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Population: | 49,044,790 | ||||||
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Area: | 38,023 sq. miles | ||||||
Location: | Asia | ||||||
Capital: | Seoul | ||||||
Major Cities: | Pusan, Taegu | ||||||
Language(s): | Korean | ||||||
Summer Olympic Debut: | 1948 | ||||||
Medal Record: |
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Located in northeastern Asia. Shares a 151-mile land border, known technically as the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), with North Korea. Controls the peninsula south of the 38th parallel. Has had reconciliation talks with North Korea aimed at reducing tensions between the once-unified countries. In 1993, Kim Young-Sam became the first civilian president since 1961.
Seoul hosted the Games of the XXIV Olympiad in 1988. First participated in the Olympics in 1948 in London. Though Korea had been divided in half in 1945, it competed as a single nation at the London Games. War broke out in 1950, and the two countries never entered the Games as a single nation again. Boycotted the 1980 Games in Moscow.
Ranks 21st on the all-time medal chart with 184 - 55 gold, 64 silver and 65 bronze. Won 147 of its 184 medals at the last five Olympics. Won 28 medals in Sydney - eight gold, 10 silver, 10 bronze.
In 1992, among the gold medal winners was Hwang Young-Cho, who captured South Korea's first track and field medal when he became the surprise winner of the marathon. In 1936, Koreans Sohn Kee-Chung and Nam Sung-Yong finished first and third, respectively, in the marathon - but they were forced to compete for Japan with Japanese names, as Korea was occupied by Japan at the time.
The most significant political event of the Sydney Games happened during the Opening Ceremony when North Korea and South Korea marched in unison - behind a placard that said simply "Korea" - for the first time since the 1948 London Games. They marched behind a blue-on-white flag depicting the Korean peninsula. The joint marching was brokered by IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch. The nations - which were still technically at war at the time of the Olympics - did, however, compete separately.
The two nations once again marched together at the Athens Games. Won 30 medals in Athens - nine gold, 12 silver and nine bronze. Two of those medals came in the individual all-around competition in men's gymnastics - Kim Dae-Eun won silver and Yang Tae-Young won bronze. Yang's third-place finish was controversial - his start value on parallel bars was miscalculated, helping American Paul Hamm to win the all-around title. Without the scoring error, which officials later acknowledged, Yang would have won gold. But after a series of protests, the results stood.
In February 2008, the two Koreas announced that they would send two 300-person strong joint cheering squads to the Games, one squad for each week.
South Korea could earn medals in a number of sports, from archery to wrestling. South Korea is the world's preeminent power in Olympic archery and should contend for gold in every event on the program in Beijing. The South Korean women's team has swept all six gold medals since the event debuted in 1988.
In swimming, emerging young star Park Tae-Hwan could contend in multiple events, including the 200m free, 400m free and 1500m free.
South Korea should have contenders in men's gymnastics as well, led by 2004 Olympic all-around silver medalist Kim Dae-Eun, who finished fifth in the all-around and won silver on parallel bars at the 2007 World Championships, and 2004 Olympic all-around bronze medalist Yang Tae-Young.
Though it is not as strong as the Chinese team, the South Korean table tennis team is formidable as well. Ryu Seung-Min - the 2004 Olympic champion in men's singles - has the potential to challenge the dominant Chinese but is not likely to repeat in Beijing. A medal or two in badminton is also possible.
South Korea should do well in combat sports, particularly judo and taekwondo. It also has medal contenders in Greco-Roman and freestyle wrestling as well as weightlifting. The women's handball team also has a shot at a medal.
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