Asia at the Olympics
This article is part of a special series we’ve prepared to mark the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina.
1980 to 1994: No Real Path to an Olympic Berth
South Korea entered the international hockey scene in 1979, making its World Championship debut that year. At the time, however, the team competed in Pool C, which meant there was no opportunity to challenge for a spot at the Lake Placid 1980 Olympics.
Back then, the World Championship effectively doubled as Olympic qualification. Teams from Pool A qualified automatically, joined by the top finishers from Pool B, while the Pool C winner typically advanced to a promotion playoff. South Korea simply wasn’t at that competitive level yet, never coming close to contending for one of the available Olympic places.
1998 to 2014: Failed and Skipped Qualification Campaigns
Classic IIHF Olympic qualifiers were introduced only after political changes expanded the global hockey map with many new nations. In the races for Nagano 1998 and Salt Lake City 2002, South Korea was eliminated at the very first hurdle, falling in the regional Asian pre-qualification stage.
South Korea did not enter the qualification process for Torino 2006 or Vancouver 2010. The team returned to Olympic qualifying ahead of Sochi 2014, entering in the second round. Despite posting encouraging results, including a win over Great Britain, South Korea failed to advance to the final qualification stage.
PyeongChang Secures Hosting Rights for the 2018 Winter Olympics
The 123rd IOC Session in Durban, South Africa, in July 2011 awarded the hosting rights for the 2018 Winter Olympics to PyeongChang. However, the IIHF was initially hesitant about granting automatic entry to the host nation. The Korea Ice Hockey Association (KIHA) first had to guarantee program investments and tangible improvements in competitiveness. Final approval for both national teams, men’s and women’s, was not confirmed until September 2014.
The Breakthrough Year: 2012
South Korea’s hockey program struggled for years. After 2000, however, a period of steady improvement began, and following the World Championship restructuring, South Korea firmly established itself in Division 1. The first major breakthrough came in 2012, when the South Koreans confidently captured the World Championship Division 1B title in Krynica, Poland, and earned promotion to the second-highest division.
That young squad, with an average age of 25.50, already featured nine future Olympians, including Min Ho Cho, Sang Wook Kim, Ki Sung Kim, Don Ku Lee, among others.
Legendary Jim Paek Comes on Board
After South Koreans were relegated back to Division 1B in 2014, the program turned to legendary Jim Paek, a former Stanley Cup champion, to lead the team. He was soon joined by fellow Korean-born Richard Park, another longtime NHL veteran.
With all due respect to Sun Wook Byun, who played a key role in the program’s progress after 2000, South Koreans needed experienced figures of Paek’s and Park’s caliber if they were to become competitive by 2018.
Paek, always proud of his roots, immediately immersed himself in the project. His role went far beyond coaching. As Director of Hockey Operations, he was tasked with overseeing the overall development of the national program. Bringing in high-profile figures from overseas, however, was only one piece of a much larger puzzle.
Naturalization Begins: Brock Radunske Leads the Way
South Korea’s hockey leadership, likely inspired by Japan’s successful Nagano 1998 experience, decided to strengthen the roster with several naturalized players. Unlike Japan, however, they did not focus on heritage players, opening the door to foreign-born athletes without Korean roots.
At the time PyeongChang secured hosting rights, around 20 Canadians and Americans were playing in the Asia League Ice Hockey (ALIH). The first to express interest in representing South Korea was Canadian-born Brock Radunske, who was already well integrated into the local environment after skating for Anyang Halla since 2008.
Radunske made his national team debut at the 2013 World Championship Division 1A. Against strong competition, South Korea impressed as a newcomer, even defeating host Hungary, which had its sights set on a return to the top division. Radunske contributed three goals and two assists to help secure survival.
In 2014, two more Canadian-born players, Bryan Young and Michael Swift, joined Radunske. By 2015, when South Korea, now under Jim Paek’s leadership, won the Division 1B tournament and earned promotion back to the second-highest tier, American-born Mike Testwuide was also part of the squad.
