South Korea third at Asian Games with 39 golds, fewest since 1982
In short
South Korea finished third at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games with 39 gold, 43 silver and 68 bronze medals, its fewest golds since 1982 and below the Korea Sports Council's target of 40 to 45. Host Japan surpassed 80 golds for the first time at a Summer Asian Games, taking 83 golds and 269 medals in total, while China led the table with 169 golds. Korean outlets said the delegation kept third place but failed its goal of narrowing the gold gap with Japan.
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South Korea finished third at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games with 39 gold, 43 silver and 68 bronze medals, 150 in total, behind China (169-89-83) and host Japan (83-95-91), according to figures published by Yonhap and Chosun Ilbo. Yonhap reported the 39 golds are South Korea's fewest since the 1982 New Delhi Games, when it won 28, and that the Korea Sports Council had set a pre-Games target of 40 to 45 golds. Chosun Ilbo said the delegation failed to achieve its goal of narrowing the gold gap with Japan. [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]
Japan's 83 golds are its best at a Summer Asian Games, Yonhap reported, above the 78 it won in Bangkok in 1966 and its first time past 80, with 95 silver and 91 bronze giving 269 medals in all. Chosun Ilbo described the gap with South Korea as “double score” in golds. Yonhap said that apart from the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games (75 golds), Japan had not exceeded 70 golds in the previous 40 years. [ 3 , 4 , 5 ]
The shortfall was spread across sports. Yonhap reported archery, targeted for five golds, delivered three, and that women's recurve won no gold for the first time since archery became an official sport in 1978. Newsis reported South Korea's archery team finished with three gold, three silver and three bronze: Lee Woo-seok took the men's individual title after the men's recurve team beat India, Kim Jong-ho won the compound men's individual, Oh Ye-jin took silver behind India's 17-year-old Kukum Anil Mohod, and Kang Chae-young, who took mixed-team bronze with Kim Je-deok, went out in the quarterfinals. Yonhap said swimming produced one gold amid an injury to Kim Woo-min, shooting and taekwondo three each, badminton two, and table tennis and judo one each. [ 1 , 3 ]
Team sports did better than at Hangzhou, according to Yonhap: basketball won three golds (men's and women's five-a-side and men's 3x3), baseball took a fifth straight title, men's football a fourth, and women's handball its first title in eight years. Esports met its two-gold target, sailing and canoe added two each and techball, new to the programme, produced one, Yonhap said, with South Korea winning gold in 22 sports against 20 in Hangzhou. [ 3 ]
At a wrap-up press conference, national training centre head Kim Taek-soo said there were “meaningful achievements”, including the diversification of medal sports and first golds in new events, despite the disadvantages of a reorganisation of the sports structure, Yonhap reported. Yonhap said the Korea Sports Council cited rapid growth in Central and Southeast Asian programmes and said competitiveness by sport must be soberly re-examined two years before the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. [ 3 ]
The outlets framed the result differently. Chosun Ilbo headlines called the Games a “disaster” for South Korea and its worst since 1982, citing archery's women's “no gold” and table tennis's “no silver”. Newsis focused on results in detail, saying the world's strongest archery nation lost top spot to emerging power India, whose compound team won five golds, two silvers and two bronzes. [ 1 , 4 , 5 ]
Why it matters
South Korea kept its place in Asia's top three but did not meet the stated goal of closing the gold-medal gap with Japan, which set an all-time best at home. Yonhap reported the Korea Sports Council said fast-growing Central and Southeast Asian programmes, and rivals such as India in archery, mean competitiveness by sport must be re-examined two years before the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Yonhap also reported the decline in Korean golds has continued since the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games.
Key facts
- South Korea finished third with 39 gold, 43 silver and 68 bronze medals, 150 in total. [ 3 , 4 , 5 ]
- China topped the table with 169 gold, 89 silver and 83 bronze; Japan was second with 83 gold, 95 silver and 91 bronze. [ 3 , 4 ]
- Japan's 83 golds are its best at a Summer Asian Games, above the 78 it won in Bangkok in 1966, and its first time past 80. [ 3 , 4 , 5 ]
- South Korea's 39 golds are its fewest since the 1982 New Delhi Games, when it won 28. [ 3 , 5 ]
- The Korea Sports Council's pre-Games target was 40 to 45 golds, with sport-by-sport goals including five for archery and four each for swimming, shooting, fencing and taekwondo. [ 3 ]
- South Korea won gold in 22 sports, compared with 20 at the Hangzhou Games. [ 3 ]
- South Korea's archery team finished with three gold, three silver and three bronze medals, and won no women's recurve gold for the first time since the discipline became an official sport in 1978. [ 1 , 3 , 5 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- South Korea placed third at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games with 39 gold, 43 silver and 68 bronze medals. [ 3 , 4 , 5 ]
- China finished first (169-89-83) and Japan second (83-95-91). [ 3 , 4 ]
- Japan's 83 golds were its most at a Summer Asian Games and the first time it passed 80. [ 3 , 4 , 5 ]
- South Korea's gold tally was its lowest since the 1982 New Delhi Games. [ 3 , 5 ]
- The Korea Sports Council had set a target of 40 to 45 gold medals. [ 3 , 5 ]
- South Korea won no gold in women's recurve archery for the first time since archery became an official sport in 1978. [ 1 , 3 , 5 ]
Still unclear
- North Korea's Ro Kwang-ryol set world records in the men's 85kg weightlifting with a 165kg snatch, a 214kg clean and jerk and a 379kg total, winning gold. Reported in only one document, an AP-sourced photo caption carried by Newsis, and not mentioned by any other outlet; no document confirms ratification of the records.
- Whether the shortfall against the Korea Sports Council's target will lead to changes in programmes or funding before the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Yonhap reports the council called for a sober reassessment of competitiveness by sport, but no document states any decision or measure.
- The effect of swimmer Kim Woo-min's injury on South Korea's swimming results. Only Yonhap mentions the injury as a factor and gives no further detail.
- South Korea won 150 medals in total. Reported by a single source so far
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- The 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games open in Nagoya, beginning 16 days of competition. [ 1 , 3 ]
- The Asian Games close in the afternoon. [ 3 ]
- Newsis publishes its archery wrap-up, reporting three golds for South Korea's archery team and no women's recurve gold. [ 1 ]
- Chosun Ilbo reports South Korea kept third place but did not close the gold-medal gap with Japan. [ 2 ]
- Yonhap's wrap-up reports South Korea's final tally of 39 gold, 43 silver and 68 bronze, and the Korea Sports Council's pre-Games target of 40 to 45 golds. [ 3 ]
- Chosun Ilbo reports South Korea's 150 medals and calls the Games its worst since 1982, with Japan setting an all-time record. [ 4 ]
- Chosun Ilbo reports Japan's record 83 golds and 269 total medals. [ 5 ]