Why is Korea unrivaled in the Olympics in archery, shooting, and fencing?

(VTC News) - The reason why Korean sports won many gold medals in archery, shooting and fencing at the Olympics has been revealed by the country's media.

At the 2024 Olympics, the Korean sports delegation showed its superiority when it won 5 gold medals in archery in all events. In shooting, Korea won 3 gold medals. In fencing, Korea led with the US and Hong Kong (China) with 2 gold medals. In fact, these are the 3 strengths of Korean sports at the Olympics, and also their "gold mine" at the Olympics, especially archery. A question that has always been asked at recent Olympics is why Korea is so good at these sports? Nearly a week ago, CBS Radio of Korea posted this question and gave the answer after 16-year-old female shooter Ban Hyo Jin (shooting) brought home the 100th gold medal for Korean sports at the Olympics. Archery Team Dominates Olympics " Of the 100 gold medals won by South Korea at the Olympics, 28 were in archery. That was achieved through a systematic training system, not based on natural talent," said CBS Radio reporter Park Hee-won. "If you look at the selection process for the national archery team, the Korean Archery Federation holds three selections each year to select eight male and eight female archers. They then compete in two matches to select the top three in the male and female groups to become members of the national archery team. So to become a member of the archery team, athletes have to go through five competitions ," Park Hee-won revealed. Park Hee-won said that the training process for sports such as shooting, fencing and archery in Korea is very unique. In shooting, South Korea has used shooting robots to support the training of athletes. Shooting robots have can determine the direction and strength of the wind to maximize the concentration and calmness of the archers.

3 members of the Korean archery team celebrate winning gold medal in the men's team event at the 2024 Olympics

There are some other explanations for Korea's strength in the above three sports, which are historical factors. However, according to assessments, training and education are the key factors that help Korean sports win gold medals at the Olympics. MC Kim Hyun-jung shared on CBS Radio : "Many people say that haven't we been good at using guns, swords, and bows since the Goryeo and Joseon dynasties? Some analyze that this may be in our DNA, but the truth is that athletes are systematically trained and fully supported to achieve high results." "This can be seen from the mental strength of archer Kim Je-deok, who calmly shot a 10-point score despite having a bee on his hand (in the men's team semifinal against China). The archery team's training is notoriously harsh. In the past, it was known that Korean athletes often practiced courage such as walking through cemeteries at midnight, stuffing snakes in their clothes, and training in caves with released snakes so that they would not be shaken by any situation. In particular, the training emphasized that athletes could hit the target even in the background of crowd noise and strong winds ," wrote the Hankyung . Chosun elaborated. about the situation where Kim Je-deok did not waver when the bee landed on his hand in the semi-final match against China at Paris 2024. “At that time, Kim Je-deok's heart rate was 80 beats per minute, which is the normal heart rate of an adult at rest. Although the aiming time was longer than usual, Kim Je-deok still calmly aimed and shot the arrow. As a result, the arrow hit the target exactly 10 times,” wrote Chosun .

Kim Je-deok still shoots 10 points despite being bothered by a bee

In 2023, the Korean newspaper World Archery wrote: “ For nearly 40 years, South Korea has been the leading nation in archery at the Olympic Games. Such sustained success is unprecedented in world sport. There is an often-repeated saying, both inside and outside of South Korea, that it is harder for archers to make the Korean team than to win an Olympic gold medal.” According to World Archery , archery is taught in virtually every school in South Korea. “There are about 900 archers practicing in elementary school clubs across the country — about 100 clubs. This is a model that has been used for many sports in South Korea, but while elementary school soccer, basketball, and baseball teams have been closed, archery has continued ,” World Archery said. According to the Korean Archery Federation, most of South Korea’s elite archers started playing the sport around the age of 9 or 10. Kim Je-deok, who won gold medals at the Tokyo and Paris Olympics, has been practicing archery since he was in third grade. “When I was in elementary school, I shot about 300 to 500 arrows a day,” Kim Je-deok revealed. According to World Archery , if Kim Je-deok shot an average of 375 arrows a day, practicing for 5.5 days a week, then before winning the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics, this archer would have shot nearly 1 million arrows. According to World Archery, in addition to natural talent, it is hard work that has helped Korean athletes achieve success. Archer Kim Woo-jin, who won the individual gold medal in archery at the 2024 Olympics, said: "Korea has a very solid training system. From elementary school, middle school to university and professional level, there is a clear direction for development." Kim Woo-jin continued: "The Korean Archery Federation is also very fair. All athletes compete equally without any violations. In addition, the president of the archery federation is also very interested and supportive of us. He is interested in how archery maintains its position as the best in the world. So I think Korean archery will continue to be in a high position in the future." Behind the success of the Korean archery team is the support of the Hyundai Group. The group has supported archery in Korea for nearly 40 years since 1985. Hyundai Chairman Chung Eui-sun has also been the president of the Korean Archery Association (KAC) since 2005. The Hyundai Group and the Korean Archery Federation have been preparing for the Paris Olympics right after the Tokyo Olympics. In particular, they built a facility identical to the Les Gents-Valid archery stadium in Paris 2024 at the Jincheon Athletes' Village. The archers South Korea has been practicing seriously to get used to the arena in Paris 2024. It is known that they also held trial competitions in an environment similar to the actual competition during the training process. Strict screening The Korean shooting team innovated the athlete selection system for the national team after failing to win any gold medals at the Tokyo Olympics 3 years ago. Previously, South Korea was considered a strong country in shooting at the Olympics. Their most famous shooter is "shooting emperor" Jin Jong-oh (born in 1979), who won 4 gold medals at the Olympics, 4 gold medals at the World Championships, 3 gold medals at the World Cup Final, 3 gold medals at the Asian Games and 3 gold medals at the Asian Championships. Until last year, the selection of members for the Korean Olympic shooting team was held with 5 rounds of competition. However, to select athletes to participate in the Paris Olympics, Korean athletes were screened more carefully. After 5 rounds, the athletes continue to compete and are eliminated in turn according to the Olympic format. The goal is to let the shooters develop evenly by experiencing the tension and excitement of the final round at the 2024 Olympics.

