Kim Yeon-koung

Kim Yeon-kyoung (Korean: 김연경; Hanja: 金軟景; RR: Kim Yeon-gyeong, Korean pronunciation: [kim.jʌngjʌŋ]; born 26 February 1988 in Ansan) is a South Korean female professional volleyball player and a member of the FIVB Athletes' Commission. She is the outside hitter and captain of the South Korean National Team, and currently plays for Heungkuk Life.

This is a Korean name; the family name is Kim.
Kim Yeon-koung
Kim in 2014 Grand Prix
Personal information
NationalitySouth Korean
Born (1988-02-26) 26 February 1988
Ansan, South Korea
Height1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)
Weight73 kg (161 lb)
Spike315 cm (124 in)
Block299 cm (118 in)
Volleyball information
PositionOutside Hitter
Current clubHeungkuk Life
Number10 (national team), 10 (club)
Career
YearsTeams
2005–2009
2009–2011
2011–2017
2017–2018
2018–2020
2020–		 Heungkuk Life
JT Marvelous
Fenerbahçe
Shanghai
Eczacıbaşı VitrA
Heungkuk Life
National team
2005–South Korea
Honours
Women's volleyball
Representing  South Korea
Asian Games
2014 Incheon
2010 Guangzhou
2018 Jakarta-Palembang
Asian Championship
2015 Tianjin
2011 Taipei
2013 Nakhon Ratchasima
2017 Metro Manila
2019 Seoul
Asian Cup
2014 Shenzhen
2010 Taicang
Last updated: June 2020
Kim Yeon-koung
Hangul
김연경
Hanja
Revised RomanizationGim Yeongyeong
McCune–ReischauerKim Yŏngyŏng

Kim signed a three-year contract with Fenerbahçe in 2011 after playing for Heungkuk Life in South Korea for four seasons and JT Marvelous in Japan for two seasons. She signed another two-year extension with Fenerbahçe and extended it for anonther season in 2016. She spent the 2017–18 season in the Chinese Volleyball league, and came back to Turkey for the in the following year with Eczacıbaşı VitrA.

Kim was the Most Valuable Player and Best Scorer of the 2012 London Olympics, despite South Korea finishing 4th place. She holds the Olympics records for highest score of 207 points in eight games, topping Gamova's record of 204 points in 2004 Athens.[1]

She is currently regarded as one of the best and richest volleyball players in the world.

Career by Years

Before professional debut (–2005)

Kim Yeon-kyoung was born in Ansan and started volleyball in 4th grade, initially inspired by her oldest sister who was a volleyball player. In middle school, because she was less than 170cm (5'7"), she considered quitting volleyball and becoming a soccer player. Fortunately, during her three years at Hanil Women's High School,[2] she grew more than 20cm, and moved her position to an outsider hitter from her initial position of a setter and libero.

She received the spotlight of the Korean media due to her outstanding physical condition and performance in the high school stage. As a result, she was selected in the national team in 2005. She made her international debut at the World Grand Champions Cup, where she ranked as 3rd best scorer.[3] Afterwards, she was selected as first choice in the first round of the V-League draft by the Cheonan Heungkuk Life, where she started her professional volleyball career.

Korean V-League (2005–2009)
Kim Yeon-kyoung playing for Heungkuk Life Pink Spiders in the 2005-06 season.

During her first professional season, Kim contributed to Heungkuk Life becoming the champions of the Korean League. She received every award available, including the 'New Face Award', 'Regular Season MVP', 'Final Championship MVP', 'Best Scorer', 'Best Spiker', and 'Best Server'. However, she had to receive surgery in her right knee afterwards. Before full recovering from the surgery, she participated in the 2006 World Championship and 2006 Asian Games. Mid-competition, she suffered from serious feet pain as an aftereffect of the surgery.[4]

Heungkuk Life became the reigning champion of the 2006–07 season with the hlep of Kim. The team achieved the feat of being 1st place in the regular season and winning the finals for two years in a row. Kim was selected as the MVP for both the regular season and championship, and was also the best spiker of the regular season. Immediately afterwards, she again received articular cartilage surgery. After a few months of recovery, she participated in the World Cup and played full-time.

