Shaking Off Beijing Regrets... Writing a New ‘Winter Fairy Tale’ in Milan [Milan 2026]

[Financial News] A 130-strong Korean delegation has laced up its shoes on Italian soil, ready for battle. The Milan–Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, which open on February 6 (local time), will serve as a key turning point to assess the current state of Korean winter sports and open a new future. Shaking off the disappointment of the Beijing Games four years ago, Team Korea now marches into 17 days of competition under the banner of restoring its honor.
The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC) has set a target of at least three gold medals for these Games. That is more ambitious than the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, where Korea won two golds, five silvers, and two bronzes to finish 14th overall. However, it is somewhat conservative compared with the country’s record haul at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, where Korea claimed five golds, eight silvers, and four bronzes to rank seventh.
Although the target was set strategically to ease pressure on the athletes, there is a strong belief within the team that they can do even better. Many inside the delegation feel that results beyond those official goals are well within reach. Whether Korean winter sports, which stumbled in Beijing, can soar again in Milan will be one of the main storylines to watch.

Korea’s greatest weapon remains the ice. Above all, short-track speed skating is once again expected to spearhead the medal charge. The days when gold medals were almost guaranteed are long gone as the field has leveled globally, but Korea is still a powerhouse in the sport.
This year’s short-track squad stands out for its balance of veterans and emerging talent. On the women’s side, short-track queen Choi Min-jeong of Seongnam City Hall, who is chasing a third straight Olympic gold and also captains the delegation, will lead the way alongside new ace Kim Gil-li. The duo is expected to drive Korea’s campaign as a formidable one-two punch.
For the men, team elder Hwang Dae-heon of the Gangwon Provincial Government is joined by Lim Jong-eon of Goyang City Hall, who was named one of the top 10 "rising stars" on the official Olympic website. Lim, just 18, topped the national trials and has already proven he can compete at senior level on the International Skating Union (ISU) World Tour. He has emerged as one of Korea’s biggest medal hopes for these Games.

Speed skating is also aiming to strike gold again for the first time in eight years. After a transitional period of generational change following Pyeongchang, the women’s sprint squad is looking to reclaim the top of the podium in the 500 meters, led by Kim Min-sun and Lee Na-hyun. In figure skating, Cha Jun-hwan of Seoul City Hall, who finished fifth in Beijing for Korea’s best-ever Olympic result in men’s singles, and Shin Ji-a, one of the so-called ‘Yuna Kids,’ are drawing intense interest as potential medal contenders.
Korea’s traditional overreliance on ice events for medals is expected to ease at these Games. Snow events, especially snowboarding, have made remarkable strides and are now serious medal threats.

‘Cabbage Boy’ Lee Sang-ho of Nexen Wingard, who rewrote Korean ski and snowboard history with a silver medal at Pyeongchang 2018, will serve as the men’s team captain. He has signaled a full-throttle push for gold in what could be his final Olympics. Joining him are snowboard prodigy Chaeun Lee and Choi Ga-on, who have risen to the top ranks of the world and will chase new milestones in the halfpipe. Choi Ga-on comes into Milan in peak form, having won back-to-back World Cup events recently.


Beyond that, the bobsleigh team led by Kim Jin-su of the Gangwon Provincial Government, as well as women’s curling Team Kim, which is aiming to recreate its ‘Pyeongchang miracle,’ both have the strength to climb the podium at any moment.
The competition has, in effect, already begun. The mixed doubles curling pair of Kim Sun-young and Jung Young-seok opened Korea’s medal hunt on February 4 by playing their first preliminary match.
When Cha Jun-hwan and Park Ji-woo of the Gangwon Provincial Government march into San Siro Stadium as Korea’s flagbearers on opening night, global attention will turn squarely to Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo.
The preparations are complete. This is a stage where Korea must prove itself purely on performance, without the benefit of home advantage. On the cold ice and snow, the fiery challenge of the Korean athletes is ready to once again move the nation.


jsi@fnnews.com Jeon Sang-il Reporter