Team Korea has departed for Italy to compete in the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympic Games.

Thirty-eight members of the 45-member main delegation boarded a direct flight to Milan from Incheon International Airport Friday, and the other seven members are expected to arrive in Cortina after transiting in Paris.

South Korea's 71 athletes are set to compete in the upcoming Olympics, and the national team is aiming to win three gold medals and rank in the top ten medal standings.

South Korea is hoping to match its performance of 2018 when it ranked seventh at the PyeongChang Games after winning five gold, eight silver and four bronze medals.

The most recent top ten standing overseas was in Vancouver in 2010 when South Korea ranked fifth with six gold, six silver and two bronze medals.

The opening ceremony of the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Games will be held at Milan's San Siro Stadium on February 7, Korea Standard Time.

Approximately two-thousand-900 athletes representing around 90 national olympic committees will compete for 116 gold medals during the Games' 17-day run.