Chung Eui-sun’s “meaningful” remark: Will a wind of change blow through Korean archery? [Okazaki on-site report]

*This content was translated by AI.

South Korean archery is undeniably the “world’s strongest.” At every international competition, including the Olympics and Asian Games, the South Korean flag flies at the very top of the podium. It is common for South Korean athletes to face each other in the final, and it is not uncommon to see all three spots on the podium occupied by South Korean athletes.

However, when narrowing the scope, the discipline in which South Korean archery can boast of being the “strongest” is limited to recurve. Recurve is the standard form where the bowstring is drawn and released using only arm strength. In compound archery, pulleys are attached to both ends of the bow, and a sight is used to shoot arrows. While South Korea is the world’s strongest in recurve, it is not so in compound.

Even at the 2022 Hangzhou (China) Asian Games held in 2023, South Korea failed to win gold medals in all five compound events: men's team, women's team, mixed team, and the individual events for men and women. All five gold medals went to India. While South Korean archery is the world’s strongest, if limited to compound, India holds that title.

The same was true at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games held on the 30th last month at the Multi-purpose Plaza in Chuo Central Comprehensive Park, Okazaki, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. On that day, South Korea advanced to the semifinals in all four events, including the men's team, women's team, and mixed team. However, the mixed team settled for a silver medal, the women's team took bronze, and the men's team failed to reach the podium at all. Coincidentally, Indian athletes stood at the very top of the podium in all three events.

And President Chung Eui-sun was present at that scene. Chung watched the South Korean athletes' matches from beginning to end. He also served as a presenter for the mixed team event. Chung, who has led the Korea Archery Federation for 21 years since 2005, is widely regarded as the most important figure in leading South Korean archery to become the world’s strongest. Yet he watched as South Korean compound archery was repeatedly blocked by India's wall.

Subsequently, Chung said in an interview, “Whether it is gold, silver, or bronze, simply participating in the Asian Games is a tremendous honor. Since it will help their future, I will continue to support them.” He added a meaningful remark, noting that “India has such a strong team globally in the compound discipline.”

Chung stated, “We are also working hard to catch up. I felt that we need to train better using more excellent methods,” and added, “I realized that there is still much work for the (Archery) Federation to do going forward.” This indicates an intention to consider the role of the Korea Archery Federation in narrowing the gap with India. Of course, it is a statement he can make as the federation president, but if it comes from Chung Eui-sun, who leads the Korea Archery Federation, the level of expectation inevitably changes.

On that day, excluding the men's team event where mistakes continued, South Korea lost to India by just one point in all other events. Park Jung-yoon, who won a silver medal in the mixed team and a bronze medal in the women's team, said, “I felt that our country’s competitiveness in compound has improved significantly. When competing against India, I didn’t feel it was such an insurmountable wall; I thought we could give it a try.” She added, “The player pool, which used to be thin, is becoming deeper with the emergence of elementary school athletes, and skill levels are becoming more evenly high.”

Combined with Chung’s remark that “the Federation has much work to do,” if formal support from the Korea Archery Federation is added, compound archery, which was previously in the position of a challenger, can be expected to show growth comparable to recurve. This means South Korea can leap further to become the world’s strongest not only in recurve but also in compound. That is why one cannot help but pay attention to Chung Eui-sun’s words.

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*This content was translated by AI.