Kang Bo-bae (; born June 12, 2005, in Uijeongbu) is a South Korean curler from Jeonbuk. She currently skips the Jeonbuk Province curling team. She is a two-time world junior champion skip (, ).
At just 16 years old, Kang made her international debut as skip of the Korean team at the 2022 World Junior Curling Championships. There, she led her team of Park Han-byul, Choi Ye-jin, Lee You-sun and Jo Ju-hee to a 3âÂÂ6 record, relegating the country to the 2022 World Junior-B Curling Championships the following year. At the B championship, her team defeated Turkey 11âÂÂ10 in the bronze medal game, finishing in the top three and securing their spot at the 2023 World Junior Curling Championships in Füssen, Germany. This time, the team went 4âÂÂ5 in the round robin, finishing sixth place and avoiding relegation. The following season, however, her team lost the Korean Junior title to Kang's former teammate Park Han-byul and did not participate in the world championship.
After graduating high school, Kang was recruited to skip the Jeonbuk Province women's team with teammates Shim Yu-jeong, Kim Min-seo and Kim Ji-soo for the 2024âÂÂ25 season. This team found immense success in their first season together, specifically on the Canadian tour, beginning by winning the Prestige Hotels & Resorts Curling Classic in October 2024. They continued this momentum into the following month, picking up two additional titles at the MCT Showdown and the DeKalb Superspiel, defeating countrymate and 2018 Olympic silver medalist Kim Eun-jung at the latter. They also finished runner-up at the S3 Group Curling Stadium Series to Xenia Schwaller.
By winning both the university and junior trials, Jeonbuk Province represented Korea at all international junior events during the season. In December 2024, Kang and her team won the 2024 World Junior-B Curling Championships, earning the right to compete in the 2025 World Junior Curling Championships. Before Worlds, though, the team played in the 2025 Winter World University Games where they topped the round robin standings with an 8âÂÂ1 record. They then defeated Norway in the semifinal before coming up short against Japan in the final, settling for silver. At the World Junior Championship, Kang's rink finished 6âÂÂ3 through the round robin, securing the third seed in the playoffs. They then beat Sweden in the semifinal before defeating Germany 8âÂÂ2 in the championship game, securing Korea's first ever women's world junior title. At the end of the season, Kang teamed up with Kim Hak-jun to represent Korea at the inaugural 2025 World Junior Mixed Doubles Curling Championship. There, the team finished with a 7âÂÂ2 record and earned the bronze medal, defeating Sweden 6âÂÂ5.
To begin the 2025âÂÂ26 season, Jeonbuk Province competed in the 2025 Korean Curling Championships. There, they had an impressive run, finishing 6âÂÂ2 in the round robin and defeating Gangneung's Team Kim in both the round robin and 3 vs. 4 page playoff game. They ultimately lost in the semifinal to the eventual champion Gim Eun-ji, earning a bronze medal. Team Kang also qualified for their first Grand Slam of Curling event at the 2025 GSOC Tahoe, where they would finish 2âÂÂ2 after the round robin and qualify for the playoffs after beating Canada's Kerri Einarson 7âÂÂ0 in a tiebreaker. They would then lose to Rachel Homan in the quarterfinals. Kang would once again compete at the 2026 World Junior Curling Championships, where she would successfully defend her title, finishing 8âÂÂ1 through the round robin, and then going on to beat the United States in the semifinal and then Sweden's Moa Dryburgh 14âÂÂ7 in the championship game.
Kang is originally from Gyeonggi Province but moved to Jeonbuk in 2024. She currently attends Korea National Open University. She previously attended Hoeryong Middle School and Songhyun High School.