Another Key "Player" on the Korean WBC Roster at the Okinawa Training Camp

Ko Gilseok, Director of Gwangju Central Hospital, Travels with Team as Doctor
Acts as Full-Time Team Physician for WBC National Squad

Another Key "Player" on the Korean WBC Roster at the Okinawa Training Camp
At the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) second camp in Okinawa, Japan, Ko Gilseok, Director-in-Chief of Gwangju Central Hospital (sixth from the left in the photo), and players are posing for a photo. Photo courtesy of Gwangju Central Hospital

The training field in Okinawa, Japan is not a place where only the players are active. There is someone who moves most busily between the dugout and the training field. It is Ko Gilseok, chief medical director of Gwangju Central Hospital, who is serving as team doctor for the Korean national baseball team.

At the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) second training camp (Okinawa, Japan), which is being held from February 15 to 28, Ko is in charge of the squad’s “invisible strength.”

It is his responsibility to prevent injuries amid intensive training and to relieve the fatigue that has already accumulated.

Ko joined the national team medical staff starting with the 2025 NAVER K-BASEBALL SERIES evaluation games against the Czech Republic and Japan. Following the first training camp in Saipan in January and now the second camp in Okinawa, he has been continuously accompanying the team, effectively moving as one with the national squad.

Rather than one-off support, he is playing the role of a “full-time team physician” throughout the entire process.

Another Key "Player" on the Korean WBC Roster at the Okinawa Training Camp
Kim Doyoung of the local team Kia Tigers and Go Gilsuk, chief director of Gwangju Central Hospital, are posing for a commemorative photo. Photo by Gwangju Central Hospital

The core focus of this Okinawa camp is to strengthen physical fitness and teamwork. As training intensity increases, muscle fatigue and micro-injuries become inevitable.

Ko checks each player’s condition every day and applies programs such as musculoskeletal injury prevention. In particular, he is concentrating on customized recovery plans to minimize muscle damage and the buildup of fatigue.

His approach goes beyond simple treatment to scientifically managing the cycle of “training-recovery-retraining.”

An official from the national team said, “The rougher the training, the more important the role of the medical staff becomes,” adding, “Ko is stabilizing the field by communicating closely with the players.”

The most dangerous variable in a short international tournament is a sudden injury. The fact that Ko has been with the team for both the first and second camps carries considerable significance for the national team. Because he already understands the players’ physical conditions and individual characteristics, he does not miss even minor warning signs.

Ko said, “As a member of the medical staff, I will do my best to ensure that the players can enter the main tournament in peak condition and without injuries.”

Meanwhile, once the national team completes this second camp in Okinawa, it will move into full-scale game action in preparation for the main tournament of the World Baseball Classic. The first group-stage game of the WBC is against the Czech Republic on March 5, followed by games against Japan on March 7, Taiwan on March 8, and Australia on March 9.