Kim Eunji

Kim Eunji (Hangul: 김은지; Hanja: 金恩持), b. 27 May 2007, is a Korean female prodigy and 9 dan professional Go player, often called “Korea’s genius girl”, who became a pro aged 12y 8m.

On the ranking lists for female players on 2024-01-01 and 2025-01-01| https://www.goratings.org/en/ladies/2025-01-01.html], Kim Eunji reached the #2 rank of both world and Korean females (behind only Choi Jeong). She is also the #1 ranked female teenager in the world. As of 15 Jan 2025, for both sexes, she is #128 in the world and #34 in Korea. Her lifetime professional score (as of 24 Jun 2025) is 573 games, 380 wins, 193 losses, for a 66.3% win rate.

On the Korean women’s ranking list, Kim’s own fine play and Choi Jung’s temporary slump allowed her to take the #1 spot briefly. Thus she temporarily fulfilled her stated ambition after winning the 1st Hyorim Cup while still a 3 dan, “I want to become a player who surpasses 9 Dan Choi Jeong.” But Kim narrowly regained #1 female ranking on the 6 Jan 2025 Korean list, #34 overall while Choi was #36. These two now go back and forth. In the May 2025 list, Kim is back at #1 female. Choi regained the top spot in the June 2025 list and #33 overall, while Kim is #2 female and #35 overall.

Table of contents Early career Promotion history Titles and runners up 2022 2023 2024 2025 Cheating controversy Nanseolheon Cup Female Supreme Player Women’s Kisung finals Genius Girls victories 10th Korean Women’s League 2024 Mixed-sex junior tournament successes Cho-A Pharmaceutical Cup Rookie Baduk Heroes Kuksu Cup 2024–5 Navy vs. Women Teams’ Competition Other appearances Career record Lifetime scores against top players Notable victories over leading (male) players Head-to-head scores against current female rivals (at least two games) Links Youtube reviews of her games Other videos Pictures

Early career

From an early age, Eunji was known as a prodigy. She excelled in children’s baduk competitions since 2012, when she was 5 years old. In 2018, when she was 10, she won the 1st BnBK Cup Women’s Amateur Championship by defeating Cho Eun-jin (24) in the finals. Later that year, she became only the second female Korean representative?] for the 35th World Youth Goe Championship, for the U-12 division. She beat another future female pro, Kim Min-seo (10, now 4p), in the final. The first Korean female representative was O Yujin, now 9p, for the 30th World Youth Baduk Championship in 2012, the year she became a professional.

Just before Kim Eunji became a pro, Park Jung-hwan played a teaching game with her. She commented:

Even though it was an event game, he played with great care, gave me good feedback, and was kind.

Her mother added:

I listened to the commentary that day, and the commentator said that he gave Eun-ji homework every move. I was very touched because he was kind even after it was over.

Just after she qualified as a pro, she expressed her ambitions clearly:

I want to be selected for the Women’s Baduk League this year, and I want to beat Choi Jeong 9-dan someday. I also want to win the world championship in the integrated tournament where male players also participate. I like Lee Chang-ho 9-dan, who is respected by many people, and I want to become a professional like Lee Chang-ho 9-dan.

She was asked about her favorite player, and she replied:

Lee Chang-ho, 9th Dan. He is not only good at Go, but he is also respected by many for his great character. I want to be like him.

Promotion history

• 9 dan / 2023.12.19 / Winner of major title, Female Kisung — Shortest period of time from going pro to reach 9 dan; youngest 9 dan
• 8 dan / 2023.11.12 / Winner of 3rd Nanseolheon Cup, Jehangijeon? special promotion up 1 dan
• 7 dan / 2023.09.20 / 7th Dan Promotion
• 6 dan / 2023.07.25 / Winner title, Jehangijeon? promoted up 1 dan
• 5 dan / 2022.12.04 / Winner 2nd Nanseolheon Cup promoted up 1 dan
• 4 dan / 2022.11.19 / 4 dan promotion
• 3 dan / 2022.04.21 / 3 dan Promotion
• 2 dan / 2020.10.22 / 2 dan Promotion
• 1 dan / 2020.01.10 / 53rd Women’s Entrance Competition

On 19 Dec 2023, Kim Eunji was promoted to 9 dan for taking the Women's Kisung title from Choi Jung. She was 16y 6m old, and apparently became the youngest ever, beating Fan Tingyu's 2013 record of 16y 7m. From qualification, it took her 3y 11m 9 days, or only 2y 11m 9 days if her 2020–21 suspension is excluded. This is probably also a record time.