While she contributed to her team finishing 1st place in the 2007–08 regular season, thus receiving the MVP, her team was defeated by GS Caltex in the finals. She finished the season with the highest success rate yet of 47.59%, becoming best spiker of the league for three consecutive seasons. She received another knee surgery soon after, forcing her to miss the Olympic Qualification for the Beijing Olympics. South Korea was not qualified as a result.

In the 2008–09 season, she became the first female player of the Korean V-League with the record of scoring 2000 points and 2000 attack points. Despite her ground-breaking performance, Heungkuk Life had a difficult season with the replacement of head coach Hyeon-Ju Hwang, finishing 3rd for the regular season. However, the team had a successful post-season performance, and won the final championship against GS Caltex. Kim's outstanding performance led to her to claiming her third MVP title.

Japanese V.Premier League (2009–2011)

Kim signed a contract to play overseas in the Japanese V.Premier League with JT Marvelous, becoming South Korea's first professional volleyball player to play overseas after KOVO was founded in 2005. Heungkuk Life and JT Marvelous agreed on a two-year loan agreement for the player with the possibility of a one-year extension negotiated after the first season.[5]

"We had been discussing a move for her since last year. We didn't think about Italy, but we contacted three other Japanese teams, including Toray Arrows, last season's champion," the Pink Spiders official Kim Hyun-do said at press conference. "JT Marvelous failed to find good import players last season, so it was the most active team seeking to sign Kim. In addition, the Marvelous promised that it will support her bid to play for Korea's national team. Though we can't announce her annual salary, the deal is worth more than $300,000," added the official.

With Kim as the main attacking weapon of the team, JT, which were ninth out of 10 teams in the previous season, achieved a miraculous record in the 2009–10 regular season with a winning streak for 25 games, which is second highest record after NEC Red Rockets's 31 winning streak in 2001. Kim was best scorer of the regular season with 696 points in total, leading JT to end first place in the regular season. In the championship final, the team suffered a stunning loss against Toray Arrows.[6] Kim was voted for the 'Fighting Spirit Award' and 'Best 6'.

During the off-season, Kim participated in the KOVO Cup in August as she was still registered for Heungkuk Life, and she led the team to victory as MVP. In September, she was part of the national team roster during the 2010 Asian Cup and became best scorer and best spiker of the tournament. Then she played at the 2010 World Championship where the team finished 13th place and 2010 Asian Games, winning a silver medal, the first medal in her career.

Despite Heungkuk Life's faltering results since Kim left, the team agreed on a loan deal with JT to let Kim play for another year, guaranteeing top-level treatment.[7] She again led her team to becoming first place of 2010–11 regular season. Due to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake, V.Premier League ended early. JT Marvelous assumed the champion title as a result and Kim was named MVP and 'Best 6'. JT Marvelous also became the champions of the Kurowashiki Tournament, and Kim was again voted as 'Best 6'. She then participated in the Grand Prix, Asian Championship, and World Cup. She was the best scorer and best spiker of the 2011 Asian Championship.

Fenerbahçe (2011–2017)

José Roberto Guimarães persuaded the team president to bring Kim to Fenerbahçe for the 2011-12 season. He later recalls that he saw potential in her to become "one of the best players in the world" despite being relatively unknown in Europe.

No primeiro ano de Fenerbahçe, eu não montei o time. Mas, no segundo ano, o presidente do time me deu a possibilidade de chamar as jogadoras que eu gostaria de trabalhar. A Kim estava atuando há três anos no Japão. E eu sempre tive vontade de trabalhar com ela. Pensei: “Vou tentar trazê-la para cá”. Falei da Kim para ele, disse que era uma jogadora “assim assim”, 1,90m, ponteira, passa bem, uma jogadora completa. Disse que essa menina poderia se transformar em uma das melhores do mundo.[8]

She showed a phenomenal performance in her first season playing in Europe, as she helped Fenerbahçe claim their first CEV Champions League champion title. She was awarded best scorer and MVP of the tournament, and was first in both serving and attacking as well.[9][10] After her performance against Dinamo Kazan, Alexandre Jioshvili said in an interview with L'Équipe that Kim was the "future Michael Jordan of volleyball", with great skills in both offense and defense.

