The South Korean team capped off the Chuseok holiday with a Golden Sunday, securing five gold medals on September 27. Notably, the victories in baseball, fencing, handball, and skateboarding were especially significant as they triumphed over the host nation, Japan.
At the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, South Korea added five gold, two silver, and three bronze medals to their tally.
This performance maintained South Korea’s third-place position in the overall medal standings, with a total of 21 gold, 23 silver, and 39 bronze medals, trailing only China and Japan.
The South Korean baseball team, a source of national pride, clinched their fifth consecutive title with a hard-fought 3-1 victory over Japan.
The win was particularly sweet after a crushing 0-5 loss to Japan’s amateur team in the super round just two days earlier. The Koreans struggled offensively, managing only one run through seven innings.
However, the tide turned in the eighth inning. With two outs and runners on first and third, Kim Do-young and Moon Bo-kyung delivered clutch hits, driving in two runs for a 3-1 lead. Closer Park Young-hyun sealed the deal with 1⅔ scoreless innings, cementing the team’s historic five-peat.
The women’s sabre fencing team, featuring Jeon Ha-young, Choi Se-bin, Seo Ji-yeon, and substitute Kim Jung-mi, dominated Japan 45-31 in the team event to claim gold.
This victory marked a triumphant return to the top of the podium after an eight-year hiatus, following their bronze medal finish at the 2022 Hangzhou Games.
The team’s success highlights a smooth generational transition, with Jeon Ha-young and Choi Se-bin stepping up as new leaders following the retirement of veterans Kim Ji-yeon and Yoon Ji-soo.
In women’s handball, South Korea reclaimed the championship after an eight-year drought, defeating rival Japan 27-23 in the final round-robin match.
The tournament, featuring seven teams in a round-robin format, saw South Korea go undefeated with six wins (12 points) to secure gold. Japan (5-1, 10 points) and China (4-2, 8 points) took silver and bronze, respectively.
This victory erased the bitter memory of losing to Japan in the 2022 Hangzhou Games final and marked South Korea’s first gold in the event since the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games.
South Korea’s dominance in women’s handball is undeniable, having won gold in eight of the last ten Asian Games, including a remarkable five-peat from 1990 to 2006.
In a thrilling upset, 15-year-old Kang Jun-yi made history by clinching South Korea’s first-ever Asian Games gold medal in skateboarding.
This milestone comes just five years after skateboarding’s debut as an official Asian Games sport in 2018.
Kang’s victory is particularly impressive given that he outperformed world-class athletes from skateboarding powerhouse Japan.
After a strong start in his first run, Kang stumbled in his second trick session, scoring zero points. However, he showed remarkable composure in his final attempt, nailing a high-difficulty trick to complete an incredible comeback.
In equestrian dressage, South Korea’s ace Nam Dong-hun claimed individual gold, marking the country’s first victory in the event since Hwang Young-sik’s triumph at the 2014 Incheon Games.
Nam’s golden performance comes on the heels of his silver medal in the team event, alongside Kim Si-woo, Lee Myung-seok, and Do Hyun-woo.
This victory is particularly sweet for Nam, who was forced to withdraw from the Hangzhou Games due to a sudden injury to his horse. His return to the top of the podium with a new equine partner marks a triumphant comeback after three years.
South Korea also secured silver medals in women’s synchronized 3m springboard diving and men’s épée team fencing.
Woo Sang-hyuk added to the medal haul with a bronze in men’s high jump, while the nation also claimed bronze in esports (Pokémon Unite) and men’s synchronized 10m platform diving.