Special Exhibition

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Korean Sports, a History Written in Sweat

Korean Sports, a History Written in Sweat

Special Exhibition Hall (3rd Fl.),
National Museum of Korean Contemporary History

December 5 (Tue), 2017 – March 4 (Sun), 2018

  • Price : Free
  • Hours :10:00 – 18:00
    Opening hours will be extended to nine o’clock in the evening on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
    (Last admission is one hour before the closing time.)
  • For additional inquiries call : +82-02-3703-9200

Opening Special Exhibition


The National Museum of Korean Contemporary History presents a special exhibition, “Korean Sports, a History Written in Sweat,” to commemorate the PyeongChang Winter Olympics and Winter Paralympics 2018. The event is aimed to introduce museum goers to historic moments of contemporary Korean sports remaining in the memories of Korean people.

For the Korean people situated in the turbulence of the modern history, sports have often been opportunities to be liberated from dire political and social situations. Many great athletes trained themselves hard to give joy and happiness to their countrymen and women and, indeed, created numerous glorious moments. The history of Korean sports is, in a sense, the Korea’s entire modern history itself that strived for glory and honor, eventually achieving it against all odds.

It is remarkable by any standards that Korea, which was one of the world’s poorest countries by the early 20th century, became the host country for such great sporting events as the 1988 Summer Olympics and the 2002 FIFA World Cup. The country is now hosting the 2018 Winter Olympics. Korea has, of course, made outstanding achievements in various global sporting events and contributions to their development thanks to the enthusiastic love of its people toward sports.

Different generations of sports fans may have different opinions about the greatness of athletes but what never changes is the history written by their sweat and dedication. We at the National Museum of Korean Contemporary History hope this exhibition of a collection of valuable memorabilia, photographs and video footages will give you a joyful experience of recollecting or knowing some great moments of the Korean sports in the past. We also hope that your visit will guide you to think about good sportsmanship and the struggle of humanity to achieve global harmony and peace through productive physical activities.
The Beginning of Modern Sports in Korea
The first part of the exhibition is focused on the early phase of the history of Korean sports from the late 19th century to the colonial period (1910-1945).
지도농구의 이론과 실제 경평축구대회 당시 축구공
Theory and Practice of Basketball Teaching Son Hwan Soccer ball used for the Seoul-Pyeongyang Soccer Event Lee Jae-hyeong
현대철봉운동법 남수일 아사히신문체육상
Modern Bar Training Son Hwan Asahi Shimbun Sports Prize (Awardee: Nam Su-il)
The Transition and Takeoff of Korean Sports
The second part of the exhibition is focused on the development of Korean sports in the postwar period until the 1980s.
서윤복 선수 보스턴 마라톤대회우승 동상 김용식 축구화
Bronze of Suh Yun-bok, winner of the 1947 Boston Marathon National Sports Museum Kim Yong-sik’s soccer boots Lee Jae-hyeong
김일챔피언 밸트 홍수환 대 아놀드 테일러 WBA 밴텀급 경기안내책
Kim Il’s championship belt Kim Il Memorial Gymnasium Pamphlet of the WBA bantamweight class boxing match between Hong Soo-hwan and Arnold Taylor Hong Soo-hwan
조오련선수 메달 정현숙 세계탁구선수권대회 메달
Swimming medals of Jo O-ryeon Suwon Gwanggyo Museum World Table Tennis Championship medal (Awardee: Chung Hyun-sook) Chung Hyun-sook
에베레스트 등반 취재에 사용된 타자기 1983년 청소년축구대표팀 유니폼 및 마스크
Type writer used for the coverage of the Mount Everest climbing Lee Tae-yeong Uniform and mask for the national youth soccer team in 1983 Lee Jae-hyeong
한국프로야구 원년우승트로피 유명우 글러브
First KBO Championship Trophy Doosan Bears Yu Myeong-wu’s boxing gloves Yuh Myung-woo
프로야구 원년 6개팀  선수유니폼
Baseball uniforms for the six teams of the Korean Professional Baseball KBO (Donated by Choi Dong-won, Kim Yong-dal and Han Dae-hwa)
서울올림픽 성화봉 임춘애 아시안게임 육상3관왕 금메달
1988 Seoul Olympic torch Three gold medals of Lim Chun-ae won from the track and field events in the 1986 Asian Games Lim Chun-ae
The Globalization of Korean Sports
In the third part of the exhibition, visitors will be introduced to the achievements of Korean athletes after the 1980s and the contribution of Korean sports community to the winter Olympics and the Paralympics until its hosting of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games.
차범근 국가대표 유니폼 박지성 유니폼과 풋 프린트
Korean national soccer team uniform worn by Cha Bum-kun Lee Jae-hyeong National soccer team uniform and foot print of Park Ji-sung
선동열 주니치 드래곤즈 글러브 베이징 우커쑹 스포츠센터 야구장 베이스
Chunichi Dragons glove worn by Sun Dong-yol KBO Baseball base from the Wukesong Sports Center in Beijing, China KBO
이은철 권총 박주봉 배드민턴 라켓
Lee Eun-cheol’s pistol Suwon Gwanggyo Museum Park Joo-bong’s badminton racket Poongnam Elementary School in Jeonju
장미란 유니폼 생모리츠동계올림픽 한국대표단 사진
Jang Mi-ran’s uniform Seoul Olympic Museum Korean national team athletes in the St. Moritz 1948 Winter Olympics National Archives of Korea
조윤식 스케이트화 홍용명 스케이트화
Jo Yun-sik’s ice skates National Archives of Korea Hong Yong-myung’s ice skates Hong Yong-myung
김윤만 선수 점퍼 최민경 스케이트와 헬멧
Kim Yoon-man’s jacket Kim Yoon-man Choi Min-kyung’s skates and helmet Choi Min-kyung