GOYANG-SI, South Korea – Yealimi Noh made her first trip to South Korea at 3 months old. Her mother, Kim, is from the Seoul area, and her father, Brian, was raised on Jeju Island. The elegant Noh, a first-generation Korean-American, grew up in Concord, California, where her parents owned a sushi restaurant called Happy Roll. While English was her first language, Noh grew up speaking Korean with her parents. Every year, she’d spend two weeks with the family in Seoul.
At this week’s Hanwha Life Plus International Crown, Noh is one of four Americans representing the United States in the four-day, eight-team match play event. She replaced Nelly Korda, who withdrew several weeks ago due to injury.
For Noh, the Crown represents the best of both worlds, playing on South Korean soil while wearing red, white and blue. On Tuesday at New Korea Country Club, Noh took part in a celebrity charity pro-am, playing alongside two popular Korean singers and an influencer.
“They love it. It’s just, like, such a different environment over here,” said Noh of Korea’s golf culture. “The golf clubs, the golf carts, the caddies, all that. They just love golf, and they’re super supportive of women’s golf. I think they really do see professional golfers as like, gods of golf, you know?”
At the recent BMW Ladies Championship on the southernmost tip of the mainland, fans yelled her full Korean name, “Noh Yealim,” (her dad added the “i”) as she contended for her second LPGA title, ultimately taking a share of fifth.
“Last week was amazing,” gushed Noh. “It was definitely different and surreal, honestly.”
It’s been a milestone year for the 24-year-old, who won her first title at the Founders Cup in February and got engaged to fiancé Jackson Suh over the summer in Spain. The golf-obsessed Suh, a former collegiate tennis player, works in the tech industry in San Francisco.
“He’s very, very good, so he’s allowed to be obsessed,” explained Noh, who admits that Suh occasionally beats her from the back tees.
Suh won the first amateur tournament he ever played in, and the couple celebrated his birthday in March with a round at Pebble Beach. Incredibly, it was Noh’s first time playing the iconic track.
“I’ve literally played every other course in that area of but Pebble and Cypress,” said Noh, “because all the NorCal tournaments are up there. I didn’t realize how lucky we were as juniors in the NorCal area to be playing these courses, because now I’m like, oh, I have to try to get on this course, and it’s expensive.”
Now she’s viewing recreational golf trips through a new lens with Suh by her side.
Noh picked up golf at the same time as her dad. It was Dad, along with her coach, who suggested she give the long putter a try two years ago. The switch revamped Noh’s entire game.
“He says he’s not obsessed, but he is,” said Noh, who also noted dad’s game is “really good.”
Legendary South Korean player Seri Pak played in Tuesday’s charity event, and the LPGA Hall of Famer’s influence had a significant impact on Noh’s early career. As a junior, Noh won Pak’s AJGA junior event in California, which got her a spot in the field at the LPGA’s Hana Bank Championship (now the BMW).
“It was my first introduction to pro golf, in Korea too, and I ended up getting sponsored by Hana Bank,” said Noh, “so she had played a very big role in my career.”
Noh turned pro in 2019 at age 17 and made her professional debut at the Taiwan Women’s Golf Open, an event that’s co-sponsored by the Korean LPGA. She had no status on any major tour at the time, but two years later had earned a spot on the Solheim Cup team.
This week, 2026 U.S. Solheim Cup captain Angela Stanford has been in touch with the American foursome in South Korea about potential pairings. Noh said she’s never played a round of golf with teammate Lauren Coughlin. She last played with Angel Yin in 2024 and Lilia Vu at the start of this season.
“It’s actually crazy how many people you don’t play within the year,” said Noh.
Team USA got together for dinner for the first time on Monday night, and they’ll play their first practice round together on Wednesday.
No doubt Noh will be among the crowd favorites this week in a place on the other side of the world that feels like a second home.
