From the sorrows of losing homeland to the glory of the top 5 finish in 2012 London Olympics
In 1948 at the 14th Olympic Games held in London, Korea participated in the Olympic Games as an independent nation for the first time. The Korean delegation composed of 68 athletes competed in 7 events, won 2 bronze medals in boxing (Han Su-an) and weight lifting (Kim Seong-jib), and were ranked 24th.
Though Son Gi-jeong and Nam Seung-yong already won a gold and bronze medal, respectively, in the marathon at the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games, they officially represented Japan, as Korea was still under Japanese colonial rule at that time.
Since the London Games, Korea has participated in every Olympics, except for the 1980 Moscow Games. In the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games, the wrestler Yang Jeong-mo became the first Korean athlete to win a gold medal after Korea had became an independent nation.
In particular, at the 23rd Los Angeles Olympic Games, which was held for 16 days from July 28 to Aug 12, 1984, Korea attained the remarkable achievement of being ranked 10th, by acquiring 6 gold medals, 6 silver medals and 7 bronze medals while competing against 7,800 athletes from 140 nations. This showing gave a favorable impression to the world, as Korea would be the next host. This accomplishment was especially notable since Korea had won seven gold medals, 12 silver medals and 18 copper medals in all the Olympics combined preceding the LA Olympic Games.