South Korea

South Korea
Continent	Asia
Population	48,875,000
Registered players	1,880
Referees	39
Rinks	41
National teams	Men's Women's Junior
National federation	Korea Ice Hockey Association
IIHF since	July 25, 1960
IIHF ranking	31
Top league	Korea Domestic Championship

South Korea is a country in East Asia. Seoul is the capital and largest city. Korean is the main language.

Overview

National Teams

Men's · Men's-U20 · Men's-U18 · Women's · Women's-U18

Domestic Teams

See Category:Ice hockey teams in South Korea

Arenas

See Category:Arenas in South Korea

Competitions

Competition	Founded	Folded	Notes
Korea Domestic Championship	1946	-	National championship
Korean Ice Hockey League	~2015		National league
Korean Ice Hockey League	1995	2004	Defunct national league
Korean Championship		-	Various championships staged
Korea Independent Hockey League	2014	2016	Defunct competition
Korea Divisional Domestic Championship	1954	2001	Defunct student competition
Korean Women's Hockey League		-	National women's competition
South Korean junior competitions		-	Various junior competitions staged

History of hockey in South Korea

see also: Early Korean Hockey (1927-1940)

The first documented ice hockey game in South Korea was played on January 2, 1928, when the Yonsan Railway Club of Seoul invited the Tokyo University team from Japan, who was on their way back from Manchuria, to play a demonstration game in Seoul. Later in the year, members of the railway club later organized a match with the newly-formed Kyungsung University team, and a rivalry soon emerged between the two clubs. Chun Yoo-Ryang was a key figure in the early days of the sport.

An early incarnation of the Korea Ice Hockey Association was founded in 1928, but the modern version of the association was not formed until 1947, with Choi Sun-Ik as president. The country joined the IIHF on July 25, 1960. In 1964 the Dongdaemun Rink was opened as the country's first artificial ice facility. A year later, the first IIHF-sanctioned match was played in Korea when a university team from Japan visited the country.

On January 25, 1930, the first official ice hockey games were played at the sixth Ice Sports Competition hosted by the Chosun Sports Association. The same year, the Chosun Ice Hockey Federation was formed and the Chosun Hockey League was said to have been contested for the first time, with Yonsei University winning (no contemporary sources have been found regarding this). The Keijo Imperial University, a Japanese school in Seoul, competed in the inaugural All-Japan Championship in 1930. Korean teams began taking part in Japanese competitions too. At the time, teams such as Kyungsung University and Kyungsung Normal School were already active in Korea, and the Gyeongsung National University went to Japan and recorded two defeats at the All-Japan High School Championship in 1931, and in January 1932, Kyungsung Normal School won the championship. In the 1930s, various organizations such as the Korea Ice Hockey Federation, the Korean Student Ice Skating Federation, and the Chosun Ice Hockey Federation held their own ice hockey competitions.

The Korean Ice Hockey Federation staged its first championship - the Chosun Hockey League Tournament - on January 17, 1931. Five teams participated, including Kyungsung University, Kyungsung University Prepatory Course, Kyungsung High Industry, Railway Bureau, and the Kyungsung Normal School. Kyungsung University won the title. The second championship began on January 16, 1932, but it was not completed due to thaw. The teams entered were Yonsei University, Keijo Imperial University, Kyungsung University Prepatory Course, Railway Bureau, and the Kyungsung Public High School. The third championship was staged at the Kyungsung University Rink in Cheongnyangni, Seoul, beginning on January 15, 1933. The fourth competition began on January 5, 1934, and eight teams participated, including Kyungsung Normal School Graduates (who won), Kyungsung University Prepatory Course, Kyungsung University, Kyungsung Teachers, Keijo Imperial University, Yonsei University, Kyungsungjeon, and the Railway Bureau. Formed in 1934, the All-Keijo team overpowered all the Japanese teams in Korea, and also competed in the All-Japan Championship.