Matt Dalton Solves the Goaltending Problem
Jim Paek and Richard Park both recognized that South Korea’s biggest weakness was in goal, while the roster also lacked size up front and on the blue line. Radunske, Testwuide, and later the physical defenseman Eric Regan (from 2016) added much-needed bulk, but the real turning point came when Matt Dalton stepped into the crease.
When Dalton first pulled on an Anyang Halla jersey in ALIH in 2014, he already brought extensive experience from the KHL and ECHL, with additional stops in the AHL and NCAA. His main motivation at the time was likely the chance to play at the Olympics. What he didn’t yet know was that South Korea would become his second home, that he would permanently tie his future to the country, and ultimately grow into a true legend of South Korean hockey.
Dalton’s naturalization proved to be a genuine game-changer. With him in net, South Korea came remarkably close to promotion to the top division as early as 2016. The seventh and final naturalized player arrived at the 2017 World Championship Division 1A, when another big defenseman, Alex Plante, who also logged several NHL games, joined the roster.
South Korea Breaks Into the Elite Before the Olympics
The competitiveness drive demanded by the IIHF reached its peak in 2017, when South Korea made history by earning promotion to the World Championship top division for the first time ever. On their way up, South Koreans also defeated teams such as Kazakhstan, bolstered by multiple naturalized stars, and recently relegated Hungary.
While the impact of naturalized players was undeniable (five suited up at the tournament), domestic players carried much of the load, often in decisive moments. Up front, Jin Hui Ahn and Ki Sung Kim, alongside his brother Sang Wook Kim, led the charge, while Michael Swift, the only naturalized forward on the roster, finished just tied for third in team scoring.
Pre-Olympic Test at the Euro Hockey Tour in Russia
As part of its long-term preparation for the home Olympics, South Korea had been taking part irregularly as a guest in Euro Ice Hockey Challenge tournaments for second-tier European teams since 2013. In 2017, however, the very top of European hockey opened the door as well, inviting South Korea to the Russian stop of its traditional Euro Hockey Tour, the Channel One Cup.
Paek’s team held its own against Canada (also appearing as a guest), Finland, and Sweden, losing 2–4, 1–4, and 1–5. Notably, South Koreans managed to take the lead at some point in all three games.
Just ahead of the Olympics, South Korea also played four warm-up games. Against Kazakhstan, which did not qualify for the Games, they split the series with a loss and a win (1–3, 3–0). In the next two matches, they fell to fellow Olympic participants, losing 1–2 to Slovenia and 1–8 to Russia.
No NHL Participation and Seven Naturalized Players Partially Level the Playing Field
With the NHL ultimately refusing to release its players this time, unlike at the previous five tournaments, the balance of power shifted significantly, and the host nation avoided facing the very highest level of world talent. That said, it did nothing to change South Korea’s status as the tournament’s biggest outsider.
Head coach Jim Paek was for the first time able to count on all seven naturalized players at once, allowing South Korea to ice its strongest possible lineup.
| Naturalized South Korea Hockey Team Players | ||
|---|---|---|
| Player | Born | Played for Korea |
| Matt Dalton (G) | CAN | 2015 – 2023 |
| Alex Plante (D) | CAN | 2016 – 2019 |
| Bryan Young (D) | CAN | 2013 – 2018 |
| Eric Regan (D) | CAN | 2015 – 2019 |
| Michael Swift (F) | CAN | 2013 – 2018 |
| Brock Radunske (F) | CAN | 2012 – 2018 |
| Mike Testwuide (F) | USA | 2014 – 2018 |
Even though ice hockey is not among the country’s most popular sports, the Olympic atmosphere drew large crowds to the arenas in Gangneung and Kwandong, filling the stands for South Korea’s historic home Games.
