| | |
| Association | Korea Ice Hockey Association |
|---|---|
| General manager | Choi Kwang-eun |
| Head coach | Kim Woo-jae |
| Assistants | Kim Bum-jin Son Ho-seung |
| Captain | Kim Sang-wook |
| Most games | Kim Ki-sung (145) |
| Top scorer | Kim Ki-sung (72) |
| Most points | Kim Ki-sung (142) |
| Team colors | |
| IIHF code | KOR |
| | |
| Ranking | |
| Current IIHF | 23 |
| Highest IIHF | 16 (2018) |
| Lowest IIHF | 33 (2010) |
| First international | |
| Spain (Barcelona, Spain; 16 March 1979) | |
| Biggest win | |
| South Korea (Perth, Australia; 14 March 1987) | |
| Biggest defeat | |
| Latvia (Bled, Slovenia; 18 March 1993) | |
| Olympics | |
| Appearances | 1 (first in 2018 ) |
| IIHF World Championships | |
| Appearances | 39 (first in 1979 ) |
| Best result | 16th (2018) |
| Asian Winter Games | |
| Appearances | 8 (first in 1986 ) |
| Best result | |
| International record (W–L–T) | |
| 117–221–14 | |
| South Korea men's national ice hockey team | |
| Hangul | 대한민국아이스하키국가대표팀 |
|---|---|
| Hanja | 大韓民國아이스하키國家代表팀 |
| Revised Romanization | Daehan Minguk Aiseuhaki Gukga Daepyo Tim |
| McCune–Reischauer | Taehan Min'guk Aisŭhak'i Kukka Taep'yo T'im |
The South Korean national ice hockey team (Korean :대한민국아이스하키국가대표팀;recognized as Korea by IIHF) is the national men's ice hockey team of the Republic of Korea (South Korea). They are currently ranked 19th in the IIHF World Rankings and competed in the World Championship top division tournament. The team's most successful campaign thus far was a second-place finish in the 2017 Division I Group A tournament and thus qualifying for the top division in 2018. They competed in their first Winter Olympics in 2018 in Pyeongchang as the host nation.
South Korea first participated in the World Championship in 1979,playing in Pool C,the third level of the tournament. They did not return until 1982,again in Pool C,and became a regular participant in 1986. They remained at the Division I level,the second tier of the World Championship,from 2010 until 2017,when they earned a promotion to the 2018 World Championship.
Upon being named the host country for the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang,the South Korean team began efforts to steadily improve themselves in order to be competitive with the other teams expected at the tournament,led by the efforts of Korea Ice Hockey Association president Chung Mong-won. [2]
Several North American players playing for teams in South Korea were offered South Korean citizenship,thus allowing them to play at the Olympics. [3] This was done to help the team perform better in the lead-up to the Olympics,which proved successful:when awarded the Olympics in 2011,the South Korean team was ranked 31st in the IIHF World Ranking,while on the eve of the Olympics had moved up to 18th. [4] However,South Korea gradually phased out the use of naturalized players in the post-COVID-19 era.
The South Korean team is one of the powerhouses of Asian ice hockey. It is a regular participant in the Asian Winter Games,with its best result being a silver medal in 2017. In November 2024,South Korea took part in the inaugural IIHF Asia Championship and finished in third place. [5]
| Year | Finish | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| | 7th in the Group C | 25th |
| | Did not participate | |
| | 8th in the Group C | 24th |
| | Did not participate | |
| | Did not participate | |
| | 9th in the Group C,Relegated | 25th |
| | 2nd in the Group D,Promoted | 26th |
| | 7th in the Group C | 23rd |
| | 9th in the Group C | 25th |
| | 8th in the Group C | 24th |
| | 6th in the Group C1 | 26th |
| | 9th in the Group C | 25th |
| | 10th in the Group C | 30th |
| | 13th in the Group C | 33rd |
| | 5th in the Group D | 33rd |
| | 2nd in the Group D,Promoted | 30th |
| | 7th in the Group C | 31st |
| | 6th in the Group C | 30th |
| | 5th in the Group C | 29th |
| | 1st in Division II,Group A,Promoted | 30th |
| | 6th in the Division II,Group A,Relegated | 27th |
| | 1st in Division II,Group A,Promoted | 29th |
| | 6th in the Division I,Group B,Relegated | 27th |
| | 3rd in the Division II,Group A | 33rd |
| | 2nd in the Division II,Group B | 31st |
| | 1st in the Division II,Group B,Promoted | 30th |
| | 6th in the Division I,Group A,Relegated | 28th |
| | 1st in the Division II,Group B,Promoted | 29th |
| | 5th in the Division I,Group B | 25th |
| | 3rd in the Division I,Group A | 22nd |
| | 1st in the Division I,Group B,Promoted | 23rd |
| | 5th in the Division I,Group A | 21st |
| | 6th in the Division I,Group A,Relegated | 22nd |
| | 1st in the Division I,Group B,Promoted | 23rd |
| | 5th in the Division I,Group A | 21st |
| | 2nd in the Division I,Group A,Promoted | 18th |
| | 8th in the Group B,Relegated | 16th |
| | 3rd in Division I,Group A | 19th |
| | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic [6] | |
| | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic [7] | |
| | 4th in Division I,Group A | 20th |
| | 4th in Division I,Group A | 20th |
| | 6th in the Division I,Group A Relegated | 26th |
| | 2nd in the Division I,Group B | 24th |
| Year | Host | Result | M | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 1990 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 1996 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 1999 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2003 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2007 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2011 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2017 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2025 | 3 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 64 | 15 | +49 | |
| Total | - | 9/9 | 40 | 18 | 1 | 21 | 220 | 206 | +14 |
Key:OT = W / SO = D / Excluded Goals in SO
Last match update:14 February 2025 [8]
| Team | GP | W | T | L | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 84 | 55 | |
| 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 16 | 37 | |
| 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 19 | |
| 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 27 | 24 | |
| 9 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 48 | 53 | |
| 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 18 | |
| 24 | 7 | 2 | 15 | 71 | 129 | |
| 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 60 | 3 | |
| 9 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 28 | 29 | |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 10 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 16 | 86 | |
| 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 26 | |
| 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 17 | |
| 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 49 | |
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 10 | |
| 9 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 23 | 46 | |
| 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 79 | 1 | |
| 22 | 5 | 1 | 16 | 59 | 128 | |
| 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 2 | |
| 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 23 | 11 | |
| 14 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 20 | 73 | |
| 37 | 9 | 1 | 27 | 75 | 207 | |
| 27 | 7 | 0 | 20 | 54 | 138 | |
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 0 | |
| 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 38 | |
| 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 24 | 25 | |
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 1 | |
| 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 48 | 6 | |
| 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 2 | |
| 9 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 39 | 49 | |
| 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 99 | 5 | |
| 12 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 40 | 64 | |
| 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 31 | |
| 15 | 5 | 0 | 10 | 32 | 59 | |
| 12 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 41 | 56 | |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | |
| 8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 14 | 67 | |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 11 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 20 | 55 | |
| 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 8 | |
| 14 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 54 | 52 | |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | |
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | |
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | |
| 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 14 | 38 | |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 13 | |
| Total | 352 | 117 | 14 | 221 | 1 326 | 1 756 |
Last match update:11 August 2017 [9]
| Team | GP | W | T | L | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 9 | |
| | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 8 |
| | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 9 |
| Total | 9 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 20 | 37 |