First-Ever Overseas Korean Rookie Born... "I Dream of Becoming the Oldest Rookie of the Year"

[Anchor]

In the Women's Professional Volleyball Rookie Draft, an overseas Korean player has claimed the honor of being the number one overall pick for the first time in history. Let's meet 24-year-old setter Audrey Park, who has come from the United States.

Reporter Kim Jin-woo has the story.

[Reporter]

Born in San Francisco, United States, Audrey Park started playing volleyball at the age of nine, went through UCLA, and played as a starting-level setter in the U.S. professional league last season.

She had always wanted to play in her grandmother's home country of South Korea, and when the draft was opened to foreign-national compatriots last year, she decided to take on the challenge of the Korean stage.

And at the rookie draft,

[Masayoshi Manabe / Head Coach, IBK Altos: IBK selects Audrey Park from UCLA.]

She donned the IBK uniform as the number one overall pick.

[Audrey Park: Hello, my name is Audrey Park. I am so grateful to be selected number one and truly thankful to the league for giving me this opportunity.]

Citing consistent tosses as her strength, Audrey Park expressed confidence in adapting to a changing environment, from training methods to dormitory life and food.

[Audrey Park: I love Korean food. My grandmother made me a lot of delicious Korean food. I especially like sujebi (hand-pulled dough soup).]

Her family, who crossed the Pacific Ocean to visit the draft venue in person, was moved to tears.

[Kim Young-hee / Audrey Park's Maternal Grandmother: It's always a homeland I've longed for. It makes me want to cry... I just can't believe it and I'm so happy.]

At 24, taking on this challenge at a relatively mature age, Audrey Park's goal is to win the Rookie of the Year award as the oldest recipient.

[Audrey Park: I think it's a fun and unique situation to be recognized as a rookie even though I'm 24 years old. Playing in Korea was my dream, so I'm really excited.]

(Camera Reporter: Yoo Dong-hyuk, Video Editing: Hwang Ji-young, Design: Taeyoung Park, Video Source: YouTube 'Big Ten Volleyball')
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.