Titles and runners up

2022

• Winner of 1st Hyorim Cup Future Empress Championship (d. Kim Minjung)
• Runner up of 6th Female Kisung (l. Choi Jung 0–2)
• Winner of 2nd Nanseolheon Cup (d. Kim Yun-young) earned promotion to 5p

2023

• Genius Girls international winner (Korea vs Japan, d. Nakamura Sumire 2–0)
• Runner up of 3rd Supreme Female Player (l. Choi Jung 1–2)
• Runner up of 3rd IBK Cup Women’s Baduk Masters (l. Choi Jung 0–2)
• Winner of 3rd Nanseolheon Cup (d. Kim Chaeyoung) earned promotion to 8p
• Winner of 7th Female Kisung (d. Choi Jung 2–1) earned promotion to 9p
• Winner of 1st Joa Pharmaceutical Cup Rookie Baduk Championship? (both sexes, d. Kwon Hyo-jin (m))

2024

• Genius Girls international winner (Korea vs China vs Japan, d. Wu Yiming and Nakamura Sumire 1–0 each)
• Runner up of 4th Supreme Female Player (l. Choi Jung 1–2)
• Winner of 4th Nanseolheon Cup (d. Heo Seo-hyeon 2–0)
• Runner up of mixed U17 12th Kuksu Cup (aka Ha Chan-seok National Cup Young Talent Baduk Competition (l. Cho Sangyeon (younger))
• Best score of any player in 10th Korean Women’s League (13/13, 100%).
• At 2024 Baduk Awards held at The Meridian in Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si on 26 Dec, won triple crown award for female players of most wins (81), most consecutive wins (13), and highest percentage (75%).

2025

• Best scorer for women’s team in the Sh Suhyup Bank Navy vs. Women's Pro-Win Competition
• Runner up of 5th Supreme Female Player (l. Choi Jung 1–2)
• Winner of mixed U17 12th Kuksu Cup (aka Ha Chan-seok National Cup Young Talent Baduk Competition (d. Jeong Jun-woo? 2–1); first female winner

Cheating controversy

In November 2020, shortly after qualifying as a professional, Kim became mired in an online AI cheating controversy concerning a game she had played against Yi Yeong-ku. The fallout from this resulted in her being suspended from the KBA for a year. Kim Eunji didn't attend the hearing, but her mother Kim Yeon-hee did, and said:

I have nothing to say but I’m sorry. I was so busy raising my child that I didn’t pay attention to what was going on around me. I will think about it again using this incident as an opportunity.

Kim used this year to read a book a day, learn horse riding, and study for middle school qualification. Previously her life had been all Baduk. Because Baduk is usually played without talking, she had no real friends, just an older sister.

The only person she had deep conversations with was her mother, also her homeschool teacher and advocate. She was particularly grateful that horse-riding had improved Eunji’s spirit and strength, adding:

Eun-ji is naturally fearless. She really enjoys riding a horse and running through mountains, fields, and lakesides. … She has really grown so much.

After reading after reading the book series Grumpy Jae-seok, Kim Eunji wrote:

I have only studied Baduk since I was 6 years old, so I never felt the importance or need for friends. This book helped me understand the meaning of friends and relationships when I didn’t go to school and didn’t have any friends my age, and it comforted me a lot during my difficult times. After reading this book, I also started to think about making real friends for the first time.

• Read more on forum thread in lifein19×19.com.
• See a Spanish language YouTube video about the controversy, by Estudiando Go con Ini.
• Cho Yeonwoo discussed the cheating incident in English shortly after the suspension began

Nanseolheon Cup

Kim has won editions 2–4 of the Nanseolheon Cup, 2022–2024. For winning the 2nd, she was promoted a dan rank to 5 dan, and for winning the 3rd, she was promoted a dan rank to 8 dan.She was already 9 dan when she won the 3rd.

Female Supreme Player

For the 3rd to 5th editions of the Female Supreme Player, 2023–2025, Kim has been runner-up to Choi Jeong 1–2. Each time, Kim won the first game but Choi won the next two.

