Medals Won by Countries
- KOR 16th
- Gold 6
- Silver 4
- Bronze 10
Latest News
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2020 Tokyo Paralympics Come to an End
2021.09.06
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S. Korea Adds 2 Silver Medals in Table Tennis at Tokyo Paralympics
2021.09.02
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S. Korea Narrowly Loses Gold in Mixed 10m Rifle at Tokyo Paralympics
2021.09.01
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S. Korea Secures at Least 3 More Bronze in Table Tennis at Tokyo Paralympics
2021.09.01
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S. Korea Sweeps Medals in Men's Singles Table Tennis at Tokyo Paralympics
2021.08.30
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S. Korea Adds Bronze Medal in Men's Judo in Tokyo Paralympics
2021.08.30
Let’s Go, Tokyo!
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Team Korea’s Strong Suit: Gymnastics and Swimming
# Can Hwang Sun-woo become the next Park Tae-hwan?Photo :© YONHAP NewsGymnasticsThere are a total of 18 gold medals in gymnastics, eight in men’s artistic gymnastics, six in women’s, and two each in rhythmic gymnastics and trampoline. South Korea has so far won one gold, four silver and four bronze medals in Olympic gymnastics.There are six basic programs in men’s artistic gymnastics: floor exercise, pommel horse, rings, vault, parallel bars and horizontal bar. Including a team competition where all the six programs are combined and an individual all-around competition, there are a total of eight programs.In the women’s division, there are four basic programs of vault, balance beam, uneven bars and floor exercise. Along with a team competition and an individual all-around competition, there are a total of six programs to determine Olympic champions.In the team event, 12 countries were qualified to compete in both the men’s and women’s divisions based on world championship rankings. The South Korean men’s team ranked ninth at the 2019 World Championships, qualifying for the Olympics for the eighth consecutive time since the 1992 Barcelona Games.China and Japan are likely to compete for the gold in the men’s team event, while the U.S. is a powerhouse in the women’s team division.Photo :© YONHAP NewsThe AthletesMembers of the men’s team event are the top three from the Olympic qualifications, Ryu Sung-hyun, Lee Jun-ho and Kim Han-sol, as well as Yang Hak-seon, a symbolic figure in South Korea’s artistic gymnastics, who came onboard after many hardships.Having suffered injuries to his Achilles tendon and hamstring following the London Olympics, Yang could not compete in Rio. He failed to perform his techniques during the Tokyo Olympic qualifications due to a hamstring injury in his right leg. But the Korea Gymnastic Association proposed a conditions-based qualification so long as Yang performed a technique named after him. After training at the Jincheon National Training Center, Yang recorded himself carrying out the Yang Hak Seon technique, after which he was secured Olympic qualification.Shin Jae-hwan ranks the world’s number one in vault. Shin, who has secured an Olympic entry as an individual, will compete for a medal in Tokyo. In women’s artistic gymnastics, Lee Yun-seo and Yeo Seo-jeong will compete in individual rounds. Yeo is in fact the daughter of Olympian Yeo Hong-chul, the 1996 Olympic silver medalist in vault. There are no South Korean athletes competing in rhythmic gymnastics or trampoline.Photo :© YONHAP NewsSwimmingThere are a total of 49 gold medals in the disciplines of swimming, namely the races, diving, artistic, water polo and open water. There are three more medal events in swimming compared to the Rio Games, making it the sport with the largest number of gold medals. Unfortunately, none of these gold medals are expected to be won by South Korea. South Korea has won one gold and three silver medals in swimming in the past Olympics, all of which were won by Park Tae-hwan. Kim Seo-yeong and Hwang Sun-woo will represent South Korea in the races, while the country will be represented by Woo Ha-ram in diving. Kim, who was qualified in 100 meters and 200 meters freestyle, and 100 meters and 200 meters in butterfly, turned in her entries to focus on the 200-meter individual medley. Kim has a high chance of winning a medal as long as she posts her personal record of two minutes eight seconds-point-34.Photo :© YONHAP NewsHigh Expectations for Hwang Sun-wooHwang is the national flag bearer along with women’s volleyball star Kim Yeon-koung at the opening ceremony. Often referred to as the “Next Park Tae-hwan,” Hwang holds a world junior record of one minute 44 seconds-point-96 in men’s 200-meter freestyle. That time would have brought Hwang a silver medal at the Rio Games, after gold medalist Sun Yang’s one minute 44 seconds-point-65. The record would also place Hwang among the world’s top five in the current season. Eight swimmers will advance to the finals and considering that Hwang has been setting new records in the past year, we can anticipate him to bring home an Olympic medal from Tokyo.