In 1934 the Severance Medical Center and Gwangseong Middle School teams were founded in Pyongyang. Other teams to be formed were the Gyeongseongjeon Hall in 1935, Boseong Specialty School in 1936, Songdo Middle School in Kaesong in 1938, and Whimoon Middle School in 1939. The first Middle School Championship was held in January 1938. The second one was played at the Kyungsung University Rink starting on January 16, 1939, and was won by Kyungsung Master. Kyungsung Commerce won the third championship, and Whimoon Middle School the fourth, in 1941. The Secondary Schools Championship was also contested beginning in 1938. The second tournament was won by the Kyungsung team, with Boseong, Kyungsung Technical High School, Yonsei, and Severance Medical also competing. The third competition was played at the Kyungsung University Rink on January 17, 1940. Kyungsung won, with Severance Medical and Boseong also competing. The Jeonjo Seonbingo Championship was first held in 1939. It was won by Kyungsung. The third competition was won by Yonsei, who beat Kyungsung and Kyungsung Prepatory.

In 1946, ice hockey teams including Gyeongbok Middle School, Jungdong Middle School, Yongsan Middle School, and Bae Jae Middle Middle School were formed, and several friendly games and league matches were held.

The Korea Domestic Championship has been staged annually since 1946. It is open to both university and professional teams. There was also a student competition, the Korea Divisional Domestic Championship, in place from 1954 to 2001.

Starting in 1965, Korean and Japanese teams played international games in what was known as the Korea-Japan Friendly Ice Hockey Tournament, which continued until 1971. After a three year hiatus, the competition was held again in Japan in March 1974. The Korean team achieved a 7-1 win over Furukawa Nikko, but lost the other three games, including to the All-Japan Student Selection team. Korea sent a team to the All-Japan Championship Group C tournament in 1975, and won the title.

The first semi-professional team (Seoktop) was formed in 1993 and the Korean Ice Hockey League existed alongside the Domestic Championship from 1995-96 until it folded in 2004. Since the 2003-04 season, the top Korean teams have participated in the multi-national Asia League, which also has teams from China and Japan. Anyang Halla won the Asia League in 2010, and was co-champions with the Tohoku Free Blades from Japan in 2011. A new incarnation of the Korean League has been played since at least 2015.

The men's national team first participated in the World Championships in 1979, playing in Pool C. They next participated in 1982, competing in the C Pool until 1996, when they were relegated to the D Pool. South Korea was back in the C Pool by 1999 and made it up to Division I (the former B Pool) in 2001. In 1984, in celebration of the opening of the Taenung ice rink in Seoul, the national team hosted an invitational tournament featuring the French club Viry-Chatillon, a team from Tokyo and the University of Alaska-Anchorage.

The team's most successful campaign thus far was a fifth place finish in the 2013 Division IA tournament, ranking them 21st overall in the world. As the hosts, they will compete in their first Winter Olympics in 2018 in Pyeongchang. The national team's recent run of success has been keyed by players such as Park Woo-sang, Kim Woo-jae, and Kim Ki-sung. Sang-Won Seo and Eui-Sik Shim were formerly among the top players during the 1990s and early 2000s.

Jim Paek, who is currently the director of hockey for the Korea Ice Hockey Association and head coach of the national team, was the first Korean-born player to make it to the National Hockey League. He played 217 games in the league and won two Stanley Cups with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Richard Park later made it to the show in 1995 and played over 700 NHL games. Neither player grew up in Korea.

The women's national team made its international debut in 1999, playing in the Asian Winter Games. They also participated in the Asian Winter Games in 2007 and 2011. In 2004, the country made its debut at the IIHF World Women's Championships. Their best finish was first in Division IIB in 2013. They competed in the IIHF Women's Challenge Cup of Asia on three occasions, taking third place in the 2011 edition.

The junior national team made its debut at the IIHF World U20 Championships in 1990, playing in Pool C. They have competed solely in the lower pools. The U18 national team had success at the IIHF Asian Oceanic U18 Championships, which existed from 1984-2002, winning a total of 14 medals, including two golds. Atthe 1998 tournament, in which they won gold, they defeated Thailand by a score of 92-0, which still remains an international record for most goals scored and largest margin of victory.

Images

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  Yonsei University (Chosun Christian College) in 1932.

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  Yonsei and Kyungsung University in action on January 23, 1932.

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  Yonsei in December 1935.