In the 3rd and 4th editions, Kim reached the final after winning the losers’ group in the repêchage format. In the 5th, she won the winners’ group by beating Heo Seo-hyeon 5p (W+R), Cho Seunga 7p (W+R), and Choi Jung 9p herself (B+R), all showing her fighting skill, in the winners group. Choi beat Nakamura Sumire 4p to win the Loser’ final. Kim won the first game of the best-of-3 match (B+R) but lost the second (W–R) and the third (B+R).

Choi Jung has thus won all 5 editions of the Female Supreme Player. After she won the 5th, she said:

I didn’t know it was a 5-game winning streak, but now that I know, it feels even more meaningful. Someday, Kim Eun-ji will lead the women’s Go world, but I will also try my best to hold on so that other junior players can grow together. Last year was tough, but this year, it seems like it was even harder to get there. It was a season where I was able to grow a lot.

Women’s Kisung finals

In 2022, Kim lost to Choi Jung in the final of the 6th edition of the Women's Kisung, 0–2. The next year, she beat Choi 2–1, which earned Kim’s promotion by one dan rank to 9 dan.

Genius Girls victories

In January 2023, Kim won the Korea–Japan Genius Girls’ tournament. She beat Nakamura Sumire 2–0 in hard-fought games.

In January 2024, Kim won a three-way competition, the “Three Kingdoms of Korea–China–Japan Genius Girl” tournament. She beat both Nakamura Sumire and Wu Yiming, the latter for the first time. Kim Chang-geum: Kim Eunji, Winner of Korea-China-Japan Genius Girls’ Three Kingdoms by defeating Wu Yiming, 2024-01-07 (in Korean)

10th Korean Women’s League 2024

Kim Eunji was captain of the Yeosu World Island Expo team in the 10th Korean Women’s League. She had the best score of any player, 13/13 (she missed R1 because she was still playing in the China Women’s Group A League ).She was the only player with 100% wins, while everyone else dropped two or more games.

Mixed-sex junior tournament successes

Kim has succeeded in junior events open to both sexes.

Cho-A Pharmaceutical Cup Rookie Baduk Heroes

She won the 1st Cho-A Pharmaceutical Cup Rookie Baduk Heroes, open to both sexes, and includes some strong amateurs as well as professionals. This was the first time a female player won a professional junior tournament open to both sexes. In the final, she beat Kwon Hyo-jin (m), then 6p, now 7p.

In the 2nd, she was eliminated in the quarterfinals; Han Woo-jin 9p won the tournament. In the 3rd, she hopes to regain her title. In an interview at the opening ceremony, she said:

Practical experience is really important for new players, so I am grateful that you have opened the Rookie Baduk Heroes Tournament following the Rookie League. Winning the first season remains a precious and meaningful memory for me. Last year, I was unfortunately eliminated in the quarterfinals, but this year, I will challenge for the championship.

Kuksu Cup

She was runner up of 12th Kuksu Cup (aka Ha Chan-seok National Cup Young Talent Baduk Competition, U17 championship open both sexes, l. Cho Sangyeon (younger) 1p, W–R). She would have been the first female winner, and as a 9p playing a 1p, she would have been hot favorite.

In the 13th Kuksu Cup she indeed became the first female winner in 2025. She beat Jeong Jun-woo? 3p 2–1; he had previously eliminated the previous winner, Cho Sangyeon (younger), now 4p. By winning this mixed title, Kim qualified to compete in the Korea–China Gifted Competition and the Top vs. Gifted Competition scheduled to be held in October and November.

2024–5 Navy vs. Women Teams’ Competition

In the New Year of 2025, Kim played in Sh Suhyup Bank Navy vs. Women's Pro-Win Competition. This was a match of a Navy team, all 9p, playing top females, with only #1 Choi Jung 9p not playing, It was a six-per-side win-and- continue format, playing best-of-3 matches. Go Geun-tae beat the four of the female team in a row: O Yujin 9p, Cho Seunga 7p, Nakamura Sumire 3p, and Kim Chaeyeong 9p. Kim was the last bastion of the female team, and she beat Go Geun-tae 2–0 and thus ended his streak on New Year’s Day 2025. She kept her side in play, and then beat Yoon Jun-sang 2–1 on 3 Jan. But she lost to Heo Yeong-ho 0–2 on 4 Jan. So her team lost 3–6, but she contributed ⅔ of her team’s score. O Yujin was the only other female player to win a match.

