North Korea at the Olympics

North Korea at the Olympics
IOC code	PRK
NOC	Olympic Committee of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
Medals Ranked 50th	Gold 16 Silver 19 Bronze 28 Total 63
Summer appearances
1972 1976 1980 1984–1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
Winter appearances
1964 1968 1972 1976–1980 1984 1988 1992 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022
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

North Korea's first Olympic appearance was in the 1964 Winter Olympics at Innsbruck, Austria. The nation participated in its first Summer Olympic Games eight years later at the 1972 Munich Olympics. 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 63 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] Because the Olympic Charter mandates members' participation, the International Olympic Committee suspended North Korea from its activities until the end of 2022, thus prohibiting the country from participating in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.^[7]

Medal tables

See also: All-time Olympic Games medal table

Medals by Summer Games

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	16	0	2	4	6	68
2028 Los Angeles	future event
2032 Brisbane
Total		16	18	27	61	47

Medals by Winter Games

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 (suspended)
2026 Milano Cortina	future event
Total		0	1	1	2	45

Medals by summer sport

Sport	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
Weightlifting	5	8	5	18
Wrestling	3	2	5	10
Gymnastics	3	0	0	3
Boxing	2	3	3	8
Judo	2	2	4	8
Shooting	1	0	2	3
Table tennis	0	2	3	5
Diving	0	1	1	2
Volleyball	0	0	1	1
Totals (9 entries)	16	18	24	58

Medals by winter sport

Sport	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
Speed skating	0	1	0	1
Short track speed skating	0	0	1	1
Totals (2 entries)	0	1	1	2

List of medalists

Summer Olympics

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
2024 Paris	Silver	Kim Mi-rae Jo Jin-mi	Diving	Women's synchronized 10 metre platform
		Ri Jong-sik Kim Kum-yong	Table tennis	Mixed doubles
	Bronze	Kim Mi-rae	Diving	Women's 10 metre platform
		Pang Chol-mi	Boxing	Bantamweight(54kg)
		Ri Se Ung	Wrestling	Men's Greco-Roman 60 kg
		Choe Hyo-gyong		Women's freestyle 53 kg

Winter Olympics

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

Multiple medalists

Athlete	Sport	Games	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
Kye Sun-hui	Judo	1996, 2000, 2004	1	1	1	3
Kim Il	Wrestling	1992, 1996	2	0	0	2
Rim Jong-sim	Weightlifting	2012, 2016	2	0	0	2
An Kum-ae	Judo	2008, 2012	1	1	0	2
Om Yun-chol	Weightlifting	2012, 2016	1	1	0	2
Ri Song-hui	Weightlifting	2000, 2004	0	2	0	2
Ri Byong-uk	Boxing	1976, 1980	0	1	1	2
Kim Myong-nam	Weightlifting	1992, 1996	0	1	1	2
Li Bun-hui	Table tennis	1992	0	0	2	2

See also

• List of flag bearers for North Korea at the Olympics
• North Korea at the Paralympics
• Sport in North Korea
• Category:Olympic competitors for North Korea

References

1. 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

• Yonhap News Agency (2002). North Korea Handbook. Seoul: M.E. Sharpe. ISBN 978-0-7656-3523-5.

External links

• "Democratic People's Republic of Korea". International Olympic Committee. 9 September 2021.
• "North Korea". Olympedia.com.
• "Olympic Analytics/PRK". olympanalyt.com. Archived from the original on 2018-01-08. Retrieved 2020-08-11.
• Taylor, Adam (10 August 2016). "The Olympics are tough for all athletes. For North Koreans, they're worse". The Washington Post.