Women’s Korean Basketball League features three female head coaches
Opening the 2026–2027 season on November 1, the Women’s Korean Basketball League features three female head coaches for the first time since the league’s 1998 inception, according to a report by the Hankyoreh.
Female Head Coaches Increase in League Leadership
Busan BNK head coach Park Jeong-eun enters the new campaign alongside Incheon Shinhan Bank coach Choi Yoon-ah and Asan Woori Bank coach Chun Joo-won. For the first two decades of the league’s history, female leadership remained rare. Lee Ok-ja took charge of Guri KDB Life in 2012 as the first female head coach, followed by Yoo Young-joo at BNK in 2019. Over the past five seasons, three female coaches have emerged.
Basketball industry insiders point out that shifting leadership styles toward open communication, paired with Park securing the league’s first championship for a female coach during the 2024–2025 championship series, paved the way for these appointments. Park noted at the media day on October 27 that she stood as the league’s sole female coach just two years prior.
Title Contenders Strengthen Rosters for New Season
Woori Bank and Cheongju KB enter the season as primary title contenders based on preseason voting. Woori Bank added 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games gold medalist Kang Lee-seul to partner with veteran Kim Dan-bi. Chun acknowledged feeling early-season pressure but brings 14 years of experience as a Woori Bank coach, where she helped lead the team to championships alongside former head coach Wi Seong-woo.
BNK features a deep roster capable of maintaining a 10-player rotation without losing productivity, supported by the addition of Choi I-sam. Meanwhile, Shinhan Bank looks to rebound from a last-place finish behind the expanded impact of the Asian quarter system, which now spans the second and third quarters. Shinhan Bank’s Sakura Noguchi led the team to a third-place finish at the Park Shin-ja Cup after drawing top preseason expectations.
The head-to-head matchups between these coaches begin on November 4 when Shinhan Bank faces Woori Bank.
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