South Korea men's national basketball team

The South Korea men's national basketball team represents South Korea in international men's basketball competitions. It is administered by the Korea Basketball Association (Korean: 대한농구협회; Daehan Nonggu Hyeobhoe).

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see South Korea women's national basketball team.

South Korea

FIBA ranking	30 (3 March 2020)[1]
Joined FIBA	1947
FIBA zone	FIBA Asia
National federation	Korea Basketball Association
Coach	Hur Jae
Olympic Games
Appearances	6
Medals	None
FIBA World Cup
Appearances	7
Medals	None
FIBA Asia Cup
Appearances	29
Medals	Gold: (1969, 1997) Silver: (1967, 1973, 1977, 1981, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003) Bronze: (1963, 1965, 1971, 1975, 1979, 1983, 1993, 2001, 2007, 2011, 2013, 2017)
Asian Games
Appearances	17 (First in 1954)
Medals	Gold: (1970, 1982, 2002, 2014) Silver: (1974, 1978, 1986, 1994, 1998, 2010) Bronze: (1962, 1966, 1990, 2018)
Home Away
Medal record Event 1st 2nd 3rd FIBA Asia Cup 2 11 12 FIBA Asia Challenge 0 2 0 Asian Games 4 6 4 East Asia Basketball Championship 3 0 0 East Asian Games 1 4 1 Total 10 22 16

Based on the number of overall medals won, South Korea is a major force among basketball teams of FIBA Asia. The team has won a record number of 24 medals at the FIBA Asia Championship. Furthermore, South Korea is the only nation that has qualified for this event every year since it was first held in 1960.[2]

History

Jamsil Students' Gymnasium, venue for games of the Korean Basketball League, has been the playground for several players of South Korea's national team.

South Korea's starting lineup in 2014

Initiation (1947–1951)

In 1947, two years after the establishment of the People's Republic of Korea, the Korea Basketball Association joined the International Federation of Basketball (FIBA) and sent its national teams to FIBA-sponsored events. Only one year later, the team already celebrated its first major accomplishment at the 1948 Summer Olympics, when it finished 8th, better than any other Asian nation, and ahead of teams such as Canada, Argentina, and Italy.

Steady improvements (1952–1968)

At the 1954 Asian Games, for the first time ever, South Korea finished in the Final Four of a major international basketball tournament in Asia. The team slowly improved its position within Asia almost every year and qualified for the Basketball World Cup several times.

Golden years (1969–1970)

In 1969 and 1970, the team enjoyed a brief period to shine, when it won the 1969 Asian Championship[3] and the 1970 Asian Games and ultimately qualified for the 1970 FIBA World Championship. As the only Asian team that had remained in the championship, South Korea finished ahead of Australia (champion of FIBA Oceania) and Egypt (champion of FIBA Africa) and showed its best performance ever at this event. Korea's Shin Dong-Pa dominated all scorers at the 1970 FIBA World Cup as he averaged 32.6 points per game, almost 13 points more than the runner up, Davis Peralta, from Panama.

Asian elite position behind China (1971–2007)

At the Asian Championship, South Korea stayed among the top three teams at 21 straight events, a record that is still unmatched until today. The streak finally ended when Qatar defeated South Korea at the 3rd place game at the 2005 event. Between 1975 and 2005, South Korea was the only nation besides the Philippines that was able to seriously challenge China's dominance. It interrupted China's championship winning streak in 1997, when it defeated its dominant neighbor in the semifinals and ultimately won the crown as 1997 Champion of Asia.

At the 2007 FIBA Asia Championship, South Korea was able to go on a streak, and won the first 5 games. Because of the "four centers" Ha Seung-jin (221 cm), Kim Joo-sung (205 cm), Lee Dong-jun (202 cm), and Kim Min-soo (200 cm), South Korea had the tournament's highest 2-point field goal percentage (61%). South Korea was also a team that had a strong back court with Kim Seung-hyun (179 cm), Yang Dong-geun (182 cm), Kim Dong-woo (198 cm), and Choi Jin-soo (205 cm), who guaranteed that the team was in the tournaments top-3 in free throw percentage (70.6) and assists per game (11.5).[4] All these players helped their team to win the bronze medal once again.

Emergence of West Asian competition (2008–present)

In the modern era, South Korea's competition from West Asia intensified as countries such as Jordan, Qatar, Lebanon, and especially Iran improved their basketball programs. South Korea is still considered one of Asia's major teams but its position among the top three teams in Asia is not guaranteed anymore. In 2014, the team qualified for the Basketball World Cup for the first time in almost 20 years. Even though the team was eliminated in the first round, the qualification itself has been a success and provided much needed global exposure. Most of the players that played at the 2014 World Cup returned for the 2014 Asian Games where they helped secure the gold medal on home soil.

