1936

Marathoner Sohn Kee-Chung wins Olympic gold at the Berlin Summer Games, setting a world record of 2:26:42 and becomes the first Korean Olympian ever to medal. However, with Korea colonized by Japan, Sohn is forced to represent Japan. He openly weeps when the Japan flag is hoisted. Fifty-two years later, Sohn gets to carry the Olympic torch into Seoul Olympic Stadium and leaps with pride.

 

1948

During the Summer Games in London, Olympic platform diver Dr. Sammy Lee becomes the first Asian American in history to win a gold medal for the United States.

 

1952 

In Oslo, Norway, Dr. Sammy Lee becomes the first man ever to win consecutive gold medals in Olympic platform diving.

 

1984

South Korean women’s domination of the Olympic Archery begins. South Korean female archers win gold medals in both individual and team events in every Olympic game from 1984 to present day.

 

1988

In a decision laden with controversy, South Korean light middleweight boxer Park Si-Hun wins the gold medal by defeating American Roy Jones Jr. Jones, ­­­­who had supposedly landed 86 punches to Park’s 32 during the bout in the Seoul Summer Games.

 

2000

North and South Korean athletes enter the Olympic stadium in Sydney, Australia as one team using a specially designed unification flag: a white background with a blue map of the Korean peninsula. However, the two teams compete separately.

 

2006 

Toby Dawson wins the bronze medal in Men’s Freestyle Moguls during the Winter Games in Torino, Italy. Dawson hoped that his Olympic win would help in his adoption search of his Korean birth parents. On the brink of calling off his search due to a barrage of false claims, Dawson eventually met with his birth father in South Korea.