7 Recipients Including Archery Star Kim Woo-jin Awarded the Blue Dragon Order of Sports Merit

The Republic of Korea Sports Award for Athletic Achievement Goes to Short Track Skater Choi Min-jeong

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Kim Woo-jin (Cheongju City Hall), who won two gold medals in the men's team archery event at the Olympics, received the Blue Dragon Medal for Sports Merit.

On the 14th, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism awarded sports development merit decorations and the Republic of Korea Sports Awards to 44 athletes at The Plaza Hotel in Seoul. The awards included seven Blue Dragon Medals, seven Maengho Medals, four Geosang Medals, eight Baekma Medals, one Girin Medal, and nine Sports Decorations.

The Sports Development Merit Decoration is the highest honor in the sports field, given to athletes and coaches who have contributed to the development of sports in Korea. The Blue Dragon Medal was awarded to archer Kim Woo-jin and coach Han Seung-hoon of Hyundai Steel, short track skater Kim A-rang, soft tennis player Park Gyu-cheol (Dalseong County Office), bodybuilder Seol Gi-gwan, fencer Kim Hyeong-yeol (Seongnam City Hall), and coach Park Jeong-guk of the Korea Para Badminton Association. Kim Woo-jin has been active as a national archery team member since 2009. He enhanced national prestige by winning consecutive gold medals in the men's team event at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro and 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Han Seung-hoon, a former national team member, has served as the national team coach since 2017, leading the team to excellent results in international competitions. Kim A-rang won gold medals at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics and the World Championships in Canada. Park Gyu-cheol earned medals at the World Championships and Asian Games from 2012 to 2019, boosting the pride of soft tennis players. Seol Gi-gwan achieved the world's first overall championship in two categories at the World Championships last year. Kim Hyeong-yeol has been coaching since 1998, guiding juniors to victories including the men's sabre team gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Park Jeong-guk has been a national team coach since 2015, achieving three silver medals and one bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.

Director Lim Young-cheol
Photo by Kim Hyun-min

The Maengho Medal was awarded to short track skater Seong Si-baek, underwater fin swimmer Yoo Kyung-heon, handball coach Lim Young-cheol, judo coach Geum Ho-yeon, archer Choi Bo-min (Cheongju Facilities Management Corporation), para-athletics coach Shin Soon-cheol, and para-table tennis player Kim Ki-young. Table tennis referee Kim Soon-ok, kendo coach Park Kyung-ok, cycling coach Lee Yong-seon, and para-table tennis player Kim Kyung-young received the Geosang Medal. The Baekma Medal went to canoe coach Seo Kyung-seok, underwater fin swimmer Wang Hyun-mi (Daejeon Metropolitan City Hall) coach, wushu coach Goo Moon-bum, and bodybuilding coaches Jeong Byeong-seon, Lee Hwan-hee, Park Man-seok, Yoon Hee-nam, and Lee Sang-min. The Girin Medal was awarded to canoeist Kim Hyun-hee (Daejeon Metropolitan City Sports Council). Recipients of the Sports Decoration included underwater fin swimming coach Hwang Jun-seop (St. John's Beria Academy), canoeist Choi Yoo-seul (Guri City Hall), kendo coaches Kim Tae-hyeon (Incheon Metropolitan City Hall) and Lim Na-hyeon (Hwaseong City Hall), archer Seol Da-young, taekwondo coaches Yoon Sang-hwa (Yongin University) and Jeong Se-hoon (Ministry of National Defense), Park Hyun-gyu, chairman of Gunsan Leisure Industry Co., Ltd., and Nam Yang-woo, sports director of the Chungbuk Disabled Sports Association.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Eight individuals received the Republic of Korea Sports Award. They included Choi Min-jung (Seongnam City Hall, Gyeonggi Province), who won gold in the women's 1500m short track at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics; Oh Sang-bong, a teacher at Gwangju Sports High School who nurtured gymnastics star Yang Hak-seon (Coaching Award); Kim Don-soon, secretary general of the Korea Athletics Federation (Meritorious Service Award); Baek Dong-hyun, chairman of the Chungbuk Ground Golf Association (Promotion Award); Jang Seong-jun, athletics coach of the Busan Metropolitan City Disabled Sports Association (Disabled Sports Award); Boo Hyeong-jong, chairman of the Jeju Special Self-Governing Province Disabled Basketball Association (Disabled Sports Award); Ahn Chang-sik, modern pentathlon coach at LH Korea Land and Housing Corporation (Referee Award); and Woo Dong-woo, father of diver Woo Ha-ram (Honored Parent of Sportspeople Award).

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