South Korea vs Czechia 1–2
February 15, 2018 marked a historic day for South Korean hockey. In front of 6,025 fans at the Gangneung arena, the host nation made its Olympic debut against Czechia, a traditional hockey powerhouse, six-time world champion, and Olympic gold medalist from Nagano 1998.
South Korea started surprisingly sharp and created several promising chances. One of them was converted in the 8th minute by Min Ho Cho, one of ALIH’s leading forwards, who scored his country’s first-ever Olympic goal.
After goals by Jan Kovar and Michal Repik, the favored Czechs turned the game around before the end of the opening period. The match remained fairly balanced, however, with the hosts holding their own right to the finish. The scoreline stayed unchanged.
South Korea vs Switzerland 0–8
Two days later, the hosts ran into a harsh reality check as Switzerland handed them a heavy lesson. Against another elite European opponent, South Korea managed to stay competitive only through the first half of the game. Once Pius Suter made it 3–0 in the 36th minute, the hosts’ structure completely collapsed. The matchup ultimately ended in a crushing 0–8 defeat. Sung Je Park also made his debut in goal, coming in to relieve Matt Dalton.
South Korea vs Canada 0–4
The hosts closed out the group stage against Canada, the same opponent they had faced two months earlier at the Channel One Cup. Once again, they conceded four goals. Unlike the December meeting, however, this time they were unable to find the back of the net.
| 2018 Winter Olympics, PyeongChang, South Korea Preliminary Round Results |
||
|---|---|---|
| Game | Result | Date |
| South Korea vs Czechia | 1-2 | 2/15 |
| South Korea vs Switzerland | 0-8 | 2/17 |
| South Korea vs Canada | 0-4 | 2/18 |
| 2018 Winter Olympics, PyeongChang, South Korea Preliminary Round Standings |
||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Team | GP | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF-GA | P |
| 1 | Czechia | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9-4 | 8 |
| 2 | Canada | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 11-4 | 7 |
| 3 | Switzerland | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10-9 | 3 |
| 4 | South Korea | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1-14 | 0 |
South Korea vs Finland 2–5
After the group stage, South Korea finished last, 12th overall, which matched them against powerhouse Finland, the defending bronze medalist, in the qualification playoff.
The hosts put up surprisingly strong resistance against the experienced opponent and arguably played their best game of the tournament. Even though Finland led 3–0 midway through the contest, South Korea refused to fold. Brock Radunske made it 1–3, and Jin Hui Ahn later cut the deficit to a single goal. During that stretch, South Koreans even had chances to equalize, which would have sent shockwaves through the arena.
Juuso Hietanen restored Finland’s two-goal cushion in the 48th minute. While the hosts continued to push, they were unable to further complicate the favorite’s path to the quarterfinals. South Korea eventually fell 2–5, bringing its Olympic journey to an end.