La jeune Sud- Coréenne de vingt- quatre ans est capable de réaliser des séquences absolument hallucinantes, en réception comme en attaque. « C’est la future Michael Jordan de notre sport ! » , ose même pronostiquer l’ancien volleyeur Alexandre Jiochvili, qui a pourtant vu de nombreux talents s’opposer à sa femme, Victoria Ravva, depuis une quinzaine d’années.[11]

According to FIVB, she was regarded as the best volleyball player in the world by multiple journalists and coaches alike. One of the journalists asked Kim's opinion on who she considered second best after herself, who is "considered the best attacker in the world."[12] At London 2012, she continued her ground-breaking performance. During the game against Serbia, Kim scored 34 points single-handedly, while her teammates scored 36 points in total. Zoran Terzić reflected that the team had "a lot of problems to make blocks and defend against her," who is "one of the best players in the world, no doubts about it."[13]

For the rest of the tournament, she continued her scoring streak, especially showing notable performance in the game against Brazil in the preliminary round where Korea won 3-0, and semi-finals against Italy where Korea won 3-1. Korea lost to Japan in the final Bronze Medal Match, despite Kim scoring 22 points with a 47.22% efficiency rate. She was selected as Most Valuable Player of the tournament, becoming the 3rd MVP claimer with no medal after Cintha Boersma and Barbara Jelic. After being named as the MVP of the 2012 London Olympics, Kim was also selected as one of the FIVB Heroes, which is an official campaign of the FIVB to raise awareness about the players' athletic achievements and to increase the worldwide interest in the sport.

Kim had a difficult time in the 2012–13 season due to her dispute with former team Heungkuk Life and her physical injuries. She decided not to have surgery for her right knee after tearing her meniscus during the match against Brazil in the Olympics. Despite such hardships, she was top of the statistical leaderboard in terms of scoring, attacking, and serving in the 2013 CEV Cup, continuing to show top performance. Unfortunately, the team lost against Muszyna in the finals. Fenerbahçe finished 4th place for the Turkish League as well, and this became the only season of Kim's professional volleyball life where she finished without winning a single cup. She then participated in the 2013 Asian Championship where she was best scorer and best server.

Kim Yeon-kyoung at the 2014 FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix in Hwaseong Stadium

In the 2014 World Grand Prix, Kim topped the best score record of the tournament by scoring 42 points in the game against Russia, where South Korea won 3-1. During this tournament, Giovanni Guidetti hailed Kim as the world's best.

I think Kim Yeon-Kyoung is the best player in the world. I have not seen anyone like her in the last 30 years.[14]

In 2016, Kim was selected as a member of the FIVB Athletes' Commission,[15] which is a group that works as a "link between volleyball players and FIVB". According to FIVB , Kim, being a "MVP at the 2012 London Olympic Game, is a fan's favourite all around the world," thus confirmed by the organization as a member of the Athletes Commission.[16]

During the 2016 Olympic World Qualification Tournament, Kim showed outstanding performance against Netherlands, helping Korea win 3-0. Netherlands head coach Giovanni Guidetti was left in awe, just like two years ago.

Kim Yeon-Kyoung is something special. I have never seen anything like that in my 20 years in volleyball. We all know she is special, but that was really something.[17]

Kim was selected as best outside spiker of the tournament. At the actual Olympic Tournament two months later, the team finished in 5th place after losing to Netherlands in the semi-finals. Contrary to her original plans of quitting the National Team after Rio, she said in an interview that she was willing to continue until Tokyo 2020.

Chinese Super League (2017–2018)

Kim ended her contract with Fenerbahçe where she had spent the past six seasons, and moved to Shanghai. She led Shanghai to first place for the 2017-18 regular season, a feat achieved in 17 years for the team. After finishing runners-up in the finals, she received the Best Foreign Player Award.

