South Korea at the Olympics

Sporting event delegation

South Korea at the
Olympics

IOC code| KOR
NOC| Korean Olympic Committee
Website| www.sports.or.kr (in Korean and English)
Medals
Ranked 18th|

Gold
142
Silver
130
Bronze
127
Total
399
Summer appearances

* 1948
* 1952
* 1956
* 1960
* 1964
* 1968
* 1972
* 1976
* 1980
* 1984
* 1988
* 1992
* 1996
* 2000
* 2004
* 2008
* 2012
* 2016
* 2020
* 2024

Winter appearances

* 1948
* 1952
* 1956
* 1960
* 1964
* 1968
* 1972
* 1976
* 1980
* 1984
* 1988
* 1992
* 1994
* 1998
* 2002
* 2006
* 2010
* 2014
* 2018
* 2022
* 2026
* 2030

Other related appearances
Korea (2018)

The Republic of Korea (commonly known as South Korea) first participated at the Olympic Games in 1948, and has sent athletes to compete in every Summer Olympic Games since then, except for 1980 which they boycotted. South Korea has also participated in every Winter Olympic Games since 1948, except for the 1952 games.

The first ethnic Korean athletes to win medals did so at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, when Sohn Kee-chung and Nam Sung-yong won gold and bronze respectively in the men's marathon as members of the Japanese team. As Korea was under Japanese rule at that time, making them both Japanese subjects, the IOC credits both medals to Japan.

South Korea won its first medals as an independent nation at its first appearance in 1948, and won its first gold medal in 1976. South Korean athletes have won a total of 287 medals at the Summer Games, with the most gold medals won in archery, and 79 medals at the Winter Games, a majority in short track speed skating. The nation has won more medals in this winter sport than any other nation since it was introduced to the Olympic program in 1992.

The National Olympic Committee for Korea is the Korean Olympic Committee, and was founded in 1946 and recognized in 1947.

During the 1998-2007 Sunshine Policy era, South Korea and North Korea symbolically marched as one team at the opening ceremonies of the 2000, 2004 and 2006 Olympics, but competed separately.

## Hosted games

[edit]

South Korea has hosted the Games on two occasions:

Games | Host city | Dates | Nations | Participants | Events

|
|
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|
|

1988 Summer Olympics | Seoul | 17 September – 2 October | 160 | 8,391 | 263
2018 Winter Olympics | Pyeongchang | 9 – 25 February | 92 | 2,952 | 102

### Unsuccessful bids

[edit]

Games | City | Winner of bid

|
|

2010 Winter Olympics | Pyeongchang | Vancouver, Canada
2014 Winter Olympics | Pyeongchang | Sochi, Russia

## Medals

[edit]

See also: All-time Olympic Games medal table

* Purple border colour indicates tournament was held on home soil.

### Medals by Summer Games

[edit]

| Games  | Athletes  | Gold  | Silver  | Bronze  | Total  | Rank

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1912–1936 | as part of  Japan (JPN)
1948 London | 50 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 32
1952 Helsinki | 19 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 37
1956 Melbourne | 35 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 29
1960 Rome | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | –
1964 Tokyo | 154 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 27
1968 Mexico City | 54 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 36
1972 Munich | 42 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 33
1976 Montreal | 50 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 19
1980 Moscow | did not participate
1984 Los Angeles | 175 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 19 | 10
1988 Seoul | 401 | 12 | 10 | 11 | 33 | 4
1992 Barcelona | 226 | 12 | 5 | 12 | 29 | 7
1996 Atlanta | 300 | 7 | 15 | 5 | 27 | 10
2000 Sydney | 281 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 28 | 12
2004 Athens | 264 | 9 | 12 | 9 | 30 | 9
2008 Beijing | 267 | 13 | 11 | 8 | 32 | 7
2012 London | 248 | 13 | 9 | 9 | 31 | 5
2016 Rio de Janeiro | 204 | 9 | 3 | 9 | 21 | 8
2020 Tokyo | 237 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 20 | 16
2024 Paris | 144 | 13 | 9 | 10 | 32 | 8
2028 Los Angeles | future event
2032 Brisbane
Total | 109 | 100 | 111 | 320 | 15

