Many South Korean athletes performed well internationally in 2013.

Golfer Park In-bee became the first South Korean to clinch the LPGA Player of the Year award. The 25-year-old won six tournaments this season, including three straight majors.

South Korean speed skaters also competed well in the lead up to the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. Lee Sang-hwa won seven gold medals in the women’s 500 meters this year at International Skating Union (ISU) Speed Skating World Cup events.

South Korean speed skater Mo Tae-bum won two gold medals: one in the men’s 500 meters and another in the one-thousand meters at the same World Cup series. Lee Seung-hoon won silver in the men’s team pursuit and the bronze in the men's five-thousand meters.

South Korean figure skater Kim Yu-na won at her season debut in early December in the Golden Spin of Zagreb in Croatia. The 23-year-old scored 204-point-49 points, combining a 73-point-37 in the short program and 131-point-12 in the free skate.

South Korean baseball players Ryu Hyun-jin and Choo Shin-soo also had great seasons in U.S. Major League Baseball. Ryu, a pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers, won 14 games with a 3.00 ERA and 154 strikeouts in his rookie season. Ryu also led rookies in innings pitched and ranked second in terms of ERA and the number of victories.

Slugger Choo Shin-soo recently signed a 130-million dollar deal to play for the Texas Rangers, the largest contract ever for an Asian baseball player. Choo had a productive 2013 with the Cinncinati Reds. He hit 21 home runs and stole 20 bases, his third-career 20-20 season. Choo’s .423 on-base percentage was also the fourth highest in the major league this year.

The World Cup is also coming up in June in Brazil, and South Korea has qualified for the eighth consecutive time. Groups were drawn earlier this month for the first round of play at the 2014 FIFA World Cup. South Korea will compete in Group H with Belgium, Russia and Algeria.

1. Launch of Park Geun-hye Government & Park’s Sales Diplomacy

2. Jang Song-thaek’s Execution & Kim Jong-un’s Monolithic Leadership

3. Strained Inter-Korean Ties & Normalization of Gaeseong Complex after 133 Days

4. China’s Newly Claimed Air Defense Zone Tests S. Korea’s Diplomacy

5. S. Korea’s Trade Volume Tops $1 Tln for 3rd Straight Year

6. Controversy over 2007 Inter-Korean Summit Transcript

7. Controversy over State Agencies’ Alleged Intervention in Presidential Race

8. UPP Rep. Lee Seok-ki’s Arrest & Petition Seeking to Disband UPP

9. Corruption Scandal in Nuclear Power Plant Industry

10. S. Korean Athletes’ Splendid Achievements in 2013