Other appearances

Kim played in the 2022 Uijeongbu International Rookie Team Championship and the 2023 Asian Games.

Career record

Kim has won 69 professional games in 2024, the second highest number of wins for Korean professionals of either sex. Only fellow girl prodigy Nakamura Sumire has won more, 71, but Kim has lost only 21 to Nakamura’s 39. Kim’s win rate of 77% is second only to Shin Jinseo’s 85%. (From Korea players win-loss, Go for Everyone.)

Lifetime scores against top players

(Based on Kim Eunji, Go Ratings and game list), as of 25 Jun 2025.)

Notable victories over leading (male) players

Kim Eunji has taken games from some of the greatest players in recent history, mainly of older generations, e.g.

• Lee Changho 9p (her childhood hero): 1–0
• Yoo Changhyuk 9p: 2–0
• Weon Seong-chin 9p: 1:0
• Gu Zihao 9p: 1:0 (then ranked #5 in the world)
• Xie Erhao 9p: 1:0 (then ranked #32 in the world)

Head-to-head scores against current female rivals (at least two games)

• Choi Jung, 9p, #1 female and overall #65 in world: 7–18
• Zhou Hongyu, 7p, #4 female in world, #1 female in China: 0–2
• O Yujin, 9p, #6 f. world, #3 f. Korea: 9–4
• Yu Zhiying, 8p, #7 female in world, #2 female in China: 3–0
• Kim Chaeyeong, 9p, #9 f. world, #4 f. Korea: 6–2
• Wu Yiming, 6p, #9 f. and #2 f. teenager world, #3 f. China: 1–2
• Li He, 6p, #⁶12 female in world, #6 female in China: 2–0
• Nakamura Sumire, 4p, #14 f. world, #3 f. Japan, #5 f. Korea: 6–0
• Cho Seunga, 7p, #15 f. world, #6 f. Korea: 13–1
• Kim Hye-min (#19 f, #7 f Korea): 6–2
• Cho Hyeyeon, 9p, #28 female in world, once #1 and many years #2 female in world: 1–2
• Kim Eunseon 6p, Winner Baduk Masters Queen: 2–0
• Heo Seo-hyeon, 5p, Hyorim Cup winner: 11–3
• O Jeonga, 5p, 1st IBK Cup runner up: 5–0
• Jeong Yujin, 4p, Winner 2nd IBK Cup: 2–2
• Kim Minseo, 4p, 3–1
• Kim Jooah, 4p, Runner up, 2nd Hyorim Cup Future Empress Championship: 3–3
• Lee Suljoo, 3p: 1–1

Links

• Korean Wikipedia
• Korean Baduk player information
• NamuWiki
• Go4Go
• Go Ratings and Games

Youtube reviews of her games

• vs Byun Sangil, by Cho Yeonwoo (Yeonwoo) (video)
• vs Cho Yeonwoo, by Yeonwoo (video)
• vs Nakamura Sumire, by Yeonwoo (video)
• vs Shibano Toramaru, by Baduk Doctor (video)
• vs Shin Minjun, by Yeonwoo (video)
• vs Shin Jinseo, by Dwyrin (video)
• vs Ueno Asami, by Baduk Doctor (video)
• vs Wu Yiming, by Yeonwoo (video)

The reviews of her games against Nakamura Sumire and Won Seongjin were removed, probably to become commercial content for Awesome Baduk.

Other videos

• A post-game interview with Kim Eunji and Wu Yiming, “the youngest national team members of Korean and the Chinese teams” in July 2023.
• A pre-game interview and a post-game interview after defeating Shin Minjun in the 46th Myeongin’s quarter-finals in the winners’ bracket in September 2023.

Pictures

kim eunji rookie female award dec2022 (Image credit: Foxwq.com)

kim eunji aug2023 (Image credit: Foxwq.com)

Kim Eunji Asian Games 2023 (Image credit: Foxwq.com)

Kim Eunji aged 12 with her mother Kim Yeon-hee
Winner, 1st BnBK Women's Amateur Consecutive Wins Tournament, 18 Apr 2018 ,2023 (Image credit: Foxwq.com?)