Just weeks after securing a gold medal at the Asian Games, South Korea’s women’s national basketball team is returning to domestic action for the 2026 KB Kookmin Bank Park Shin-ja Cup at Cheongju Gymnasium, hosted from October 3 to October 11, 2026. All 11 members of the national squad have been named to tournament rosters ahead of the Women’s Korean Basketball League (WKBL) regular season opener on November 1, 2026, according to sportschosun.com.
National Squad Transitions from International Gold to Cheongju Gymnasium
The South Korean roster arrives at the tournament following a 75-70 victory over Japan in the gold medal match at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. That championship marked South Korea’s Asian Games title in women’s basketball since the 2014 Incheon Games, ending a 12-year drought. In addition to the five-on-five gold, a four-player WKBL young talent contingent captured a bronze medal in the 3×3 women’s basketball competition.
With domestic preparations compressed by national team obligations and international training blocks, the upcoming tournament offers players a vital window to build chemistry with club teammates. KB Stars Heo Ye-eun enters the club competition after leading the Asian Games field with 7.2 assists per game, while BNK Sum Lee So-hee finished second in three-point shooting with an average of 3.0 conversions per contest, sportschosun.com reported.
Korean Players Face Japanese National Team Opponents
The field allows Korean players to immediately face familiar international opponents, as Fujitsu's roster includes key contributors from the Japanese national team that contested the Asian Games final.
Fujitsu Ohwaki Haru, who paced Japan’s final push with 23 points and 13 rebounds, and teammate Akagi Riho, who scored nine points including a three-pointer in the gold medal game, are both listed on the Red Wave’s tournament entry for Cheongju. WKBL Asian Quarter participants are also represented across multiple squads; Samsung Life’s Han Ya-eun and Shinhan Bank’s Huang Hsiang-ting competed for Taiwan at the Asian Games—finishing fourth—while five players from Mongolia’s quarterfinalist national team compete under the Ulaanbaatar banner.
Group Play Runs from October 3 to 9
Group play runs from October 3 through October 9, opening with a matchup between Shinhan Bank and Ulaanbaatar at 2:00 PM local time on the tournament’s first day. The knockout stage follows with the semifinals scheduled for October 10, concluding with the third-place match and the championship final on October 11. Tickets for all fixtures at Cheongju Gymnasium are available through the official WKBL mobile application and website.
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