Since Republic of Korea's first-ever IHF Women’s World Championship qualification in 1978, only two teams in the world have been present at every event since – themselves and Romania.

Not even Germany or Norway can boast such a qualification record, and with a gold and bronze in that period, the Asian nation even has a better medal haul then the Romanians (silver and bronze).

That gold came exactly 30 years ago, at Austria/Hungary 1995, the majestic Koreans becoming the first non-European nation to take the global title, eight years later came a bronze, at Croatia 2003.

In the two decades since, three top 10 places have been secured and in recent years a ranking from 11-14th was the norm until an underwhelming Denmark/Norway/Sweden 2023 campaign which saw the side finish in their lowest-ever ranking of 22nd.

That placement was under Swedish coach Henrik Signell, a rare foray into a non-Korean coach for the Korean Handball Federation, who have since moved back to familiar ground, with the appointment of Kyechung Lee in November 2024, just ahead of the Asian women’s continental championship, a tournament which saw the Koreans qualify for Germany/Netherlands after finishing second, losing (25:24) to Japan in the final in India, despite leading at the break.

The silver medal marked the end of a run of six continental titles in a row, but coach Lee does know how to win, leading the Korea women’s national junior team to gold at the 2014 IHF Women’s Junior (U20) World Championship in Croatia.

One of Lee’s tasks ahead of Germany/Netherlands 2025, according to Korean local media, was speaking to the formerly-retired from national team duty and Gyor player, Ryu Eun Hee, who returned from Europe last summer to play in the Korean league for Busan earlier this year, but the 35-year-old Champions League winner has not been named in his squad.

Long-term playing colleague of Ryu Eun-Hee and captain, Yeongyeong Lee (previously called Miyeong Lee) is the beating heart and leader of the team and the oldest player in the squad (34 years old), a squad who all play their club handball at home in the relaunched Korean women’s professional handball league, called ‘H-League’.

Yeongyeong Lee, with well over 50 national team appearances, is the most experienced but will rely on the efforts of key players Bitna Woo (centre back), Boeun Gim (line player) and Saeyoung Park (goalkeeper) to help improve on Korea’s ranking last time out – a tournament the captain did not play in. Captain Lee was named Most Valuable Player (MVP) at the 2024 Asian Women’s Handball Championship.

Republic of Korea will once again face Norway in a World Championship preliminary group, just as they did at Denmark/Norway/Sweden 2023, in a game they lost 33:23. At Japan 2019, Norway won 36:25 in the main round. The two teams most recently met at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, with the European side winning 26:20 in the preliminary group stage, the competition also the stage for one of Korean sports’ most famous events – the Asian defeating Norway 28:21 to win gold at Barcelona 1992.

Korea know continental rivals Kazakhstan the best, beating them twice in the world championship previously (2009 and 2011), with the last four meetings in all competitions won by double-digits, with an average winning distance of 18.25 goals per match. On their way to silver last year at the continental championships, Korea beat Kazakhstan 30:20.

Angola have got the better of Korea in their last two world championship meetings – 30:29 in the Round of 16 at Brazil 2011, and a 33:31 win in the 2023 main round.

Ahead of the world championship, coach Lee has prepared with a squad of 19 players, firstly at the Jincheon Training Centre in Korea, before moving to Tunisia for two friendly matches against the host nation, ahead of the last leg of their trip to Germany.

“During this training period I will thoroughly assess each player's condition and focus on perfecting our team's tactics,” said the coach in a brief statement to local media ahead of their final preparations.

Key players: Bitna Woo (centre back), Boeun Gim (line player) and Saeyoung Park (goalkeeper).

Coach: Kyechung Lee

Qualification for Germany/Netherlands 2025: Asian Handball Federation (AHF) Women's Handball Championship: Runners-Up

History in tournament: 1978: 10th, 1982: 6th, 1986: 11th, 1990: 11th, 1993: 11th, 1995: Winners, 1997: 5th, 1999: 9th, 2001: 15th, 2003: 3rd, 2005: 8th, 2007: 6th, 2009: 6th, 2011: 11th, 2013: 12th, 2015: 14th, 2017: 13th, 2019: 11th, 2021: 14th, 2023: 22nd

Group at Germany/Netherlands 2025: Group H (Angola, Norway, Korea Republic, Kazakhstan)