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Team Korea’s Strong Suit: Women’s Ball Events
# Kim Yeon-koung’s final challenge, Women’s Volleyball# Women’s Basketball, led by Team Korea’s legend Chun Joo-weon# “Forever the Moment” once again, Women’s HandballPhoto :© YONHAP NewsThe Significance of Team Ball Sports in the Women’s EventsWomen’s handball may remind many South Koreans of the film “Forever the Moment,” while women’s basketball will be remembered in history for the national team’s dramatic silver medal win at the 1984 Los Angeles Games. In volleyball, the national team is aiming for a medal with world star Kim Yeon-koung.Male athletes have come short of securing qualifications in all these sports, showing how strong and competitive the female athletes are in these events.Photo :© YONHAP NewsWomen’s HandballThe women’s national handball squad qualified for their 10th consecutive Olympics. This is, in fact, one more than the men’s national football team. South Korea has had a strong medal history in women’s handball.The country won the Olympic title twice at the 1988 Seoul and 1992 Barcelona Games, silver at the 1996 Atlanta and 2004 Athens Games, and a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Games. However, the national team’s performance has declined a bit, and fans began to lose interest. The team was eliminated during the group stage at the 2016 Rio Games and finished in 10th.In September 2019, the national team advanced from the Asia qualifications in the top spot, winning all five matches. Having won the Olympic entry for a record tenth consecutive time, athletes seem determined to bring home a medal.The national team has been training together for a long time and their group assignment could work in their favor. South Korea is in Group A, along with the Netherlands, Norway, Japan, Angola and Montenegro. Under the premise that South Korea will defeat Angola and Japan, the national team will be able to at least advance to the quarterfinals, as the top four countries advance to the next round from each group. But if it does rank fourth, it will then face the top-ranked team in Group B. Therefore, the national team will need to overcome Norway or the Netherlands in the group round to play for a medal.Photo :© YONHAP NewsWomen’s BasketballThe women’s national basketball team selected their coaches through an open recruitment who are Lee Mi-sun and the legendary Chun Joo-weon.Chun, the country’s first female head coach in an Olympic team ball sport, is expected to lead the team based on her personal experience of advancing to the semifinals at the 2000 Sydney Games. This is the first time in 13 years that the country has qualified in women’s basketball at the Olympics.The team centers around Park Ji-su, who plays in the WNBA. Ranked 19th in the world, South Korea is in Group A, along with number three Spain, number four Canada and number eight Serbia. The national team needs at least one victory in the group round to advance to the quarterfinals in third place.Photo :© YONHAP NewsWomen’s VolleyballSouth Korea won its first Olympic medal in a team ball sport when women’s volleyball won a bronze at the 1976 Montreal Games, so women’s volleyball has always been globally competitive.We also have the world’s top player Kim Yeon-koung. Kim, who will be carrying the national flag in the opening ceremony, has just about achieved everything in the sport, except for winning Olympic gold.For Team Korea, it has the highest chance of winning an Olympic medal with Kim onboard. In fact, up until last year, prospects were arguably higher.The national team is considered to have lost momentum compared to 2016, after the departure of twin sisters, setter Lee Da-yeong and outside hitter Lee Jae-yeong, over bullying allegations, and an injury suffered by another outside hitter Kang So-hwi, who led her team GS Caltex to league victory.South Korea will face host nation Japan, Serbia, Brazil, Kenya, and the Dominican Republic in Group A.The national team will have to rank at least fourth to advance to the quarterfinals, and that is the first-phase goal set by the team, as well as team captain Kim Yeon-koung.With the medal matches scheduled to be held on August 8, the closing day of the Games, there are hopes that women’s volleyball can bring a grand finale to the Tokyo Olympics for Team Korea.
