"Jiayou Zhongguo! Jiayou Aouyonghui!" so goes the official Beijing Olympic chant. Testament to the One World, One Dream mantra of this year's Games, it's a Korean who has been charged with teaching these words (plus a few nifty dance moves) to some of China's top cheerleaders. Cho Soojin is her name, and this August her girls will be performing at two of the Games' biggest events.

Cho established herself as go-to girl for cheerleading in China after her squad of dancers turned heads at the 2002 World Cup. The use of Chinese elements in their dance and costume attracted a lot of positive attention, and since then her studio, Soojin Dance, was designated the official cheerleader-training center for the CBA from 2002-2004.

the Beijinger met this hot Korean cheerleader captain to talk about her unusual career.

the Beijinger: You started your career as a gymnast, how did you get into coaching cheerleading in China?

I originally brought RMB 40,000 with me to come to Beijing Language Culture University to learn Chinese. I planned to spend only half a year in China, but I really liked Chinese culture. I am an extrovert, but in South Korea women are not allowed to [behave like] this … I feel more comfortable in China. I soon noticed that there were no cheerleaders in China, so I decided to organize my own cheerleading squad. In the beginning I taught classes in the park for free.

tbj: Why was your team chosen to perform in Good Luck Beijing events and the Olympics?

We were the only team to perform at events during Good Luck Beijing. People generally regard me as the founder of Chinese cheerleading, since I was the first one to lead a Chinese cheering team during an international sports tournament. But it has still been very, very difficult to get approval [to perform] at the Olympics.

tbj: What were the main difficulties you faced setting up the first cheerleading squad

At the beginning it was very hard. Chinese people are not used to working together like this. They are all excellent solo, but terrible when they come together. I thought I could unite them. We choreographed the dance together. When compared to Taiwan or Japanese cheerleaders, who normally just imitate American teams, I am happy we could create Chinese-style cheerleading. I admit that American cheerleaders are the best, but China has its own culture and history. If we work this [to our advantage], Chinese cheerleaders could become some of the best in the world.

tbj: So tell us, which events will the Soojin Dance squad cheer at during the Olympics?

We have trained cheerleaders to perform at all the basketball and beach volleyball games. Twenty girls from my team will perform, eight girls cheering at the basketball and 12 girls at the beach volleyball.

Cho's girls shook their stuff this past weekend at the respective opening days of the beach volleyball and basketball competitions. This article first appeared in the August issue of the Beijinger magazine.

Links and Sources
The Beijinger: Life's a (Beijing) Beach
Entertainmemt Tabloid: Cheerleader Gallery
China Daily: Hot at the beach volleyball ground!
Sina: Cheerleading for Beijing Olympics
CCTV 9: US Cheerleaders prepare Beijing Olympic Cheer squad
Ninemsn: Olympic bikini babes shipped in
The Sun: Volleyball Babes in Beijing (Slideshow)