### Medals by Winter Games

[edit]

| Games  | Athletes  | Gold  | Silver  | Bronze  | Total  | Rank

|
|
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|
|

1928 St. Moritz | as part of  Japan (JPN)
1932 Lake Placid
1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen
1948 St. Moritz | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | –
1952 Oslo | did not participate
1956 Cortina d'Ampezzo | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | –
1960 Squaw Valley | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | –
1964 Innsbruck | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | –
1968 Grenoble | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | –
1972 Sapporo | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | –
1976 Innsbruck | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | –
1980 Lake Placid | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | –
1984 Sarajevo | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | –
1988 Calgary | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | –
1992 Albertville | 23 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 10
1994 Lillehammer | 24 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 6
1998 Nagano | 38 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 9
2002 Salt Lake City | 48 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 14
2006 Turin | 41 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 11 | 7
2010 Vancouver | 46 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 14 | 5
2014 Sochi | 71 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 13
2018 Pyeongchang | 122 | 5 | 8 | 4 | 17 | 7
2022 Beijing | 64 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 9 | 14
2026 Milano Cortina | future event
2030 French Alps
2034 Salt Lake City
Total | 33 | 30 | 16 | 79 | 15

### Medals by Summer Sport

[edit]

Leading in that sport

| Sport| Gold| Silver| Bronze| Total

|
|
|
|

Archery| 32| 10| 8| 50
Taekwondo| 14| 3| 8| 25
Judo| 11| 19| 21| 51
Wrestling| 11| 11| 14| 36
Shooting| 10| 12| 1| 23
Badminton| 7| 8| 7| 22
Fencing| 7| 4| 8| 19
Boxing| 3| 7| 11| 21
Weightlifting| 3| 7| 7| 17
Table tennis| 3| 3| 14| 20
Gymnastics| 2| 4| 5| 11
Handball| 2| 4| 1| 7
Swimming| 1| 3| 1| 5
Athletics| 1| 1| 0| 2
Baseball| 1| 0| 1| 2
Golf| 1| 0| 0| 1
Field hockey| 0| 3| 0| 3
Basketball| 0| 1| 0| 1
Modern pentathlon| 0| 0| 2| 2
Football| 0| 0| 1| 1
Volleyball| 0| 0| 1| 1
Totals (21 entries)| 109| 100| 111| 320

### Medals by Winter Sport

[edit]

Leading in that sport

| Sport| Gold| Silver| Bronze| Total

|
|
|
|

Short track speed skating| 26| 16| 11| 53
Speed skating| 5| 10| 5| 20
Figure skating| 1| 1| 0| 2
Skeleton| 1| 0| 0| 1
Bobsleigh| 0| 1| 0| 1
Curling| 0| 1| 0| 1
Snowboarding| 0| 1| 0| 1
Totals (7 entries)| 33| 30| 16| 79

## Most successful Olympians

[edit]

A South Korean volunteer at the Games of the XXIV Olympiad. Athlete  | Sport  | Type  | Olympics  | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total

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Kim Woo-jin |  Archery | Summer | 2016, 2020, 2024 | 5  | 0  | 0  | 5
Jin Jong-oh |  Shooting | Summer | 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016 | 4  | 2  | 0  | 6
Kim Soo-nyung |  Archery | Summer | 1988, 1992, 2000 | 4  | 1  | 1  | 6
Chun Lee-kyung |  Short track speed skating | Winter | 1992, 1994, 1998 | 4  | 0  | 1  | 5
Choi Min-jeong |  Short track speed skating | Winter | 2018, 2022 | 3  | 2  | 0  | 5
Park Sung-hyun |  Archery | Summer | 2004, 2008 | 3  | 1  | 0  | 4
Ahn Hyun-soo |  Short track speed skating | Winter | 2002, 2006 | 3  | 0  | 1  | 4
Ki Bo-bae |  Archery | Summer | 2012, 2016 | 3  | 0  | 1  | 4
Lim Si-hyeon |  Archery | Summer | 2024 | 3  | 0  | 0  | 3
Kim Je-deok |  Archery | Summer | 2020, 2024 | 3  | 0  | 0  | 3
Oh Sang-uk |  Fencing | Summer | 2020, 2024 | 3  | 0  | 0  | 3
Gu Bon-gil |  Fencing | Summer | 2012, 2020, 2024 | 3  | 0  | 0  | 3
An San |  Archery | Summer | 2020 | 3  | 0  | 0  | 3
Jin Sun-yu |  Short track speed skating | Winter | 2006 | 3  | 0  | 0  | 3
Yun Mi-jin |  Archery | Summer | 2000, 2004 | 3  | 0  | 0  | 3
Kim Ki-hoon |  Short track speed skating | Winter | 1992, 1994 | 3  | 0  | 0  | 3

### Notes

[edit]

