North Korea at the Olympics

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North Korea at the
Olympics
IOC codePRK
NOCOlympic Committee of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
Medals
Ranked 48th
Gold
16
Silver
17
Bronze
24
Total
57
Summer appearances
Winter appearances
Other related appearances
 Korea (2018)
North Koreans head for lodging at the Rio 2016 Olympic Village.

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (commonly known as North Korea) first participated at the Olympic Games in 1964. The National Olympic Committee for North Korea is the Olympic Committee of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, and was created in 1953 and recognized in 1957.

History[edit]

North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) first participated at the Olympic Games in 1964, appearing only in the Winter Olympic Games that year. Eight years later in 1972, the nation first participated at the Summer Olympic Games. Since then, the nation has appeared in every Summer Games, except when North Korea joined the Soviet-led boycott of the 1984 Summer Olympics, when they boycotted the 1988 Games in Seoul, South Korea, and in 2020, citing COVID-19 concerns.[1]

North Korea's attendance at the Winter Games has been sporadic; eight of the last thirteen Games have included a North Korean team.

During the 1998-2007 Sunshine Policy era, North Korea and South Korea symbolically marched as one team at the opening ceremonies of the 2000,[2] 2004, and 2006 Olympics, but competed separately.

North Korea sent 22 athletes to compete in five sports at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. As in 2000 and 2004, North and South Korean athletes marched together at the opening ceremonies. A unified women's ice hockey team included players from both North and South Korea. North Korean athletes also competed in alpine skiing, figure skating, short track speed skating and cross-country skiing.[3]

Alongside the 22 athletes, North Korea sent a delegation of 400 supporters to the 2018 games. This delegation, led by North Korea's ceremonial head of state Kim Yong-nam, included cheerleaders, taekwondo practitioners and an orchestra.[4]

North Korean athletes have won a total of 57 medals, two of which were won at the Winter Games. Government funding plays a major role in Korea's success. Elite athletes often enjoy highly developed facilities and luxurious lifestyles, compared with their peers.[1]

In 2018, the United Nations, due to conflicts, rejected an exemption to sanctions for sporting equipment to help athletes prepare for the 2020 Summer Olympics being sent to North Korea.[5]

On 6 April 2021, North Korea announced it would not participate in the 2020 Summer Olympics due to COVID-19 concerns.[6] Accordingly, on 8 September 2021, the International Olympic Committee made a decision to suspend North Korea from its activities until the end of 2022 and ban participation in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.[7]

Medal tables[edit]

Medals by Summer Games[edit]

Games Athletes Gold Silver Bronze Total Rank
1932–1936 occupied by  Japan (JPN)
1972 Munich 37 1 1 3 5 22
1976 Montreal 38 1 1 0 2 21
1980 Moscow 57 0 3 2 5 26
1984 Los Angeles did not participate
1988 Seoul
1992 Barcelona 64 4 0 5 9 16
1996 Atlanta 24 2 1 2 5 33
2000 Sydney 31 0 1 3 4 60
2004 Athens 36 0 4 1 5 57
2008 Beijing 63 2 2 2 6 34
2012 London 51 4 0 3 7 20
2016 Rio de Janeiro 31 2 3 2 7 34
2020 Tokyo did not participate
2024 Paris future event
2028 Los Angeles
2032 Brisbane
Total 16 16 23 55 46

Medals by Winter Games[edit]

Games Athletes Gold Silver Bronze Total Rank
1964 Innsbruck 13 0 1 0 1 13
1968 Grenoble did not participate
1972 Sapporo 6 0 0 0 0 -
1976 Innsbruck did not participate
1980 Lake Placid
1984 Sarajevo 6 0 0 0 0 -
1988 Calgary 6 0 0 0 0 -
1992 Albertville 20 0 0 1 1 19
1994 Lillehammer did not participate
1998 Nagano 8 0 0 0 0 -
2002 Salt Lake City did not participate
2006 Turin 6 0 0 0 0 -
2010 Vancouver 2 0 0 0 0 -
2014 Sochi did not participate
2018 Pyeongchang 10 0 0 0 0 -
2022 Beijing did not participate
2026 Milan–Cortina future event
Total 0 1 1 2 45

Medals by summer sport[edit]

SportGoldSilverBronzeTotal
Weightlifting58518
Wrestling32510
Gymnastics3003
Boxing2338
Judo2248
Shooting1023
Table tennis0134
Volleyball0011
Totals (8 entries)16162355

Medals by winter sport[edit]

SportGoldSilverBronzeTotal
Speed skating0101
Short track speed skating0011
Totals (2 entries)0112

List of medalists[edit]

Summer Olympics[edit]