Eczacıbaşı (2018–2020)

After one year in the Chinese League, she returned to Turkey and made a two year contract with Eczacıbaşı. The team won the Turkish Cup in 7 years, as well as the Super Cup. For the 2019-20 season, she became the new captain of Eczacıbaşı, filling in Jordan Larson's place.[18]

Kim played a decisive role in securing a ticket to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the Asian Continental Qualifiers held in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand. The exhaustion built up from the Turkish League had led to and abdominal pain during the match against Kazakhstan in the pool stage. She was diagnosed with a torn of abdominal muscle and missed the semifinal match against Chinese Taipei. However, the captain reappeared in the final match against Thailand and was brilliant in the win that secured a Tokyo berth to her team. After the game, she admitted that she didn’t feel well and that she played after previously taking painkillers.[19]

After Kim's contract ended with Eczacıbaşı, various media sources reported of the possibility of her returning to Korea. Despite sources reporting that she may go to Beijing, she may ultimately choose clarity and stability over salary by staying in her home country during the COVID-19 pandemic.[20]

Personal Life

Youth Sports Academy

She is dedicated in youth sports development and runs a sports academy and multiple charity activities under her name. She stated that the reason was because "I wanted to give back all the goodness that volleyball has given me. As time went by, I realised the importance of youth sports, since children who participate in sports activities become more sociable and healthy individuals."[21]

Player Profile

Kim is considered to be the best player of the Korean since playing for the National Team since 2005, topping the score and attack statistics leaderboard in almost every single game. It is a known tactic among coaches to only focus on stopping Kim when playing against Korea, as she is their main and almost only scorer.

  • Zoran Terzić: We focused only on blocking Kim Yeon-Koung and cared less about the other aspects.[22]
  • Giovanni Guidetti: She scores like a diagonal, she receives, digs like a libero, she serves like a machine, she blocks like a middle blocker and what’s more important is that she gives incredible energy to her teammates. She is really something extraordinary.[23]
  • Giovanni Guidetti: Body of Russia, power of United States, the technique like Japan and quickness of Brazil all in one player. She is the best player in the world for sure.[24]
  • Massimo Barbolini: Obviously with a player like Kim, number 10, who is one of the best players in the world(...)[25]

Club Career
Name of the Club Years League Career
Cheonan Heungkuk Life 2005–2009 Champion (3), Runners-up (1)
JT Marvelous 2009–2011 Champion (1), Runners-up (1)
Fenerbahçe 2011–2017 Champion (2), Runners-up (2)
Shanghai Guohua Life 2017–2018 Runners-up (1)
Eczacıbaşı VitrA 2018–2020 Runners-up (1)

Worldwide Competitions

FIVB Volleyball Club World Championship

Continental Competitions

CEV Champions League

CEV Cup

Domestic Leagues

Korean V-League

Japanese V.Premier League

Turkish League

Chinese Super League

Domestic Competitions

KOVO Cup

Kurowashiki All Japan Volleyball Tournament

/ Korea-Japan Top Match

Turkish Volleyball Cup

Turkish Super Cup

Individual Awards

National Team Career

Junior Team

Worldwide Competitions

Continental Competitions

Individual Awards

The following were Not Awarded:

The following were Awarded:

Additional Awards
  • 2009 DongA Sports – "Grand Prize in Professional Volleyball"
  • 2012 MBN Women's Sports Category – "May MVP"
  • 2017 Korean National Council of Women – "Woman of the Year"[27]
  • 2017 Brand of the Year Korea – "Athlete of the Year"

