SINGAPORE (AFP) - A group of five women dubbed the "Dragon Ladies" are taking the US LPGA Tour by storm, breathing new fire into a sport that needed a boost with the retirement of Annika Sorenstam. Rarely does a country produce so many athletes who mature into world-class competitors at the same time, but that is what has happened in South Korea. They are all 20-years-old - born in 1988 in the Chinese Year of the Dragon - and all broke through last year on the prestigious United States' Tour. Korea has a history of producing quality women golfers - 10 of the world's current top 30 are Korean - since still-playing trailblazer Se Ri Pak set the standard a decade ago with two Major wins in her rookie year. But the current crop, who are also known as 'Se Ri's kids", are seen as the best ever, capable of dominating world golf for years to come. World number four Shin Ji-Yai is arguably the most talented, winning the HSBC Champions in Singapore this month for her fourth LPGA victory. But the others - Choi Na-Yeon, Park In-Bee, Kim In-Kyung and Oh Ji-Young - are not far behind. Park has already won a Major (US Open) as has Shin (British Open), with Kim and Oh posting their maiden LPGA victories last year while Choi pushed Taiwan's Tseng Yani all the way in the race to be named 2008 Rookie of the Year. There are others, such as Lee Seon-Hwa and Ji Eun-Hi, who are a year or two older but like the Dragon Ladies were inspired by Pak's exploits. "We grew up together, trained together, and we all came of age last year. It's an exciting period for Korean women's golf," said Park. "All my friends the same age as me had a really good year," she added of 2008. "I've been playing with them and knew they were really talented. It was always going to happen some time and it happened last year. I do feel a little bit that I'm part of something exciting." Shin, who has already overtaken Hall of Famer Pak as the most prolific winner on the Korean Tour, said her veteran compatriot, who has won 24 times on the US LPGA, was responsible for inspiring so many young Koreans. "We all watched Se Ri and started golf. Before there weren't that many juniors but after Se Ri everyone came," she said, adding that the class of '88 was particularly special. "Our junior teams were very strong. We were a very strong group, when I was in middle school and high school. We were all in the national teams," she said. "We won almost every tournament." Most of the Korean players attribute their dominance to the work ethic in their home country, which sees them practice, practice, practice, as well as remaining calm under pressure. Yet despite Korea being an increasingly dominant force in women's golf, no-one from the country, or indeed Asia, has ever made it to world number one, a position held for years by Sweden's Sorenstam and now by Mexico's Lorena Ochoa. "Hopefully some day one of my compatriots will be good enough to rise to the very top," said Shin. "The only reason (no-one has done so yet) is probably because so many Koreans are actually winning tournaments but no one player has continuously won a couple or two subsequent tournaments. "Probably that's why, to the detriment of all the Korean players, that we actually have to rotate winning tournaments."