Badminton training / sparring in Myeongdong, Korea

Hmm, that's a tough one. I've never seen nor heard of a club with 10-year-old players. Once in a while, I see group lessons for young children but not so often. I also see players from a local elementary school elite team show up at a local gym with their parents or in a group but not as a club. To join in such a gathering, you would need to know the kids or their parents personally. There is an adult club that plays at Ahyun Elementary School, where some BC members have dropped in to play. There is, of course, a high probability that some club members there have sons on the Ahyun team finding such families before December 5th might be a trick. I seriously doubt the team would let your son join in their actual practice session because that would likely be within school hours. You can try contacting the four schools that have elite boys' teams, though, just as a shot in the dark, but I can't see this as a high-probability strategy. Ahyun Elementary School details are here. Gilwon Elementary School team details are here. Jeongok's are here, and Changlim's are here. The last one on the list only lists two players. Possibly a better bet? I'm not sure.

If you can't make any contact with the phone numbers or websites, a good last resort would be to pop by Ahyun's Sky Club one evening and ask around, although that doesn't give you a chance to make any plans in advance.

 

Thank you so much for your quick reply. Really appreciate your help around in this forum.

 

Actually, you could try contacting that Sky Club through their Daum Cafe page. I've never done that but it's worth a try. You'd need to sign up with a Daum account. blabl might know more about that process or how to make contact with club people in that way.

Actually, it's a pity you won't be here next weekend. Yonex is holding an event with Lin Dan, Lee Chong Wei, Lee Yong Dae, Taufik Hidayat and Peter Gade, among others. Ha Tae Kwon will definitely be there too. Last year, there were many kids there and a few got a quick lesson from Kim Dong Moon. I don't know where the kids came from, though.

 

Well, the schools all have email addresses but trying to find a way to contact a coach is likely difficult. Maybe if you had a whole team willing to spar, they might be willing to get involved but I'm just guessing that something less formal might be easier. The Daum Cafe is the best way to get in touch with the club but I'm really only guessing that there might be members there who have kids on that school's team. There is likely no official affiliation there, other than the club using the gym in the evening that the kids play in during the day. I suggest that school for 3 reasons: 1) it's super close to Myeongdong, literally 3 stops away from the Lotte Dept Store on the #2 line; 2) that school has a club where adults play in the evening in the same gym; and 3) said club has an online presence. Jeongok also has a club where adults use their gym but they play in the morning from 6-8PM and there is no Daum Cafe page or other web presence. By the way, the 'centre' is the Ahyun Elementary school gym. Details (in Korean) on the Sky Club are at #4 on this list.

I honestly don't know whether the kids in any of those schools would be willing to spar. The Ahyun program has produced world class players all the way from current junior national team coach Kim Hak Kyun to recent WJC runner-up Wang Chan and they may have their fill of training during the day. It might be possible to find kids in Seoul who play well but who do not belong to elite school teams but I have no idea where.

 

I guess it will be difficult for you to browse those websites in Korea because it is all written in Hangul, the Korean language. I think the best way for you would be to walk in to any badminton clubs nearby the area that you are staying. I am sure someone there, example the coaches for the badminton club nearby will be able to assist you and help you. If you were to ask me, of course I would say the Yonex badminton club looks good under the coaching of Coach Ha Tae Kwon. Anyway Yonex badminton club would have been too far away from the place you are staying in Korea. Hope you really enjoy your stay in Korea and hope your kids have a nice and pleasant time training in Korea.

In Korea here we have lots of different badminton clubs in different districts and different areas. So it is not going to be a huge problem to find a suitable badminton club in Korea to train your kids. Have a nice day and cheers. I sincerely hope you enjoy your stay in Korea.

 

Really hope that your kids get to enjoy his training stint in Korea. Hope you and your kids enjoy your stay in Korea. Cheers.