Jens van 'T Wout, right, of the Netherlands and Park Jiwon, center, of Korea compete in the Men's 1500 meters Semi Final at the ISU World Short Track Championships 2025 in Beijing, March 15. EPA-Yonhap

Korean short trackers came up empty-handed on the first day of finals at the world championships in China, Saturday.

Park Ji-won placed fourth in the men's 1,500-meter final at the International Skating Union (ISU) World Short Track Championships at the Capital Indoor Stadium in Beijing, while Choi Min-jeong ended up in fifth place in the women's 1,000m final.

Park was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the men's 500m as the only Korean who'd even made it that far in the race.

Korea narrowly missed out on a spot in the final of the women's 3,000m relay, as it finished third in its semifinal heat when only the top two teams advanced.

Choi, the Korean anchor, tried to beat Xandra Velzeboer of the Netherlands for the second spot at the finish line, but the Dutch team crossed the line in 4:05.191, just ahead of Korea's 4:05.206.

Among Koreans, a male and a female skater who wins at least one individual gold medal, and leads his and her team in overall rankings will each receive an automatic spot on the national team for the 2025-26 season — and thus qualify for the 2026 Winter Games in Italy.

The competition will conclude Sunday with finals in the men's 1,000m and 5,000m relay, the women's 500m and 1,500m, and the mixed 2,000m relay. (Yonhap)