Competitions

Olympic Games Summer Olympics Year Position Pld W L 1936 Did not enter 1948 8th Place 8 3 5 1952 Did not qualify 1956 14th Place 7 1 6 1960 Did not qualify 1964 16th Place 9 0 9 1968 14th Place 9 2 7 1972 Did not qualify 1976 1980 1984 1988 9th Place 7 2 5 1992 Did not qualify 1996 12th Place 7 0 7 2000 Did not qualify 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 To be determined Total 6/18 47 8 39 FIBA World Cup FIBA Basketball World Cup Year Position Pld W L 1950 Did not enter 1954 Did not qualify 1959 1963 1967 1970 11th Place 8 4 4 1974 Did not qualify 1978 13th Place 7 1 6 1982 Did not qualify 1986 22nd Place 5 0 5 1990 15th Place 5 1 7 1994 13th Place 8 3 5 1998 16th Place 5 0 5 2002 Did not qualify 2006 2010 2014 23rd Place 5 0 5 2019 26th Place 5 1 4 2023 To be determined Total 8/16 48 10 41

Asian Games Asian Games Year Position Pld W L 1951 Did not enter 1954 Fourth place 6 2 4 1958 Fourth place 8 4 4 1962 Third place 8 6 2 1966 Third place 7 6 1 1970 Champions 8 7 1 1974 Runners-up 7 4 3 1978 Runners-up 9 8 1 1982 Champions 9 9 0 1986 Runners-up 7 6 1 1990 Third place 7 5 2 1994 Runners-up 6 5 1 1998 Runners-up 7 6 1 2002 Champions 7 7 0 2006 5th Place 8 5 3 2010 Runners-up 8 6 2 2014 Champions 7 7 0 2018 Third place 6 5 1 Total 16/17 125 98 27 FIBA Asia Championship FIBA Asia Championship Year Rank Pld W L 1960 Fourth place 9 3 6 1963 Third place 10 7 3 1965 Third place 9 6 3 1967 Runners-up 9 8 1 1969 Champions 8 8 0 1971 Third place 8 6 2 1973 Runners-up 10 9 1 1975 Third place 8 6 2 1977 Runners-up 8 7 1 1979 Third place 7 5 2 1981 Runners-up 7 6 1 1983 Third place 7 5 2 1985 Runners-up 6 5 1 1987 Runners-up 8 7 1 1989 Runners-up 8 7 1 1991 Runners-up 9 8 1 1993 Third place 6 5 1 1995 Runners-up 8 6 2 1997 Champions 8 7 1 1999 Runners-up 8 6 2 2001 Third place 8 7 1 2003 Runners-up 8 7 1 2005 Fourth place 8 5 3 2007 Third place 8 6 2 2009 7th Place 9 6 3 2011 Third place 9 7 2 2013 Third place 9 7 2 2015 6th Place 9 5 4 2017 Third place 7 5 2 Total 29/29 236 182 54

East Asian Games East Asian Games Year Position Pld W L 1993 Runners-up - - - 1997 Runners-up - - - 2001 Runners-up - - - 2005 Runners-up - - - 2009 Champions - - - 2013 Third place - - - 2017 Runners-up - - - Total 7/7 - - -

East Asia Basketball Championship East Asia Basketball Championship Year Position Pld W L 2009 Champions 4 4 0 2011 Champions 4 3 1 2013 Champions 5 5 0 2017 Runners-up 4 2 2 Total 4/4 17 14 3

FIBA Asia Challenge FIBA Asia Challenge Year Position Pld W L 2004 Runners-up 5 3 2 2008 Did not enter 2010 2012 2014 2016 Runners-up 8 6 2 Total 2/6 13 9 4

William Jones Cup

William Jones Cup
Year	Rank	Pld	W	L
1977
1978	Runners-up
1979	Not held
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986	Runners-up
1987
1988	Third place
1989	Not held
1990
1991	Third place
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998	Third place
1999	Champions
2000	Runners-up	6	5	1
2001	Runners-up
2002
2003	Not held
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009	5th Place	8	5	3
2010	Did not enter
2011	Runners-up	9	7	2
2012	5th Place	8	5	3
2013	Third place	7	5	2
2014	Did not enter
2015	5th Place	8	4	4
2016	Runners-up	8	6	2
2017	Third place	9	6	3
2018	Third place	8	6	2
Total	?/37	?	?	?

Team

Current roster

Roster for the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup.