On 11 February 2014, Lee Sang-hwa won the gold medal for the women's 500m longtrack speedskating race at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, having previously won the one at the 2010 Games. She became the third woman and first Korean woman to win back-to-back golds at the 500m.[1][2]

## Participated event by competition

[edit]

### Summer Olympics

[edit]

Nation  | 48 | 52 | 56 | 60 | 64 | 68 | 72 | 76 | 84 | 88 | 92 | 96 | 00 | 04 | 08 | 12 | 16 | 20

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Archery |  |  |  | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
Athletics | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |  | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
Badminton |  | d |  | e | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
Baseball |  | d | d |  | d |  | d | d |  | • | • |  | • |  |
Basketball | • |  | • |  | • | • |  |  | • | • |  | • | • | • | • |  |  |
Bowling |  | d |
Boxing | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
Canoeing and kayaking |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | • | • | • | • | • |  | • | • | • |
Cycling | • | • | • | • | • | • |  |  | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
Diving |  |  |  | • | • | • |  |  | • | • |  | • | • |  | • | • | • |
Equestrian |  | • |  | • | • |  |  |  |  | • | • |  |  | • | • |  | • |
Fencing |  |  |  |  | • |  |  |  | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
Field hockey |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
Football | • |  |  |  | • |  |  |  |  | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
Golf |  | • |
Gymnastics |  |  |  | • | • | • |  |  | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
Handball |  |  |  | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
Judo |  | • |  | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
Modern pentathlon |  |  |  |  | • |  |  |  | • | • | • | • |  | • | • | • | • |
Rowing |  |  |  |  | • |  |  |  | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
Sailing |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
Shooting |  |  | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
Swimming |  |  |  |  | • | • | • |  | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
Synchronized swimming |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | • |  |  | • | • |  | • |  |
Table tennis |  | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
Taekwondo |  | d | d |  | • | • | • | • | • |
Tennis |  | d |  | d | • | • | • | • | • | • |  |  |
Triathlon |  |  |  |  | • |  |
Volleyball |  | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |  | • | • |
Water polo |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | • |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Weightlifting | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |  | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
Wrestling | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |

* d : demonstration sports
* e : exhibition sports

### Winter Olympics

[edit]

Event  | 48 | 56 | 60 | 64 | 68 | 72 | 76 | 80 | 84 | 88 | 92 | 94 | 98 | 02 | 06 | 10 | 14 | 18 | 22

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Alpine skiing |  |  | • | • | • |  |  | • | • | • | • | • | • |  | • | • | • | • |
Biathlon |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | • | • | • |  | • | • | • | • | • | • |
Bobsleigh |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | • | • | • |
Cross country skiing |  |  | • | • | • |  |  | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
Curling |  |  |  |  |  | • | • |
Figure skating |  |  |  |  | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |  | • | • | • |
Freestyle skiing |  |  |  |  |  | • | • | • | • |
Ice hockey |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | • |
Luge |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | • | • | • | • | • | • |
Nordic combined |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | • |
Short track speed skating |  | d | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
Skeleton |  |  | • | • | • | • | • |
Ski jumping |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | • | • | • | • | • | • |
Snowboarding |  |  |  |  | • | • | • |
Speed skating | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |

* d : demonstration sports

## Hosted Olympic logo and motto

[edit]

### 1988 Summer Olympics

[edit]

The 1988 Summer Olympics, held in the capital of Seoul, marked the first time the Olympics were held in South Korea.

The logo consists of a rounded tricolor which represents the Olympic rings. The motto of the games was Harmony and Progress (화합과 전진).

### 2018 Winter Olympics

[edit]

The 2018 Winter Olympics saw the Olympics return to Korea when it was held in Pyeongchang.

The logo consists of five intertwined wings which represent the continents (Africa, America, Asia, Europe and Oceania). The motto of the games was Passion. Connected. (하나된 열정; Hanadoen, Yeoljeong).

## References

[edit]

1. ^ James O'Brien (2014-02-11). "Heather Richardson falls short of medal, Lee Sang-hwa wins 500m gold". NBC News.
2. ^ Yonhap News Agency (2014-02-11). "(Olympics) Speed skater Lee Sang-hwa poised for gold in women's 500 meters". GlobalPost.

## External links

[edit]

* "Republic of Korea". International Olympic Committee. 27 July 2021.
* "South Korea". Olympedia.com.
* "Olympic Analytics/KOR". olympanalyt.com.

## See also

[edit]

* South Korea at the Paralympics
* List of flag bearers for South Korea at the Olympics
* Category:Olympic competitors for South Korea
* South Korea at the Asian Games

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