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.
| North Korea at the Olympics | |
|---|---|
 | |
| IOC code | PRK |
| NOC | Olympic Committee of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea |
| Medals Ranked 50th |
|
| Summer appearances | |
| Winter appearances | |
| Other related appearances | |
 Korea (2018) | |
History
editNorth 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
editMedals 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 | 16 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 68 |
| 2028 Los Angeles | future event | |||||
| 2032 Brisbane | ||||||
| Total | 16 | 18 | 27 | 61 | 47 | |
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 (suspended) | |||||
| 2026 Milano Cortina | future event | |||||
| Total | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 45 | |
Medals by summer sport
edit| 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
edit| 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
editSummer Olympics
edit
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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 |
Multiple medalists
edit| 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
edit
References
edit- ^ a b Taylor, Adam (3 January 2018). "Why the Olympics matter when it comes to North Korea". The Washington Post. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
- ^ North Korea Handbook 2002, p. 488.
- ^ "Winter Olympics 2018: North Korea will send 22 athletes to Pyeongchang". BBC News. January 20, 2018. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
- ^ "North Korea at the Winter Olympics: All you need to know". BBC News. February 8, 2018. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Choe, Sang-hun (6 April 2021). "North Korea, citing the pandemic, will skip the Tokyo Olympics". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
- ^ "North Korea suspended from IOC after Tokyo no-show". Reuters. Reuters. 8 September 2021. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
Works cited
edit- Yonhap News Agency (2002). North Korea Handbook. Seoul: M.E. Sharpe. ISBN 978-0-7656-3523-5.
External links
edit- "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.