South Korea national basketball team – 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Age – Date of birth Height Club Ctr. SG 1 Park Chan-hee 32 – (1987-04-17)April 17, 1987 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) Incheon Electroland Elephants SF 2 Choi Jun-yong 25 – (1994-04-04)April 4, 1994 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) Seoul SK Knights SG 3 Lee Jung-hyun 32 – (1987-03-03)March 3, 1987 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) Jeonju KCC Egis PG 5 Kim Sun-hyung 31 – (1988-07-01)July 1, 1988 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) Seoul SK Knights PG 6 Heo Hoon 24 – (1995-08-16)August 16, 1995 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) Busan KT Sonicboom SF 11 Yang Hee-jong 35 – (1984-05-11)May 11, 1984 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) Anyang KGC PF 12 Jeong Hyo-geun 25 – (1993-12-14)December 14, 1993 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) Incheon Electroland Elephants PF 13 Kang Sang-jae 24 – (1994-12-31)December 31, 1994 2.02 m (6 ft 8 in) Incheon Electroland Elephants C 15 Kim Jong-kyu 28 – (1991-07-03)July 3, 1991 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) Changwon LG Sakers C 20 Ricardo Ratliffe 30 – (1989-02-20)February 20, 1989 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) Ulsan Mobis Phoebus PF 33 Lee Seoung-hyun 27 – (1992-04-16)April 16, 1992 1.99 m (6 ft 6 in) Goyang Orions SG 43 Lee Dae-sung 29 – (1990-05-30)May 30, 1990 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) Ulsan Mobis Phoebus	Head coach Hur Jae Assistant coach(es) Cho Sang-hyun Legend (C) Team captain Club – describes last club before the tournament Age – describes age on 31 August 2019

Depth chart

{{basketball depth chart | line_color = 003478 | alt_color = FFFFFF | starter_c = Ricardo Ratliffe | bench 1_c = Kim Jong-kyu | bench 2_c = | starter_pf = Lee Seung-hyun | bench 1_pf = Kang Sang-jae | bench 2_pf = | starter_sf = [[Choi Jun-yong (basketball)|Choi Jun-yong] | bench 1_sf = Jeong Hyo-geun | bench 2_sf = Yang Hee-jong | starter_sg = Lee Jung-hyun | bench 1_sg = Lee Dae-sung | bench 2_sg = | starter_pg = Kim Sun-hyung | bench 1_pg = Park Chan-hee | bench 2_pg = Heo Hoon }}

Past rosters

1970 World Championship: finished 11th among 13 teams

Shin Dong-pa, Lee In-pyo, Kim In-kun, Kim Young-il, Park Han, Choi Jong-kyu, Yoo Hee-hyung, Lee Byung-koo, Yoo Jung-kun, Lee Ja-young, Shin Hyun-soo, Kwak Hyun-chae (Coach: Kim Young-ki)

1978 World Championship: finished 13th among 14 teams

Kim In-Jin, Kim Pyung-Man, Jung Young-Soo, Jang Bong-Hak, Park Sang-Ung, Park Soo-Kyo, Kim Sang-Chun, Kim Hyung-Nyun, Kim Dong-Kwang, Koo Jong-Hoo, Lee Mun-Kyu, Choi Bu-Young (Coach: Kim Moo-Hyung)

1986 World Championship: finished 22nd among 24 teams

Hur Jae, Park In-kyu, Lee Min-hyun, Cho Yoon-ho, Han Ki-bum, Lee Mun-kyu, Kim Hyun-jun, Kim You-taek, Kim Sung-wook, Lee Won-woo, Lee Chung-hee, Goh Myong-hwa (Coach: Kim In-kun)

Head Coaches

• Choi Bu Young - 2006-2007
• Hur Jae - 2008-2009
• Yoo Jae-hak - 2010-2014
• Kim Dong-gwang - 2015
• Hur Jae - 2016-2018
• Kim Sang Sik - 2019-

Kit

South Korea at the 2014 FIBA World Cup.

Manufacturer

2016: Nike [5]

Sponsor

2016: Hana Financial Group [5]

See also

• South Korea women's national basketball team
• South Korea national under-19 basketball team
• South Korea national under-17 basketball team
• South Korea national 3x3 team

References

1. "FIBA Ranking Presented by Nike". FIBA. 3 March 2020. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
2. , fibaasia.net, accessed 16 December 2010.
3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ev2kZFUHdN8
4. 2007 FIBA Asia Championship, Tokushima, Japan, fiba.com, accessed 18 December 2010.
5. Korea - FIBA Asia Challenge 2016, FIBA.com, Retrieved 17 October 2016.

External links

• (in Korean and English) Official website
• FIBA profile
• (in English) Asia-Basket.com
• South Korea Basketball Records at FIBA Archive

Videos

• Korea v Iraq - Semi-Final Highlights - FIBA Asia Challenge 2016 YouTube.com video