The 16-day 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games ended on Oct. 4. South Korea kept third place behind China and Japan with 39 gold, 43 silver and 68 bronze medals, but its gold tally was the lowest since the 1982 New Delhi Games.
The flame at the athletics stadium in Nagoya's Mizuho Park went out on the night of Oct. 4, closing the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games after 16 days. According to Kyunghyang Shinmun, South Korea won 39 gold, 43 silver and 68 bronze medals to finish third behind China (169-89-83) and Japan (83-95-91).
광고 문의 · 300×250Korea sent 1,052 people, including 792 athletes, to 41 sports, excluding cricket and padel, aiming for 'around 40 golds and third place.' It held third, but failing to pass 40 golds was a first in 44 years, since the 1982 New Delhi Games, where it won 28.
A ball-sports revival and a teenage surge
Team ball sports shone. Basketball delivered three golds in men's and women's 5x5 and men's 3x3, baseball won a fifth straight title and men's football a fourth, and women's handball regained the crown after eight years. The men's football team, however, had to apologize after remarks about military service exemptions overshadowed its win.
In individual events, fencing, led by double champion Oh Sang-uk, met its target of four golds to become Korea's top gold-producing sport. Badminton star An Se-young became the first woman to win back-to-back Asian Games singles titles. Judoka Heo Mi-mi, a Korean resident of Japan descended from an independence activist, also won gold.
Teenagers and young athletes stood out: swimmer Kim Young-beom, 20, won the men's 50m freestyle, while gymnast Hwang Seo-hyun, 17, and skateboarder Kang Jun-i, 18, took gold.
North Korea 12th
North Korea, competing for the first time at a Summer Asian Games held in Japan, sent 107 athletes, fewer than the 185 in Hangzhou, and finished 12th with 7 gold, 13 silver and 9 bronze. The next Summer Asian Games will be held in Doha, Qatar, in 2030.
