KOREA PATH

fly-half SEUNGSIN LEE tells us about representing his Korean heritage on the Test stage

-  Josh Graham

SOUTH KOREA’S dream of going to the Rugby World Cup was dashed by Hong Kong in the Asia Rugby Championship final, but the nation will still have a representative.

Kobe Steelers and Japan fly-half Seungsin Lee, 22, is ethnically Korean and became the first player to star for the Brave Blossoms having attended a Korean school when he made his debut against Uruguay in June 2022.

Lee’s grandfather, Yeongchul Kim, brought the family over to start a new life, presumably never envisaging that his grandson would represent their adopted nation on the rugby field.

And while Lee is adamant his future lies with Jamie Joseph’s side, having idolised legendary Japanese wing Hirotoki Onozawa as a youngster, he is more than happy to do his bit for the game he loves in Korea, who are ranked 30th by World Rugby.

“I have never thought about playing in Korea or for Korea because I picked up the oval ball here in Japan,” explains Lee, who represents the Land of the Rising Sun alongside the South Korea-born prop Ji-won Koo.

“I have grown up as a rugby player in this country, always admiring all the Japan national team players and I wanted to be one of them in the future, which is why I will always play for the Japan national team.

“Since I’ve been playing for Japan, I get a lot of messages from players who are playing rugby in Korea. I also had the chance to have dinner with the president of the Korean Rugby Union. I could have a closer relationship with people involved in rugby back in Korea.