Adventures in Overseas Figure Skating: South Korea

[TheAquarian]

It's been a while since I've posted any updates here because my life has been so busy preparing to move overseas,   moving overseas,  and adjusting to being overseas.   No less,  I have finally made the move that I have occasionally hinted at for the past 6-8 months and I thought I'd give my initial impressions.


. .   .  .......

O    M     G

How does ANYONE become a proficient skater in this country?!    Whew.       I'm sure it's possible,  but lets go over the initial differences between here, and my home in Seattle, WA  USA.

Crowding

I know that I was ridiculously spoiled at Olympicview Arena  in the USA  where   there were at most 25 people sharing the ice with me on a busy day, and usually 3-5,   but a not so busy day here,  is  like a jammed packed session at any other rink that I tried.    Many times I was seriously affraid to even attempt jumps, spins, or even mohawks for fear of  hitting,  or being hit by inexperienced skaters. 

Unfortunately  freestyle sessions do not exist in Korea,  and just about every 'normal' session is a combination of public session and freestyle.    The outside perimeter  is generally used by  recreational skaters, whereas  the center of the rink is used by more experienced skaters.    There's a catch however  -   You aren't allowed to go in the center  during most sessions unless you're taking a lesson which makes practice... extremely difficult to manage.

Furthermore,  I was really surprised to find myself, a figure skater,   sharing the rink with speed skaters.    I had never seen a person wearing speed skates (excluding on TV of course) while I was training in the USA,  but here,  there are  just as many if not more  of them on the ice as figure skaters.    I personally find this quite dangerous and most other figure skaters seem to agree with me   Oddly enough, hockey skates have been banned from some rinks in the Seoul  area for reasons I do not completely understand although I'm not complaining.


Lessons

Private lessons do not exist in South Korea in the sense that we are accustomed to thinking of them in the USA and Canada (I'm not sure about Europe and Australia).    Basically,  a lesson between just you and a coach is a virtual impossibility unless every other person you're scheduled to skate with fails to show up (unlikely).     If  you book a "private" lesson in Korea  you are actually taking a lesson with 3-6 other skaters  and one coach.    A "Group" lesson consists of about 25-30 skaters and one coach.

The lesson fees for private lessons are somewhat lower here than I am accustomed to, however I don't believe they are low enough to balance my coach's split attention between me and  several other skaters.   I believe I was quoted  12 lessons a month for 320,000 won which is approximately $290 USD.   The more lessons you sign up for, the cheaper the price.   Lessons here,  at least at MokDong,  include  ice time, however I don't believe this is a universal truth.   I think other rinks require you to purchase separately.

Although I still haven't  decided on a coach yet, I've noticed a lot of variation in terms of  the quality of coaches.   So far the general rule appears to be the more famous/prestigious the coach,  the less they actually care about the lessons.   The initial coach I got a quote from  actually works with Kim Yuna's previous coach in South Korea,  has been on TV  here etc,  so I was rather eager to see him in action,  however as it turns out, he was talking on his cell phone for half of his "private lesson" time on the ice!!   I seriously couldn't believe it.   I've never seen someone have a cell phone conversation while skating in the USA,  much less a coach in the middle of supposedly giving lessons.     I decided not to purchase his services. 

Other  coaches however seem quite good and attentive in spite of having multiple students at one time.   I found one coach that apparently trained with Kristi Yamaguchi's coach in the USA, and have told her I would like to begin lessons.     She seems more professional than my previous example, although I have yet to have a lesson with her.   I am still waiting for an email response to confirm. 

Another thing worth noting is that adult skaters are often ignored by the coaches because there are no adult competitions in Korea EXCEPT collegiate competitions.  Apparently there used to be,  but they were discontinued due to lack of demand.  As such,  the kids with the parrents that keep pushing them to learn more and more for competition get most of the coach's  attention.

Cost of Skating

The cost of skating  (aside from equipment)  is quite low here.   Most rinks are owned and operated by the government due to laws governing privatly owned arenas with spectator seats, and this keeps ice time  quite affordable.     In Anyang, for example,   I was able to skate about 4 hours for just 3,000 won  ( about $2.70 USD).     Private rinks charge a bit more,  but  even so, it is much cheaper than in the USA.    At Lotte world I was able to skate for approximately 4.5 hours for  8,000 won. 

Competitive Sessions and Skate Times

There are special sessions that are reserved for competitors that come in two flavors  "High" and "Low"  these are the closest thing Korea has to our freestyle sessions, although it's difficult for me to say much more about them because I have yet to attend one due to the fact that I am not a competitor in Korea (yet). 

Unlike in the USA  where the serious figure skaters need to drag themselves out of bed in the small hours of the morning,  these sessions run extremely late, and skaters do not typically leave the rink until somewhere between midnight or one AM.    I don't know how much this ice time costs, but I believe it is  more expensive than that which I referenced before.

Miscellaneous

Male figure skaters are pretty uncommon here.   If you are male,  obviously foreign (that is to say not Asian), and attempt spins, jumps, or even mohawks  during  'normal' sessions in Seoul, you may develop a small fan club for the day because... apparently such things are extremely funny for some Koreans to watch and they will laugh, cheer, or give you thumbs up  after you do a few successful jumps.  This happened to me when I skated at Lotte World....  (I kinda liked it ha ha)

It takes them FOREVER to resurface the ice at some rinks...  like 30-45 minutes.   WTF mate?  How many times does the zamboni need to hit the same spots?

In spite of the fact that they are manufactured in Taiwan, and -not- across an ocean like other brands,  Ultima blades are quite uncommon here.   Many people have been curious about my Matrix Legacies.



Conclusion of First Impressions

Ice in Korea is crowded  and there is more demand for coaches in Korea than the supply can meet,  so  even "private" lessons are  actually a form of group lesson.     It's  much cheaper to skate here,  but  then you're also not getting the same quality that you would get at home.

Tips for People Skating in Korea

Avoid skating in Seoul unless you have a coach that works at one of the rinks here!!   Seoul Rinks = More Crowded,   Rinks in suburbs like Anyang and Ilsan  are the least crowded, especially during the day on week days. 

Shop around before picking a coach, and make sure you watch them give a lesson  before  agreeing to be instructed by them - there's a lot of variation in the quality and price of coaching and it's considered to be rude if you continue skating at the same rink after you have chosen to leave your coach.

[davincisop]

Thanks for the update Aquarian!

There's a girl that skates at my rink that trained in Japan for a time and she said the same thing about the freestyles being combined with public. The positive to that is that she can navigate publics here without a problem, it's quite fun to watch.

[Isk8NYC]

Bravo!  Thank you for the critique - I've always been curious about skating in other countries.
(I gave you some +GOE for the effort!)

[hopskipjump]

My son wants to teach in Korea; I'm crossing my fingers that means we will be able to visit him.  It's such an interesting perspective you have given us!  How are costumes and skate dresses and skirts?  Affordable?  Are they in Chloe Nicole?     We are envious of a girl who skates in Japan - she gets the cutest skirts with anime characters and cartoon characters like Hamtaro.

[jjane45]

Hmmm very interesting, thank you for sharing!
Makes me think maybe average figure skating coaches make decent living out of coaching alone?
In the US it sounds like non-elite coaches must have a second job to support themselves.