Korean fencing legend Kim Jung-hwan retires, to teach at Korea National Sport University
In short
Kim Jung-hwan, 43, South Korea’s most decorated fencer with four Olympic medals, ended his competitive career at a retirement ceremony on Oct. 6 at the Seoul Olympic Parktel in Seoul. He will join his alma mater, Korea National Sport University, as a fencing professor and said he will work to produce a “second Avengers” generation of national team fencers.
Read the full story 2 min read
Kim Jung-hwan, 43, a four-time Olympic medallist in men’s sabre, ended his competitive career at a retirement ceremony on Oct. 6 at the Seoul Olympic Parktel in Songpa-gu, Seoul, Yonhap reported, citing the Korea Sports Promotion Foundation. Among those attending were foundation chairman Ha Hyung-joo, Korea National Sport University president Moon Won-jae, foundation fencing team head coach Kim Doo-hong and Hwaseong City fencing team coach Kim Jun-ho, according to Yonhap. [ 1 , 3 ]
Yonhap said Kim won four Olympic medals — two gold and two bronze — the most of any Korean fencer. He contributed to Korea’s back-to-back Olympic men’s sabre team titles at London 2012 and the Tokyo Games held in 2021, and took individual bronze at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics and in Tokyo, the same report said. At the Asian Games he won three gold and two silver medals through the Hangzhou edition held in 2023, and at world championships four gold plus one silver and one bronze. [ 1 , 3 ]
The Dong-A Ilbo reported that Kim joined the Korea Sports Promotion Foundation’s fencing team in 2005, won his first Olympic medal at the age of 29 in London in 2012 and his first individual medal at 33 in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. After leading Korea’s men’s sabre team to a second straight Asian Games title in Jakarta-Palembang in 2018 he retired from the national team, then returned a year before the Tokyo Olympics and helped deliver a second straight team title and an individual bronze, becoming the first Korean sabre fencer with medals at three consecutive Games, the newspaper said. [ 1 ]
Yonhap reported that Kim last competed for the national team at the Hangzhou Asian Games, worked as a playing coach at the foundation from 2024 and competed through the national team selection competition held in June. He now joins his alma mater, Korea National Sport University, as a fencing professor, the report said. “I will do my best to coach the athletes so that we can create a second ‘Avengers’,” Kim was quoted as saying, referring to the national fencing team’s nickname. [ 3 ]
The Dong-A Ilbo reported that Kim pulled a prepared script from his jacket at the ceremony and said he had practised at home but cried so much he could not finish reading it. Its headline quoted him as saying he would turn his sword into a pen and produce a second Oh Sang-uk. The Korea Economic Daily’s headline described him as leaving the piste to nurture a “second Avengers” as a coach, without detailing the role, while Yonhap said he takes up a university professorship. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
Why it matters
Kim is the Korean fencer with the most Olympic medals, so his move into teaching and coaching places a leading figure of the country’s men’s sabre golden era inside the university system that develops future national team athletes. The documents give no further detail on the scope or start date of his new post, so the practical effect is not yet spelled out.
Key facts
- Kim Jung-hwan’s retirement ceremony was held on Oct. 6 at the Seoul Olympic Parktel in Songpa-gu, Seoul, according to the Korea Sports Promotion Foundation. [ 1 , 3 ]
- Kim, 43, is the Korean fencer with the most Olympic medals: four, made up of two gold and two bronze. [ 1 , 3 ]
- He contributed to Korea’s back-to-back Olympic men’s sabre team titles at London 2012 and the Tokyo Games held in 2021. [ 3 ]
- He won individual Olympic bronze at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games and at the Tokyo Games, the Dong-A Ilbo and Yonhap reported. [ 1 , 3 ]
- He will become a fencing professor at Korea National Sport University, his alma mater, Yonhap reported. [ 3 ]
- Kim said he will do his best to coach athletes so that a second “Avengers” can be created, referring to the national fencing team’s nickname. [ 3 ]
- Ha Hyung-joo, chairman of the Korea Sports Promotion Foundation, Korea National Sport University president Moon Won-jae and coaches Kim Doo-hong and Kim Jun-ho attended the ceremony. [ 3 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- The retirement ceremony took place on Oct. 6 at the Seoul Olympic Parktel in Seoul. [ 1 , 3 ]
- Kim Jung-hwan, 43, holds four Olympic medals — two gold and two bronze — the most among Korean fencers. [ 1 , 3 ]
- Kim is moving from competition into coaching or teaching of fencers. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- He won Olympic team gold at London 2012 and the Tokyo Games held in 2021, and individual bronze at Rio 2016 and Tokyo. [ 1 , 3 ]
Still unclear
- Whether Kim’s new role is a university professorship or a coaching position, and what it involves. Yonhap, an official-type outlet citing the Korea Sports Promotion Foundation, says he takes up a fencing professorship at Korea National Sport University, while the Korea Economic Daily headline describes him as becoming a coach who will develop a “second Avengers”; its article text does not describe the role.
- When Kim’s new post begins. No document gives a start date for the professorship or coaching role.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- The Dong-A Ilbo publishes its report on the retirement ceremony, held the same day at the Seoul Olympic Parktel in Seoul. [ 1 ]
- The Korea Economic Daily reports Kim’s departure from the piste, saying in its headline that he will develop a “second Avengers” as a coach. [ 2 ]
- Yonhap reports, citing the Korea Sports Promotion Foundation, that the ceremony was held on Oct. 6 and that Kim will become a fencing professor at Korea National Sport University. [ 3 ]