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Team Korea’s Strong Suit: Taekwondo and Judo
# Taekwondo, where the athletes vie for eight golds, will have a huge impact on the Games’ outcome# Judo Medalist An Ba-ul aims for his first Gold againPhoto :© YONHAP NewsTaekwondoTaekwondo is another sport where regulations have been changed many times to keep South Korea in check, so that it does not sweep all the medals.Despite an entry quota, the country had 21 athletes compete at the past five Olympics, winning 12 gold medals in total. There were only two times when there was no South Korean athlete up on the medal podium.Up until the 2012 London Games, only a maximum of four athletes, two in men’s and two in women’s, from each country were permitted to compete. Since the 2016 Rio Games, the governing body of World Taekwondo(WT) has automatically qualified athletes based on the Olympic ranking, allowing one athlete per weight class, in a total of eight weight classes. South Korea saw five athletes compete in Rio.In Tokyo, the country is represented by a record six athletes. They are Jang Jun in the men’s -58kg, Lee Dae-hoon in -68kg, In Kyo-don in +80kg, Sim Jae-young in the women’s -49kg, Lee Ah-reum in –57kg, and Lee Da-bin in +67kg.- Two Returning OlympiansLee Dae-hoon is the only athlete out of the six who has competed at the Olympics before. The Tokyo Games will be Lee’s third consecutive Olympic entry since 2012. Lee, who has won the World Championships and won a silver and a bronze at the Olympics, has yet to win an Olympic gold.An athlete from outside South Korea we should watch out for is Jade Jones representing Great Britain, who has two gold medals from women’s -57kg under her belt, the first from London and the second from Rio. If Jones wins another gold in Tokyo, she will become the first taekwondo practitioner to win three consecutive Olympic gold medals.Photo :© YONHAP NewsJudo, Team Korea’s Chance to Recapture GoldIt was the first time in 16 years that the country returned from the Rio Olympics without a gold medal in judo. So the national team is faced with the task of overcoming that disappointment in Tokyo.The women and men’s team won qualifications in all seven weight divisions. Originally, the men’s team came short of securing the Olympic ticket in -81kg, winning six qualifications, but Lee Sung-ho won a seat in the last minute. This is the first time in 13 years, since the 2008 Beijing Olympics, that South Korean men and women from all weight divisions are fighting in the Games.Athletes considered to have the best chance at winning the gold medal are An Ba-ul in the men’s –66kg and Cho Gu-ham in –100kg. An was the silver medalist at the 2016 Rio Games and Cho won the 2018 World Championship. Cho is vying for the gold in Tokyo, after an injury stopped him from winning a medal in Rio.An Chang-rim is a medal prospect in the men’s -73kg, while Kim Won-jin in the -60kg is another judoka to watch out for.Many people remember seeing Kim break down into tears in January after winning the Doha World Masters tournament, when he learned that his father had passed away two days earlier. Since then, Kim has been preparing for the Olympics, promising that he will bring the gold medal to where his father is laid to rest.Photo :© YONHAP NewsNew Events and Rules in the Judo Events for the 2020 GamesA mixed team event will be introduced in Tokyo, in which South Korea will also participate.Starting at the Tokyo Olympics, competition time in men’s events will be reduced down from five to four minutes. This is in accordance with the International Judo Federation’s revisions in 2016. The match time was cut down by a minute to enhance excitement.The women’s events will maintain the four-minute system, but if neither side claims victory within the regulation time, they will enter an extended match to determine the winner in a golden score contest.The duration needed to immobilize an opponent to score a waza-ari through grappling has been reduced from 15 seconds to ten. It would be more exciting to watch the matches if you remember the two main types of scoring. Ippon is the ultimate way to claim victory, and waza-ari counts as a half-point and two waza-ari’s in one match are equal to ippon.
