Tabei Award goes to Kim Young-mi

[Anchor]

Kim Young-mi, who successfully crossed the Antarctic continent solo, has been honored as the inaugural recipient of the Tabei Junko Award, given to the top female mountaineer by the Union of Asian Alpine Associations(UAAA).

Reporter Shim Byeong-il reports from Terelj, Mongolia.

[Report]

Vast grasslands and the traditional nomadic dwellings called gers.

The UAAA's general assembly was held in Mongolia, the land of Genghis Khan, who built a great empire.

This year's assembly was more special than usual.

It marks the 50th anniversary of Japan's Tabei Junko becoming the first woman in the world to reach the summit of Mount Everest.

To honor that achievement, the federation established the Tabei Junko Award and selected Kim Young-mi from South Korea as the inaugural recipient.

[Kim Young-mi: "I heard that the selection criteria for this award were the spirit of challenge, the value of exploration records, and ongoing exploration activities. I am honored to be selected as the first recipient."]

High-altitude climber Kim Young-mi challenged herself to explore Antarctica and successfully reached the South Pole solo without resupply in 2023, becoming the first Asian woman to do so.

Earlier this year, she set a record for the solo crossing of the Antarctic continent, walking over 1,700 km.

[Owada Eiko/Japan/Mountaineer: "We are very happy that you had the very first opportunity to get the Tabei Junko Award. Congratulations again."]

The UAAA plans to actively support the climbing and exploration activities of female mountaineers, using the establishment of the Tabei Junko Award as a starting point.

[Bae Gyeong-mi/Secretary General of UAAA: "It has been over 30 years since the UAAA was founded, and many female mountaineers are active not only in Korea, Japan, and China, but also in Nepal, Pakistan, and Iran."]

The UAAA also decided to deepen the sharing of mountaineering information and mutual support among member organizations from 13 countries, further enhancing the status of Asian mountaineering.

This is Shim Byeong-il from KBS News in Terelj, Mongolia.