Games Medal Name Sport Event
1972 Munich  Gold Ri Ho-jun Shooting Mixed 50 metre rifle, prone
 Silver Kim U-gil Boxing Men's light flyweight
 Bronze Kim Yong-ik Judo Men's 63 kg
Ri Chun-ok
Kim Myong-suk
Kim Zung-bok
Kang Ok-sun
Kim Yeun-ja
Hwang He-suk
Jang Ok-rim
Paek Myong-suk
Ryom Chun-ja
Kim Su-dae
Jong Ok-jin
Volleyball Women's tournament
Kim Gwong-hyong Wrestling Men's freestyle 52 kg
1976 Montreal  Gold Gu Yong-ju Boxing Men's bantamweight
 Silver Ri Byong-uk Men's light flyweight
1980 Moscow  Silver Jang Se-hong Wrestling Men's freestyle 48 kg
Li Ho-pyong Men's freestyle 57 kg
Ho Bong-chol Weightlifting Men's 52 kg
 Bronze Han Gyong-si Men's 52 kg
Ri Byong-uk Boxing Men's light flyweight
1992 Barcelona  Gold Choi Chol-su Boxing Men's flyweight
Pae Gil-su Gymnastics Men's pommel horse
Kim Il Wrestling Men's freestyle 48 kg
Ri Hak-son Men's freestyle 52 kg
 Bronze Kim Yong-sik Men's freestyle 57 kg
Ri Gwang-sik Boxing Men's bantamweight
Ri Pun-hui
Yu Sun-bok
Table tennis Women's doubles
Ri Pun-hui Women's singles
Kim Myong-nam Weightlifting Men's 75 kg
1996 Atlanta  Gold Kye Sun-hui Judo Women's 48 kg
Kim Il Wrestling Men's freestyle 48 kg
 Silver Kim Myong-nam Weightlifting Men's 70 kg
 Bronze Jon Chol-ho Men's 76 kg
Ri Yong-sam Wrestling Men's freestyle 57 kg
2000 Sydney  Silver Ri Song-hui Weightlifting Women's 58 kg
 Bronze Kim Un-chol Boxing Men's light flyweight
Kye Sun-hui Judo Women's 52 kg
Kang Yong-gyun Wrestling Men's Greco-Roman 54 kg
2004 Athens  Silver Kim Song-guk Boxing Men's featherweight
Kye Sun-hui Judo Women's lightweight
Kim Hyang-mi Table tennis Women's singles
Ri Song-Hui Weightlifting Women's 58 kg
 Bronze Kim Jong-su Shooting Men's 50 metre pistol
2008 Beijing  Gold Hong Un-jong Gymnastics Women's vault
Pak Hyon-suk Weightlifting Women's 63 kg
 Silver O Jong-ae Women's 58 kg
An Kum-ae Judo Women's lightweight
 Bronze Pak Chol-min Men's lightweight
Won Ok-im Women's lightweight
2012 London  Gold An Kum-ae Judo Women's 52 kg
Om Yun-chol Weightlifting Men's 56 kg
Kim Un-guk Men's 62 kg
Rim Jong-sim Women's 69 kg
 Bronze Ryang Chun-hwa Women's 48 kg
Kim Myong-hyok Men's 69 kg
Yang Kyong-il Wrestling Men's freestyle 55 kg
2016 Rio de Janeiro  Gold Ri Se-gwang Gymnastics Men's vault
Rim Jong-sim Weightlifting Women's 75 kg
 Silver Om Yun-chol Men's 56 kg
Choe Hyo-sim Women's 63 kg
Kim Kuk-hyang Women's +75 kg
 Bronze Kim Song-guk Shooting Men's 50 m pistol
Kim Song-i Table tennis Women's singles

Winter Olympics[edit]

Medal Name Games Sport Event
 Silver Han Pil-hwa 1964 Innsbruck Speed skating Women's 3000 metres
 Bronze Hwang Ok-sil 1992 Albertville Short track speed skating Women's 500 metres

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Taylor, Adam (3 January 2018). "Why the Olympics matter when it comes to North Korea". The Washington Post. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  2. ^ North Korea Handbook 2002, p. 488.
  3. ^ "Winter Olympics 2018: North Korea will send 22 athletes to Pyeongchang". BBC News. January 20, 2018. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  4. ^ "North Korea at the Winter Olympics: All you need to know". BBC News. February 8, 2018. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  5. ^ Butler, Nick (2018-08-09). "IOC disappointed after UN reject demand for sporting equipment to be sent to North Korea". insidethegames.biz. Retrieved 2021-10-18.
  6. ^ Choe, Sang-hun (6 April 2021). "North Korea, citing the pandemic, will skip the Tokyo Olympics". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  7. ^ "North Korea suspended from IOC after Tokyo no-show". Reuters. Reuters. 8 September 2021. Retrieved 8 September 2021.

Works cited[edit]

External links[edit]