Career Statistics

Season by Club

League (Regular Season and Finals)
Team Season League Played Points Serve Reception Attack Block
M S Tot per set Ace per set Tot Err Exc Pos% Exc% Eff Tot Err Blk Exc Exc% Eff Pts per set
Heungkuk Life 2005–06 Korean V-League 33 128 910 7.11 48 0.38 559 16 360 – 64.4% 0.62 1627 142 58 646 39.7% 0.27 40 0.31
2006–07 27 106 679 6.41 34 0.32 571 16 332 – 58.1% 0.55 1183 75 44 532 45.0% 0.35 43 0.41
2007–08 32 119 751 6.31 26 0.22 693 18 425 – 61.3% 0.59 1329 103 48 621 46.7% 0.35 37 0.31
2008–09 34 142 826 5.82 53 0.37 868 13 522 – 60.1% 0.59 1469 101 54 703 47.9% 0.37 70 0.49
JT Marvelous 2009–10 V.Premier League 32 116 805 6.94 20 0.17 731 – 435 – 59.5% – 1553 104 – 732 47.1% – 53 0.46
2010–11 22 77 471 6.12 17 0.22 437 – 314 – 71.9% – 849 75 – 425 50.1% – 29 0.38
Fenerbahçe 2013–14[28] Turkish League 27 93 474 5.10 48 0.52 501 42 180 59.3% 35.9% 0.28 846 69 31 394 46.6% 0.35 32 0.34
2014–15[29] 23 77 435 5.65 60 0.78 399 46 124 50.6% 31.1% 0.20 744 62 25 336 45.2% 0.33 39 0.51
2015–16[30] 19 71 329 4.63 16 0.23 410 23 131 53.9% 32.0% 0.26 662 24 30 289 43.7% 0.30 24 0.34
2016–17[31] 23 81 367 4.53 31 0.38 421 45 98 51.1% 23.3% 0.13 676 54 22 308 45.6% 0.34 28 0.35
Shanghai 2017–18[32] Chinese League 28 108 573 5.31 44 0.40 450 11 382 – 84.9% 0.82 954 117 – 487 51.0% – 42 0.39
Eczacıbaşı 2018–19[33] Turkish League 26 83 305 3.67 15 0.18 452 25 121 53.5% 26.8% 0.21 642 41 35 266 41.4% 0.30 24 0.29
2019–20[34] 7 25 99 3.96 9 0.36 106 5 21 48.1% 19.8% 0.09 184 13 10 81 44.0% 0.32 9 0.36

