South Korea at the Olympics facts for kids

Quick facts for kids South Korea at the Olympics
IOC code	KOR
NOC	Korean Olympic Committee
Website
Medals Ranked 18th	Gold Silver Bronze Total 142 130 127 399
Summer appearances
1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020
Winter appearances
1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018
Other related appearances
Japan (1932–1936) 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

South Korea has hosted the Games on two occasions:

Unsuccessful bids

Medals

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

Medals by Summer Games Games Athletes Gold Silver Bronze Total Rank 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 Total 109 100 111 320 15

Medals by Winter Games Games Athletes Gold Silver Bronze Total Rank 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 Milan/Cortina future event Total 33 30 16 79 15

Most successful Olympians

A South Korean volunteer at the Games of the XXIV Olympiad.

Participated event by competition

Summer Olympics

• d : demonstration sports
• e : exhibition sports

Winter Olympics

• d : demonstration sports

Hosted Olympic logo and motto

1988 Summer Olympics

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

The official logo of the 2018 Winter Olympics

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).

See also

In Spanish: Corea del Sur en los Juegos Olímpicos para niños

• 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