Hyun Jung-hwa (; born October 6, 1969 in

Busan Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, w ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

) is a retired

table tennis Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small solid rackets. It takes place on a hard table div ...

player from

who competed in the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

, and in the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

Career

National South Korean table tennis player Hyun Jung-Hwa brought about the golden age of table tennis to Korea. She is one of an elite group of players who have won at least one gold medal in every discipline they were eligible to compete in at the

World Table Tennis Championships The World Table Tennis Championships are table tennis competitions sanctioned by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF). The World Championships have been held since 1926, biennially since 1957. Five individual events, which include men ...

. Her first gold medal came in the women's doubles (partnering

Yang Young-Ja Yang Young-Ja (; born July 6, 1964) is a retired female table tennis player from South Korea. Table tennis career She won gold medals in women's doubles at the 1987 ITTF World Championships and the 1988 Summer Olympics, together with Hyun Jun ...

) at the 1987 World Table Tennis Championships in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

. She followed it up by winning the mixed doubles title with Yoo Nam-Kyu at the 1989 World Table Tennis Championships in

Dortmund Dortmund (; Westphalian nds, Düörpm ; la, Tremonia) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the eighth-largest city of Germany, with a population of 588,250 inhabitants as of 2021. It is the la ...

. During

1988 Seoul Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

, she led the South Korean team to victory against the unbeatable Chinese team. She was again part of the first ever Unified Korean team that stunned China to win the women's team event at the

1991 World Table Tennis Championships The 1991 World Table Tennis Championships were held in Chiba from April 24 to May 6, 1991. North Korea and South Korea fielded a unified team under the name Korea (コリア ''Koria''), the first of all Unified Korean sporting teams. The women's ...

Chiba Chiba may refer to: Places China * (), town in Jianli County, Jingzhou, Hubei Japan * Chiba (city), capital of Chiba Prefecture ** Chiba Station, a train station * Chiba Prefecture, a sub-national jurisdiction in the Greater Tokyo Area on ...

. Her final World title was an unexpected win in the women's singles event at the

1993 World Table Tennis Championships The 1993 World Table Tennis Championships were held in Göteborg from May 11 to May 23, 1993. Results Team Individual References External linksITTF Museum {{World Table Tennis Championships World Table Tennis Championships World Table ...

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

, where she also brought home medals in the mixed doubles and team event, making her the only Korean to achieve a Grand Slam. In 2011, she became the first Korean table tennis player to be inducted into the

International Table Tennis Federation The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) is the governing body for all national table tennis Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the p ...

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

Notable achievements

Inductee,

*Executive Director, Korea Table Tennis Association *Table Tennis Director, Korean Racing Authority *Head Coach, South Korean national team

In popular culture

Film

The story of the Unified Korean team in the 1991 World Championships and its victory over the Chinese in the women's team event is told by the movie '' As One'' starring actress

Ha Ji-won Jeon Hae-rim (; born 28 June 1978), better known by her stage name Ha Ji-won () is a South Korean actress. She is best known for the historical dramas '' Damo'' (2003), ''Hwang Jini'' (2006), and '' Empress Ki'' (2013), as well as the melodra ...

as Hyun Jung-Hwa.

Television appearances

*2020: ''

King of Mask Singer ''The King of Mask Singer'' () is a South Korean singing competition program presented by Kim Sung-joo, with introductions by voice actor . It airs on MBC on Sunday, starting from April 5, 2015 as a part of MBC's '' Sunday Night'' programming ...

'' ( MBC), contestant as "Libra" (episode 251) *2021: '' Hospital Playlist Season 2'' (

tvN TVN may refer to: * TVN (Australian TV channel), a former horse racing channel * Televisión Nacional de Chile, a public broadcaster * TVN (Indonesia), a former television station; predecessor of Rajawali Televisi * TVN (Norway), or TVNorge, a comm ...

), cameo. Yulje hospital hosts a departmental table tennis tournament every year. Hyun appears as one of the Department of Nuclear Medicine doctors, and easily wins the championship. (episode 9) *2022: ''National University is National University'' (MBN, 2022); Participant

References