Republic of Korea (KOR)

The Republic of Korea, as we know it today, was formally created on 15 August 1948, after the end of World War II, but the National Olympic Committee was already established on 15 July 1946 and recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on 20 June 1947 at the IOC Session in Stockholm. Korea first officially competed at the 1948 Olympic Games in London. However, in both 1932 and 1936, during the occupation of the country by the Japanese (1910-1945), several Korean athletes competed at the Olympic Games wearing the colors of Japan. Korea has competed at all Olympics since 1948 with the exception of 1980, when it boycotted the Moskva Olympics.

Since 1948, Korea has done well in combative sports, winning many of its medals in boxing, wrestling, judo and weightlifting. The women have also medaled in volleyball, basketball, field hockey, table tennis, and archery. At the Summer Olympics, Korea has won 366 medals through 2022, 129 of them gold.

Archer Kim Su-Nyeong and sport shooter Jin Jong-O have won the most medals among Korean Olympians, with a total of six each. These two athletes and short-track speed skater Jeon I-Gyeong lead Korean Olympians, with four gold medals each.

Korea made its first Olympic Winter Games appearance in 1948, and has since missed only the Winter celebration of 1952. They have won 79 medals at the Olympic Winter Games, including 33 gold, as Korea has been the top nation in short-track speedskating, winning 53 medals, with 26 golds. Of their 79 medals, 73 have come in either short- or long-track speedskating.

Above Jeon I-Gyeong in the total medal table is speedskater Lee Seung-Hun, with six medals and two gold. Short-track speedskater An Hyeon-Su won three golds and a bronze for Korea at the 2006 Torino Olympic Winter Games, but then switched allegiance to Russia. Competing as Viktor An, he repeated his three gold medals and one bronze medal at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.

Korea ably hosted the Games of the XXIVth Olympiad in Seoul in 1988 and the 23rd Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang in 2018. In 1995 the Olympic Committee of South Korea was awarded with the Olympic Cup.