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감동과 환희가 가득찼던 그날을 기억하며... Seoul Olympic Museum

Korean Olympic History

홈 > Olympic History > Korean Olympic History

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.

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