Minho, 19, arrived in Nelson Bay alongside fellow triathletes Kim Juseok, 20, and Hong Danbi, 20, on Friday.

The trio stepped off the plane from a Korean winter that dips regularly below zero, into a Dutchman's Bay unit and temperatures above 30 degrees.

"The weather here is so much nicer," Minho said.

They will train in and around Nelson Bay with professional running and triathlon coach and avid Ironman Triathlon contestant Dan Brown as part of their trip that has been sponsored by the Korean Triathlon Federation.

Minho, Juseok and Danbi are all preparing for the Asian Cup series, beginning in May, and are likely to be among Korea's best chances of gold at the London 2012 Olympics.

Brown will use the two weeks he has with the future stars of the tri-sport to expose them to some difficult Port terrain.

"It will be great base training in preparation for harder training to come," Brown said. "I'll get them running trails and running up Tomaree Head...and plenty of open-water ocean swimming."

Five more triathletes were expected to join Brown from Korea this week.