| 2018 Winter Olympics, PyeongChang, South Korea Qualification Playoff |
||
|---|---|---|
| Game | Result | Date |
| South Korea vs Finland | 2-5 | 02/20 |
| 2018 Winter Olympics, PyeongChang, South Korea Final Rankings |
|
|---|---|
| # | Team |
| 1 | 🥇 Russia |
| 2 | 🥈 Germany |
| 3 | 🥉 Canada |
| 4 | Czechia |
| 5 | Sweden |
| 6 | Finland |
| 7 | United States |
| 8 | Norway |
| 9 | Slovenia |
| 10 | Switzerland |
| 11 | Slovakia |
| 12 | South Korea |
| 2018 Winter Olympics, PyeongChang, South Korea Team South Korea Roster |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | GP | G | A | P | Club |
| Brock Radunske (C/W) | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | Anyang Halla |
| Jin Hui Ahn (RW) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | Sangmu |
| Min Ho Cho (C) | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | Anyang Halla |
| Eric Regan (D) | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | Anyang Halla |
| Sang Hoon Shin (C/LW) | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | Sangmu |
| Sang Wook Kim (C/LW) | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | Anyang Halla |
| Michael Swift (C/LW) | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | Gangwon High1 |
| Hyung Gon Cho (D) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Sangmu |
| Jung Woo Jeon (F) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Sangmu |
| Won-Jun Kim (D) | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Anyang Halla |
| Ki Sung Kim (W/C) | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Anyang Halla |
| Won Jung Kim (RW) | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Anyang Halla |
| Jin Kyu Park (LW/D) | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Sangmu |
| Sang Woo Shin (C/LW) | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Anyang Halla |
| Mike Testwuide (RW) | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Gangwon High1 |
| Don Ku Lee (D) | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Anyang Halla |
| Hyon Ho Oh (D) | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Daemyung Killer Whales |
| Alex Plante (D) | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Anyang Halla |
| Yeong Jun Seo (D) | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Daemyung Killer Whales |
| Young Jun Lee (C) | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Daemyung Killer Whales |
| Bryan Young (D) | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Daemyung Killer Whales |
| Woo-Sang Park (C) | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Anyang Halla |
| Name | GP | GAA | SVS% | SO | Club |
| Matt Dalton (G) | 4 | 4.05 | 90.1 | 0 | Anyang Halla |
| Sung Je Park (G) | 1 | 12.23 | 57.1 | 0 | Gangwon High1 |
| Kye Hoon Park (G) | 0 | – | – | – | Sangmu |
First Appearance in the World Championship Top Division and Pandemic Complications
Less than three months later, South Korea was making history again, appearing in the World Championship top division in Denmark. The stay was short-lived, however, as they were relegated without a point after suffering several heavy defeats. A year later, the team came close to returning to the elite division, but a surprising loss to Lithuania derailed their comeback bid.
The situation grew even more complicated the following year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Two full ALIH seasons were canceled, along with two editions of World Championship Division 1A. The naturalized players gradually returned home, with the exception of Matt Dalton.
Olympic Momentum Left Untapped
The home Olympics sparked a short-term hockey boom across South Korean society. Over the long run, however, neither the team’s respectable Olympic showing nor its subsequent appearance at the World Championship in Denmark seems to have translated into meaningful, lasting growth of the national program.
Of course, it’s hard to say how things might have unfolded without the pandemic. Still, after the departure of the naturalized players, South Korea also lost the ground it had gained even before the naturalization era, dropping to Division 1B in 2024. Their overall 24th-place finish at the World Championship a year later marked their worst result since 2010.
Two Failed Qualification Campaigns and the Unexpected Loss of a PyeongChang Hero
Since PyeongChang 2018, South Korea has not returned to the Olympic stage. Although seeded directly into the final qualification round for Beijing 2022, the team stood no chance at the tournament in Oslo in August 2021. With virtually no game action during the pandemic period, the players were badly out of rhythm and became easy prey for Norway, Denmark, and Slovenia.
As if that setback wasn’t enough, the tournament also marked Min Ho Cho’s final appearance in the national jersey. The longtime international, who captained the team in Oslo, was already battling health issues at the time. Less than ten months later, the scorer of South Korea’s first-ever Olympic goal passed away at just 35 after losing his fight with lung cancer. (1)
The qualification campaign for Milano Cortina 2026 ended in disappointment as well. South Korea fell short at the February 2024 tournament, stumbling in a crucial matchup against Ukraine and failing to reach the final qualification round. The event also signaled the start of a new era: for the first time since World Championship Division 1B in 2012, and after a 12-year stretch, the national team featured not a single naturalized player.
When Will South Korea Return to the Olympic Stage?
South Korea earned its first Olympic appearance only thanks to hosting rights, much like China did four years later. While it still ranks among Asia’s hockey elite, it remains far from the global top 12. For now, it’s unclear when we’ll see South Korea again at the world’s biggest sporting event.
Asia at the Olympics
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