At the 48th WorldSkills Competition in Shanghai, South Korea placed second overall, winning 4 gold medals, 14 silver medals, 6 bronze medals, and 16 Medallions for Excellence.

While the host country China swept 41 gold medals out of 64 categories to take the overall championship, South Korea maintained its second-place rank following the 2024 Lyon competition.

We met with the national team athletes competing in various categories in Shanghai.

Eligibility for the WorldSkills Competition is open to young skilled workers aged between 23 and 25 depending on the category.

We met with these young people in Shanghai as they wrapped up the skills competition.

-How did you start welding?

"When I was a freshman at a mechanical technical high school, I went through a phase where I didn't study, so my father advised me to join the school's skills class and try welding. I've been welding ever since, and after winning a prize at the National Skills Competition, I was hired specially by Samsung Heavy Industries."

-What does the welding category cover at the WorldSkills Competition?

"At the skills competition, you have to be good at all kinds of welding. For example, the welding widely used in shipyards feeds wire automatically for fast and powerful welding. There is also minute welding specialized for lightweight work such as aluminum or stainless steel. Furthermore, there is electric welding, often used in the military, which is done using a stick rod. You have to perform well across all these various welding tasks to get a good evaluation."

-What is the scoring method at the WorldSkills Competition?

"First, the exterior appearance of the welded part is graded, and then an interior evaluation is conducted by taking X-rays. If pores or defects are spotted in the welded area on the X-ray, points are deducted. You have to react minutely to a flash of fire lasting 0.1 seconds while welding. When a tiny air bubble appears for about 0.1 seconds, you need to immediately stop welding, grind that part down, or take corrective action."

-Were there any moments of crisis during the match?

"A steel plate with a texture different from the ones I had practiced with was given as a task. So I stopped welding, took about 30 seconds to breathe, drank a sip of water, steadied my mind, and went back to welding. Whenever my concentration wavered, I gathered confidence and reminded myself with the thought, 'I will prove it to everyone.'"


-We heard China was the most concerning competitor.

"In the electrical control category, China won gold medals consecutively in the previous two competitions. Since the host location was China, we had to use almost local Chinese electrical materials. Chinese athletes had a major advantage in using familiar local materials, and since China is originally strong in this field, it worried me a lot."

-What was difficult during the competition?

"Not getting much sleep over the four days of the competition made my body feel sluggish, and as a result, my working time itself was somewhat delayed. When training in Korea, I didn't sweat like this, but during this competition, my clothes were completely soaked after just one task."


-The WorldSkills Competition, prepared over several months, has now concluded.

"My parents started visiting temples and praying a month ago knowing I was going to the WorldSkills Competition. I am grateful to my parents, my instructor, and the senior assistant instructors. Now, as a senior with international competition experience, I want to work in guiding juniors by passing down my experience."


-Competitors from rival countries showed strong performances.

"Usually in the tile category at the WorldSkills Competition, athletes from only three to four countries successfully complete the final project. However, this time, quite a few countries completed the task. Including myself, five countries finished: China, Austria, Germany, and France. The tile category tends to depend heavily on individual athletes' capabilities rather than national-level technical know-how."

-Were there moments of crisis?

"During the four days of the WorldSkills competition, there were moments every single day where I thought, 'Oops.' There are dimensions provided in the blueprints, and if the calculations are wrong, you have to rework or go back to the previous step. Some dimensions were different. Every time that happened, I asked myself, 'Can you do this right now?', and the thought immediately came to mind, 'I can do it right now.' I went through it with the mindset that no matter what mistakes or variables arise, I would somehow pull it off."

-Your fingernails look unevenly ground down.

"If I trim my nails too short, I tend to hurt my skin while grinding tiles, so I prefer to keep my nails a bit long. Consequently, while working, my nails often get worn down or stained."

-Thoughts on finishing the competition.

"Now that I think about how the journey I ran for the WorldSkills Competition is over, I also feel a sense of regret. I had a big desire to just finish it quickly, but now that it's over, it feels regrettable. It was such a valuable experience. Being able to immerse oneself solely in a single field is not an opportunity that comes easily, and I am so glad that this opportunity came to me. I am grateful to my mother, who had a hard time raising my older sister and me alone."