North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...

competed as the ''Democratic People's Republic of Korea'' at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...

, Greece, from 13 to 29 August 2004. This was the nation's seventh appearance at the Olympics since its debut in 1972. North Korean athletes did not attend the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the sec ...

in Los Angeles, when they joined the Soviet boycott, and subsequently, led a boycott at 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 ...

in Seoul, along with six other nations. Olympic Committee of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea sent a total of 36 athletes, 13 men and 23 women, to compete only in 9 sports. For the second time in Olympic history, North Korea was represented by more female than male athletes due to its stark team size of women in diving and artistic gymnastics. Former basketball player and National Olympic Committee official Kim Song-Ho became the nation's flag bearer in the opening ceremony. Both North Korea and South Korea marched together in the Parade of Nations at the Opening and Closing Ceremonies under the

Korean Unification Flag The Korean Unification Flag is a flag designed to represent all of Korea when North and South Korea participate as one team in sporting events. History North and South Korea initially planned to compete as one team at the 1990 Asian Games, an ...

, a white flag showing the united Korean peninsula in blue. They had two flagbearers carrying the flag together at each occasion, one representing the North and the other representing the South. The female athletes and staff wore red blazers, while their male counterparts wore blue. Although they marched together, the teams competed separately and had separate medal tallies. North Korea left Athens with a total of five Olympic medals (four silver and one bronze), failing to claim a single gold for the second consecutive time since Sydney. All of these medals were awarded to the athletes in boxing, judo, shooting, table tennis, and weightlifting. Lightweight judoka Kye Sun-Hui managed to complete a full set of medals in her illustrious sporting career with a silver, in addition to her gold in Atlanta and bronze in Sydney.

Medalists

Athletics

North Korean athletes have so far achieved qualifying standards in the following athletics events (up to a maximum of 3 athletes in each event at the 'A' Standard, and 1 at the 'B' Standard). ;Key * Note–Ranks given for track events are within the athlete's heat only * Q = Qualified for the next round * q = Qualified for the next round as a fastest loser ''or'', in field events, by position without achieving the qualifying target * NR = National record * N/A = Round not applicable for the event * Bye = Athlete not required to compete in round ;Men ;Women

Boxing

Kim Song-Guk was a surprise finalist in the featherweight class, beating the European bronze medalist in the second round and the

All-Africa Games The African Games, formally known as the All-Africa Games or the Pan African Games, are a continental multi-sport event held every four years, organized by the African Union (AU) with the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (AN ...

silver medalist in the quarters before edging World runner-up and European champion

Vitali Tajbert Vitali Tajbert (born 25 May 1982) is a German former professional boxer who competed from 2005 to 2013. He held the WBC super-featherweight title in 2010 (having held the interim title from 2009 to 2010) and the European Union title in 2008. A ...

in the semifinals. In the final, Tichtchenko pulled out into an early lead over Kim and never looked back, easily taking victory and leaving Kim to the silver medal.

Diving

North Korean divers qualified for four individual spots in the following events. ;Men ;Women

Gymnastics

Artistic

;Men ;Women ;Team ;Individual finals

Judo

Six North Korean judoka (one man and five women) qualified for the following events. ;Men ;Women

Shooting

Three North Korean shooters (two men and one woman) qualified to compete in the following events: ;Men ;Women

Table tennis

Four North Korean table tennis players qualified for the following events.

Weightlifting

Four North Korean weightlifters qualified for the following events:

Wrestling

;Key * - Victory by Fall. * - Decision by Points - the loser with technical points. * - Decision by Points - the loser without technical points. ;Men's freestyle

References

External links

Official Report of the XXVIII Olympiad
{{Nations at the 2004 Summer Olympics

Korea, North North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) an ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight ...

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The ina ...