. Lee humbly continued that she tries to recall the beginner’s passion and work harder to become a proud and confident Korean national Judoka, worthy of the Taegeuk mark (symbol of the Korean national team).

Lee started learning judo when she was in second grade in elementary school. Her father, Lee Chi-hoon (48), guided his daughter to learn various sports including swimming, hapkido and weightlifting from an early age, emphasizing that she should be able to protect herself. Inheriting the genes of her father, a former ssireum (Korean wrestling) athlete, Lee stood out with her remarkable physique. By second grade in elementary school, she was already 157 cm tall and weighed 60 kg. She emerged as a promising talent by winning the National Junior Sports Festival consecutively in fifth and sixth grade. In 2022, as a third-year middle school student, she claimed victory at the Asian Junior Championships, and last year, as a high school freshman, she became the youngest-ever member of the Korean national judo team.

Her biggest strength is her overwhelming power. Standing at 181 centimeters and weighing 133 kilograms, she is large even among heavyweight competitors. Her strength gives her a decisive edge, especially against European athletes. Her weightlifting stats are equally impressive, with a maximum squat of 180 kilograms, a deadlift of 230 kilograms, and a bench press of 100 kilograms, totaling 510 kilograms - figures rarely seen among female athletes. During training, she often spars with male heavyweight athletes.

This year, Lee also served as a training partner for Korean Olympians during their preparations for the Paris Olympics, traveling to France for the experience. She shared, “Training with the Olympic competitors and sparring with athletes from other teams who came to Paris to support the national team helped me a lot.” In Jeju, where Lee was born, Namnyung High School is the only school with a judo team, making it difficult to find training partners. Lee remarked, “During the Paris Olympics, I learned a lot by watching national team athletes such as Heo Mi-mi and Kim Ha-yoon up close.”


Hong-Gu Kang windup@donga.com