Ban Hyo-jin is still in school but won an Olympic gold medal in the women's 10m air rifle event at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

A large number of new shooters have been selected through this selection process. A typical example is 16-year-old Ban Hyo-jin. In fact, Ban Hyo-jin has been learning shooting for 3 years, after becoming interested in the sport since watching the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. Before that, the sport she practiced was taekwondo. 3 years ago, no one expected Ban Hyo-jin to win an Olympic gold medal, but in the end, this female athlete created a big surprise. The Korean newspaper MK wrote about Ban Hyo-jin: "Ban Hyo-jin, born in 2007, took up shooting when she was in her second year of high school. Starting shooting later than her peers, Ban Hyo-jin practiced diligently with the motto 'as if I would die tomorrow'. By trying 10 times harder than others, Ban's skills improved rapidly." The active support of the Korean Shooting Federation led to the progress of the shooters. The federation has done everything possible to improve the athletes' performance. It is known that Korean shooters have experienced the Paris Olympic shooting range before through the simulation training center and virtual reality (VR) set. The head coach of the Korean shooting team, Jang Gap-seok, has imposed a ban during training. That is, the use of mobile phones, coffee and cigarettes is prohibited. Mr. Jang has set an example for his students, so no one has objected. Fencing reaches the Olympic level If archery and shooting are two sports with a long history in Korea, fencing is younger. However, at Paris 2024, Korea won the men's team Olympic gold medal for the third consecutive time in the sabre event. In 2021, writer Song Sang-won said: "Until 10 years ago, Korea was still a wilderness for fencing. Although Kim Young-ho unexpectedly won the gold medal in the men's individual fencing event at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, fencing remains a strong sport in European countries, including France, the birthplace of fencing, Italy and Hungary. "Korean fencing began to emerge on the international stage at the 2012 London Olympics. With two gold medals, one silver medal and three bronze medals at the London Olympics, one gold medal and one bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics, and one gold medal, one silver medal and three bronze medals at the Tokyo Olympics, Korean fencing has joined the ranks of the sport's powerhouses," said journalist Song Sang-won.

South Korea wins 2 gold medals in fencing at 2024 Olympics

The support of SK Group is behind the rapid growth of Korean fencing. SK has supported the association with a whopping 30 billion won ($21.9 million) over nearly 20 years. Like archery, the chairman of the Korea Fencing Federation is also a businessman, Choi Shin-won of SK Group. In addition to financial support, SK has focused on building mid- and long-term strategies and improving the competitiveness of the national team, and as a result, Korean fencing has achieved remarkable success in the Olympics since 2012. Since 2004, the SK Telecom International Fencing Grand Prix has been held annually in Korea and is considered to have played a decisive role in establishing Korea as a "fencing powerhouse". In preparation for the Paris Olympics, SK has launched various support activities for Korean athletes. SK has set up a pre-Olympic training facility at the Jincheon National Training Center. As in archery, the training facilities for these fencers have the same specifications and conditions as the 2024 Olympic venues, including crowd noise and lighting to simulate the actual competition scene. In addition, the group has sent a support team, medical staff, coaches to Paris, and increased the number of analysts to improve the performance of Korean athletes. Earlier this year, SK and the Korea Fencing Federation purchased a hotel near the 2024 Olympic fencing venue to serve as a training base for the Korean fencing team. Choi Shin-won, then-president of SK Networks and now president of the Korea Fencing Federation, attended the Games to support and encourage Korean athletes. Since being appointed as president of the Korea Fencing Federation in 2018, Choi has been working to improve the competitiveness of the Korean fencing team. Won Woo-young, coach of the Korean men's fencing team, said: "Thanks to SK's support, my students and I can participate in many international events, improving our competitiveness. I hope that the achievements brought by the group's long-term care and support will continue to be maintained." It can be seen that Korea has invested heavily in shooting, archery and fencing, not to mention having two large corporations supporting their archery and fencing federations. In addition, the training and coaching of Korean athletes is also highly valued. It is understandable that Korea won many gold medals at the 2024 Olympics in the above three sports, and in the future, they will continue to reap even more success. "People assess that Korea is a nation that shows a terrifying level of concentration and perseverance when needed, but Korean athletes can demonstrate mental strength that surpasses the rest of the world thanks to scientific support and systematic training," the Hankyung newspaper affirmed.

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