Domestic Cups and Regional Competitions
Team Season League Played Points Serve Reception Attack Block
M S Tot per set Ace per set Tot Err Exc Pos% Exc% Tot Err Blk Exc Exc% Eff Pts per set
Heungkuk Life 2009–10 KOVO Cup 3 11 78 7.09 8 0.73 42 1 23 – 54.8% 120 10 4 61 50.8% 0.39 9 0.82
JT Marvelous 2010-11 Kurowashiki Tournament 3 11 80 7.27 2 0.18 62 - 50 - 80.6% 144 12 - 71 49.3% 0.41 7 0.64
Fenerbahçe 2011–12 Turkish Super Cup
Champions League[35] 12 40 228 5.70 18 0.45 85 13 34 64.8% 40.0% 409 43 15 193 47.2% 0.33 17 0.42
Season Total
2012–13 Turkish Cup
CEV Cup[36] 8 30 182 6.07 14 0.47 125 9 54 62.4% 43.2% 325 32 13 152 46.8% 0.33 16 0.53
Season Total
2013–14 Turkish Cup[37] 5 17 97 5.71 12 0.71 102 7 36 51% 35.3% 173 13 6 80 46.2% 0.35 5 0.29
CEV Cup[38] 8 25 134 5.36 21 0.84 121 13 37 45.5% 30.6% 195 11 9 99 50.8% 0.41 14 0.56
Season Total 13 42 231 5.50 33 0.79 223 20 73 - 32.7% 368 24 15 179 48.6% 0.38 19 0.45
2014–15 Turkish Super Cup[39] 1 3 11 3.67 0 0.00 13 1 4 30.8% 30.8% 32 4 6 10 31.2% 0.00 1 0.33
Turkish Cup[40] 2 8 56 7.00 4 0.50 38 2 11 45% 28.9% 97 9 4 45 46.4% 0.33 7 0.87
Champions League[41] 8 30 177 5.90 30 1.00 144 14 40 55.6% 27.8% 315 24 16 143 45.4% 0.33 4 0.13
Season Total 11 41 244 5.95 34 0.83 195 17 55 - 28.2% 444 37 26 198 44.6% 0.30 12 0.29
2015–16 Turkish Super Cup[42] 1 5 31 6.20 0 0.00 11 0 2 36% 18.2% 55 5 3 26 47.3% 0.33 5 1.00
Champions League[43] 12 43 229 5.33 20 0.47 265 11 86 57.3% 32.5% 424 31 8 193 45.5% 0.36 16 0.37
Season Total 13 48 260 5.42 20 0.42 276 11 88 - 31.9% 479 36 11 219 45.7% 0.36 21 0.44
2016–17 Turkish Cup[44] 3 10 46 4.60 7 0.70 43 3 16 58.1% 37.2% 80 8 5 37 46.2% 0.30 2 0.20
Champions League[45] 6 21 103 4.90 12 0.57 96 15 21 57.3% 21.9% 191 13 9 83 43.5% 0.32 8 0.38
Season Total 9 31 149 4.81 19 0.61 139 18 37 - 26.6% 271 21 14 120 44.3% 0.31 10 0.32
Eczacıbaşı 2018–19 Turkish Super Cup[46] 1 4 10 2.50 0 0.00 20 3 11 60.0% 55.0% 26 4 4 9 34.6% 0.04 1 0.25
Turkish Cup[47] 3 6 26 4.33 4 0.67 37 6 6 40.5% 16.2% 40 2 2 21 52.5% 0.42 1 0.17
Club World Championship[48] 5 17 66 3.88 3 0.18 122 4 19 - 15.6% 128 9 - 56 43.8% 0.37 7 0.41
Champions League[49] 8 27 119 4.41 12 0.44 158 6 46 54.4% 29.1% 207 14 10 97 46.9% 0.35 10 0.37
Season Total 17 54 221 4.09 19 0.35 337 19 82 - 24.3% 401 29 - 183 45.6% 0.34 19 0.35
2019–20 Turkish Super Cup[50] 1 5 16 3.20 1 0.20 27 1 9 44.4% 33.3% 31 1 3 11 35.5% 0.23 4 0.80
Club World Championship[51] 5 19 72 3.79 9 0.47 118 7 53 - 44.9% 135 18 - 55 40.7% 0.27 8 0.42
Season Total 6 24 88 3.67 10 0.42 145 8 62 - 42.8% 166 19 - 66 39.8% 0.28 12 0.50

Additional Information

Free Agent Status Dispute with Heungkuk Life

After the 2012 London Olympics, Kim had a dispute over her Free Agent Status with her previous Korean team Heungkuk Life. Kim and her agency claimed that she was a free agent, while Heungkuk Life claimed that she was still tied to the club as a player on loan, citing that she played in the Korean League for four seasons, two seasons short of the free agency qualification as stipulated by the local association regulations. Kim countered that she had completed all six seasons with Heungkuk Life, noting that she played four seasons in Korea, two years on loan at JT Marvelous and one year on loan at Fenerbahçe.[52]

Despite repeated attempts, the two sides failed to come to an agreement regarding Kim's status. Another spark started in 2013 when Heungkuk Life sent the official document explaining the issues between Kim and the team to Korea Volleyball Association (KVA), the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST), Korea Sports Council (KSC) and Korean Volleyball federation (KOVO). In that document, Heungkuk Life said Kim has been misleading the truth and claiming false arguments.

“Kim and her agent asked some politicians to change the rules relaying on her fans. When that didn’t work well, she insists that she’s a FA player mentioning FIVB rules. She’d better stop abusing her popularity and thinking of herself as a privileged player. She should try to solve this problem under the right principles and rules as soon as possible."[53]

Kim and her agent refuted Heungkuk Life’s theory. Kim said that the document included libelous statements. They emphasized this document wasn’t proper while both sides were still trying to solve the problem. They also explained that her contract with Heungkuk Life was terminated in June 30th, 2012.

