It was the last frontier for Park Joo Bong to conquer as coach. Two years ago, Japan, on the verge of beating China for the first time at the Sudirman Cup, had four match points in the semifinals.

Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi, playing impeccably against Liu Yu Chen and Ou Xuan Yi, needed to convert one of those four opportunities in the closing stages of the third game to make history. That one point would have seen China fail to make the final for the first time in three decades; it would also have set Japan up for the one major title they had yet to win.

Park Joo Bong groans when reminded of that moment. Japan’s then coach, now in charge of Korea, hasn’t been able to come to terms with the crushing disappointment of Hoki and Kobayashi’s inability to shut the door on their opponents, which enabled China to surge past and decimate Korea in the final.

“I don’t want to remember that,” Park winces. “We were winning, and then suddenly… it still hurts. Only that time did we have a chance to win against China. As Japan coach, the team won Olympic gold, World Championships, Thomas Cup, Uber Cup, so my last target was the Sudirman Cup, but we couldn’t make it. If we had won, maybe everything would be complete.”

In the aftermath of what could have been one of Japan’s greatest team achievements, the team appeared to run out of steam at the next major events, failing to win a medal at the Thomas Cup and taking home a bronze at the Uber Cup. There were modest returns at the World Championships 2023 and the Paris Olympics 2024. It was time for Park to move on, having served Japan for two decades.

As he was contemplating retirement, it was something of a surprise, he said, to get a call-up from his home country.

“This is my last chance to coach the Korean team,” Park says, of his appointment as Korea’s chief coach. “It was always in my heart; I wanted to be Korean chief coach one day. So if it didn’t happen, I would retire. I didn’t have expectations. It happened at the last minute, and I accepted the position.

The contract, he says, is for two years. His immediate goal in Xiamen is to take Korea to the title.

“The target is to become champion. There are some injury concerns. An Se Young has recovered, and Seo and Kim played many tournaments, and they didn’t have a good result at the Asian Championships, so it depends on the players’ condition, and how much fighting spirit they show.”

While the missed opportunity in 2023 with Japan hurts him, there’s now an opportunity to take Korea to the title – which would be his first Sudirman Cup title as coach. He recalls a brief coaching stint with his home country, during which he helped them to an all-Korean final at the Olympics.

“As player I won the title two times. After the 1992 Olympics I retired but they called me back. Then I played only the Sudirman Cup. Before the Korean team went to the Athens Olympics, I trained the Korean team for five months. Kim Dong Moon/Ha Tae Kwon became champions, Lee Dong Soo/Yoo Yong Sung were runners-up.”

What should have been a natural fit for Korea’s most accomplished player has come in the evening of his career – taking charge as his country’s chief coach.

“Anyway, I’m back home and I’m happy. Almost 29 years later I’m back in Korea.”