South Korea’s national sports climbing team secured two silver medals at the World Climbing Nations Grand Finale Fukuoka 2026 in Japan over the weekend of November 7–8.
The competition wrapped up the 2026 international sports climbing season with a unique team format featuring six nations. Each squad fielded two male athletes, two female athletes, and one coach to contest both bouldering and lead events, as Newsa reported. Individual skills translated into team outcomes.
Athletes shared climbing movements and strategies while coaches selected participants for specific segments.
On November 7, the bouldering team lineup featured Cheon Jong-won, Lee Do-hyun, Noh Hee-ju, and Seo Chae-hyun, according to MediaOne. The bouldering discipline consisted of four individual challenges—two each for men and women—alongside a mixed challenge combining both male and female competitors.
During the final mixed challenge, Lee Do-hyun and Seo Chae-hyun both successfully completed their climbs to secure the team’s standing. South Korea finished with a total score of 188.8 points behind Japan, which scored 233.9 points to claim the gold.
The United States placed third with 154.0 points, while Switzerland finished fourth with 114.2 points. In the preliminary stages of the bouldering bracket, the South Korean team advanced past the opening rounds alongside Japan, the United States, and Switzerland to reach the final round.
The following day, the lead team event substituted Kim Chae-young in place of Noh Hee-ju alongside Cheon Jong-won, Lee Do-hyun, and Seo Chae-hyun.
In the final round across two separate routes utilizing four athletes whose scores were combined, the South Korean team recorded 125.0 points. Japan captured the gold with 157.5 points, while the United States took third place with 105.0 points, and Switzerland finished fourth with 96.5 points.
The Korean Alpine Federation stated that the team won silver in both bouldering and lead, marking two consecutive years on the podium, and that it proved South Korea’s international competitiveness.
Following a lead victory at the previous year’s Nations Grand Finale, the podium finishes across both disciplines mark a successful close to the 2026 competitive calendar for the national delegation.
On November 6, Yoon Tae-in won a bronze medal in the men's RP2 category at the World Climbing Para Series with a score of 19+, the first international competition medal for a South Korean para-climber.