“So she freely signed the contract with Fenerbahce on July 6th 2012. If she really broke the rules last July, KVA and KOVO must hold a committee meeting to determine punishment and announce the result. But Heungkuk Life solely sent the document condemning her to official organizations without following the correct procedures. She didn’t extent her contract with Heungkuk Life because she didn’t want to belong to them anymore. I wonder on what legal basis Heungkuk Life can claim Kim is in Heungkuk Life like their own property.”

At a press conference, Kim stated that she was willing to retire from the national team if her questions were not answered. Kim made three major demands for Heungkuk, KVA and KOVO: to inquire anew to FIVB whether she has a team she originally belongs to; answer her request for issuance of an agreement of consent on her international transfer that she submitted; and answer her appeal against the July 2nd public disclosure of her as a "player who randomly bolted her team".

"If I don't receive specific answers to my appeals to the Korea Volleyball Association and the Korea Volleyball Federation, I will not only end my career in the domestic professional league but also retire from the national team."[54]

On September 6th, 2013, FIVB sent the documents which contains their final decision about this issue to KVA, Heungkuk Life, Fenerbahçe, and Turkish Federation. The whole content of documents are not allowed to open unless FIVB’s prior approval. The essence of the decision is following:[55]

  1. The Korean Club is the Player’s Club of Origin for the 2013/2014 season.
  2. The total amount of transfer fee(s) in favour of the Korean Club and the KVA for the transfer of the Player to the Turkish Club for the 2013/2014 season shall not exceed EUR 228,750. The Player’s transfer to the Turkish Club shall not be subject to any other or further restrictions of any kind.
  3. After the 2013/2014 season the Player shall be deemed to have no Club of Origin, unless a valid employment contract is signed between the Player and any Korean Club in accordance with the FIVB Regulations.

FIVB explained that local Free Agent rule of KOVO can not be applied to the international transfer, and this case of international transfer they should respect FIVB regulation. If a Korean club does not have proper contract with specific expiry date, player can freely make contract with other clubs aboard regardless of they are obtained Free Agent status or not. While Heungkuk Life protested against this final decision, theorizing that Fenerbahçe had lobbied FIVB to decide in favor of them. Kim's agency Inspokorea defied this claim about the unofficial lobbing in a statement, noting that Heungkuk Life should respect the decision of FIVB.[56]

Various Injuries

Kim has suffered from various injuries throughout her athletic career and has had four knee surgeries alone during 2006 to 2009 while playing for Heungkuk Life.

In 2012, she tore her right meniscus during the preliminary game against Brazil during the 2012 London Olympics which was worsened when failing to land properly during the quarterfinals against Italy. Ahead of the 2012-2013 season, Kim decided to push through with only rehabilitation and not receive surgery despite various health checks that advised her to.[57]

In 2014, Kim broke her toenail whilst training, forcing her to miss a game against Eczacibasi VitrA ahead of playing the 100th game for Fenerbahce.[58]

In 2020, during the game against Kazakhstan in the Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament, she suffered from a abdominal injury.[59] After receiving treatment from a local hospital, she played during the finals against Head Coach Stefano Lavarini's advice. Due to a worsened injury, she has to miss at least a month of the 2019-2020 season playing for Eczacibasi due to rehabilitation.[60]

Filmography

Publications
  • It's Not Yet The End (아직 끝이 아니다/2016)[61]
  • It's Not Yet The End, Children's Book (아직 끝이 아니다-Super 지구별 배구왕 김연경/2018)[62]

