The Order of Sport Merit () is one of the

Republic of Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its east ...

's (South Korea) Orders of Merit. It is awarded to those who have rendered outstanding meritorious services in the interest of improving citizen's physique and national status through sports.

Classes of Sport Merit

The Order of Sport Merit is conferred in five classes: # ROK Order of Sports Merit Cheongnyong (1st Class) ribbon

Cheongnyong (Blue Dragon) 청룡장 # ROK Order of Sports Merit Maengho (2nd Class) ribbon

Maengho (Fierce Tiger) 맹호장 # ROK Order of Sports Merit Geosang (3rd Class) ribbon

Geosang (Giant Elephant) 거상장 # ROK Order of Sports Merit Baengma (4th Class) ribbon

Baengma (White Horse) 백마장 # ROK Order of Sports Merit Girin (5th Class) ribbon

Girin (Giraffe) 기린장

Other Orders of Merit

There are three kinds of decoration awarded by the Republic of Korea. They are Orders, Medals of Merit, and Service Medals.

Selected recipients

Cheongnyong Medal

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from El ...

- In 1985, Former President Chun Doo-hwan awarded Prince Philip to visit Korea as president of the

International Federation for Equestrian Sports The International Federation for Equestrian Sports (, FEI) is the international governing body of equestrian sports. The FEI headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland. An FEI code of conduct protects the welfare of the horses from physical abu ...

. *

Guus Hiddink Guus Hiddink (; born 8 November 1946) is a Dutch former football manager and professional player. He enjoyed a long career playing as a midfielder in his native Netherlands. Retired as player in 1982, Hiddink went into management, leading both c ...

- Dutch football coach who coached the South Korean men's football team to a historic fourth-place at the

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

. * Kim Yun-a - retired South Korean figure skater and gold medalist at the

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...

and

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Jang Mi-ran Jang Mi-ran (; born October 9, 1983) is a South Korean Olympic weightlifter. She is currently based in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do, competing for the Goyang City Government Sports Club. At the 2004 Summer Olympics, she won the silver medal in the +75&n ...

- South Korean Olympic weightlifter and gold medalist at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

Lee Bong-ju Lee Bong-Ju (; born November 8, 1970, in Cheonan, Chungcheongnam-do, South Korea) is a South Korean marathoner. He graduated from University of Seoul then competed for South Korea in the 1996 Summer Olympics held in Atlanta, United States in t ...

- South Korean marathoner and silver medalist at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

Thomas Bach Thomas Bach (born 29 December 1953) is a German lawyer, former Olympic foil fencer and Olympic gold medalist, serving as the ninth and current president of the International Olympic Committee since 10 September 2013. He is also a former memb ...

- IOC President * Kim Jung-hwan - first South Korean fencer to medal at three consecutive Olympics * Won Woo-young - first Asian fencer to win an individual gold in men's

sabre A sabre ( French: �sabʁ or saber in American English) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the early modern and Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such as th ...

at the

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and team gold medalist at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

Son Heung-min Son Heung-min ( ko, 손흥민; ; born 8 July 1992) is a South Korean professional footballer who plays as a forward for Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur and captains the South Korea national team. Considered one of the best forwards in ...

- footballer for

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

and the South Korean national team. First Asian player to win the

Premier League Golden Boot The Premier League Golden Boot is an annual association football award presented to the leading goalscorer in the Premier League. For sponsorship purposes, it was called the Carling Golden Boot from 1994 to 2001, the Barclaycard Golden Boot from ...

References

External links

체육훈장(體育勳章, Order of Sport Merit)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sport Merit, Order Orders, decorations, and medals of South Korea South Korean sports trophies and awards