References
  1. "Volleyball player Kim Yeon-koung scores 207 points". The Korea Times. AP. 12 Aug 2012. Retrieved 9 Oct 2019.
  2. "Kim and Bae dream of golden future for Korea". FIVB World Championships 2006. FIVB. 11 Nov 2006. Retrieved 9 Oct 2019.
  3. "Best Players". World Grand Champions Cup. FIVB. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  4. "女배구 김연경, "병원갈 시간도 없어요"" [Women's Volleyball Kim Yeon-koung, "I don't even have time to go to the hospital."] (in Korean). 30 Nov 2006. Retrieved 9 Oct 2019.
  5. "Kim V-Leagues 1st Export to Japanese Volleyball". Korea Times. 18 May 2009. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  6. "Toray wins volleyball crown again". The Japan Times. 11 Apr 2010. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  7. "Kim to play another year in Japan". The Korea Times. 19 May 2010. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  8. ""Filha" de Zé, amiga de Fabiana: Kim, a arma da Coreia no caminho do Brasil" [Zé's "daughter", Fabiana's friend: Kim, the Korean weapon on the way to Brazil] (in Portuguese). globoesporte. 12 Aug 2016. Retrieved 9 Oct 2019.
  9. "Fenerbahce and a Korean star named Kim shine in Baku". 25 Mar 2012. Retrieved 9 Oct 2019.
  10. "Player Ranking". 2012 CEV Volleyball Champions League - Women. FIVB. Retrieved 9 Oct 2019.
  11. "L'ADVERSAIRE Le Fener, constellation d'étoiles" [THE ADVERSARY The Fener, constellation of stars] (in French). 25 Mar 2012. Retrieved 9 Oct 2019.
  12. "Korean Kim wants to be a complete player". FIVB. 30 Jul 2012. Retrieved 23 Sep 2019.
  13. "Kim is a key player for Korea". FIVB. 30 Jul 2012.
  14. "Guidetti hails Kim Yeon-Koung as the best player in the world". FIVB. 2 Aug 2014. Retrieved 23 Sep 2019.
  15. "FIVB ATHLETES' COMMISSION: MAKING EVERY VOICE COUNT". FIVB. 30 Jan 2017. Retrieved 9 Oct 2019.
  16. "FIVB ATHLETES' COMMISSION APPROVED BY BOARD OF ADMINISTRATION". FIVB. 15 July 2016. Retrieved 9 Oct 2019.
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Awards
Preceded by
Sheilla Castro		 Best Scorer of
World Grand Champions Cup
2009		 Succeeded by
-
Preceded by
Kim Min-ji		 Best Scorer of
Asian Cup
2010		 Succeeded by
Onuma Sittirak
Preceded by
Wang Yimei		 Best Spiker of
Asian Cup
2010		 Succeeded by
Onuma Sittirak
Preceded by
Xue Ming		 Best Spiker of
Asian Championship
2011		 Succeeded by
Zhu Ting
Preceded by
Małgorzata Glinka		 Most Valuable Player of
CEV Champions League
2011-2012		 Succeeded by
Jovana Brakočević
Preceded by
Jelena Nikolić		 Best Scorer of
CEV Champions League
2011-2012		 Succeeded by
Madelaynne Montano
Preceded by
Paula Pequeno		 Most Valuable Player of
Olympic Games
2012		 Succeeded by
Zhu Ting
Preceded by
Logan Tom		 Best Scorer of
Olympic Games
2012		 Succeeded by
-
Preceded by
Yelena Pavlova		 Best Scorer of
Asian Championship
2009, 2011, 2013		 Succeeded by
-
Preceded by
Wei Qiuyue		 Best Server of
Asian Championship
2013		 Succeeded by
-
Preceded by
-		 Most Valuable Player of
CEV Cup
2013-2014		 Succeeded by
Tatiana Kosheleva
Preceded by
-		 Best Opposite Spiker of
Asian Cup
2014		 Succeeded by
Yekaterina Zhdanova
Preceded by
Bethania de la Cruz
Helena Havelková		 Best Outside Spiker of
CEV Champions League
2015-2016 (with Kimberly Hill)		 Succeeded by
Kelsey Robinson
Kimberly Hill
Preceded by
-		 Best Outside Spiker of
Asian Championship
2015 (with Zhu Ting)
2017 (with Chatchu-on Moksri)
2019 (with Mayu Ishikawa)		 Succeeded by
TBD
Preceded by
Gabriela Guimarães
Zhu Ting		 Best Outside Spiker of
FIVB Club World Championship
2019 (with Kimberly Hill)		 Succeeded by
TBD
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