Can Choi Yonghee become Korea’s first compound men’s World Champion?

Olympic gold medals seem to go hand in hand for Korea.

Kim Woojin, Lee Woo Seok and Kim Je Deok secured the nation’s eighth recurve men’s team gold in Paris 2024, while Lim Sihyeon, Nam Suhyeon and Jeon Hunyoung claimed Korea’s 10th top podium finish in the French capital.

Sihyeon and Woojin then completed the Korean Paris clean sweep, taking mixed team and individual titles.

For compound, however, the Olympics remain out of reach – at least until LA28 – making the Hyundai World Archery Championships the pinnacle competition.

But Korean history in compound has not been as dominant.

Out of 15 editions since compound was added to the event, Korea has won 11 medals. That’s an impressive total, but it pales compared with the USA’s 40.

Six of Korea’s medals were gold, including one at the 2019 Hyundai World Archery Championships, won by Yang Jaewon, Kim Jongho and Choi Yonghee in the men’s compound team.

On Monday, Yonghee will aim to become the Korea’s first compound men’s World Champion.

With no additional burden placed on him during yesterday’s team finals at 5.18 Democracy Square, there is every reason to believe he can shine at home following a strong Hyundai Archery World Cup season.

Starting the international circuit at Shanghai 2025 – stage two – Yonghee, Eun Gyu and Jongho broke the compound men’s team match world record, shooting a perfect 240 against Macau in the first round. They followed that achievement with bronze in Antalya and gold in Madrid.

“I didn’t really expect it, but I was surprised when we ended up shooting a perfect score,” Yonghee said after breaking the previous world record of 239, held by the USA. “With one end left, we managed to hit all tens.”

“Honestly, I doubted whether we could do it until then, but we just gave our best until the very last shot, thinking opportunities like this don’t come easily.”

“So, I focused together with my younger teammates, and when the good result came, I was both surprised and excited… The opposing team wasn’t one that we felt a lot of pressure from.”

While recurvers Woojin, Je Deok and Woo Seok are household names in Korea – as are most Olympic gold medallists – the compound archers are less well known.

Yonghee and Jongho became the first Korean team compound champions in 2019, boosting their own profiles and raising the discipline’s profile nationally, but that victory came thousands of miles away, in Den Bosch, Netherlands.

Winning the individual crown in front of home fans would carry a very different weight.

With a career that includes numerous World Cup triumphs and continental titles, a homecoming in Gwangju would likely be the highlight of Yonghee’s career.

At 40, one of the oldest competitors in the field, the 2021 Asian Champion has been competing internationally since the 2009 continental championships in Indonesia. Even after more than a decade on the shooting line, he is aging like fine wine.

Yonghee has won three of his nine individual medals in the last five years, including two in 2025 at the Bangkok Asia Cup and Shanghai World Cup, and the one in the World Cup in Gwangju in 2021 (all silver).

While many archers would slow down at this stage of their careers, Yonghee’s composure and self-assurance have kept him consistently at the top. He now also heads to his first Hyundai Archery World Cup Final in October.

“My teammates are younger than I am, but there’s not much of a skill gap. I believe we’re on the same level,” he said in Shanghai. “Still, I want to give them a sense of support they can rely on because I’m older.

“When I think about my role in the team, I hope that in some way, my younger teammates can feel reassured leaning on me. And honestly, I also feel reassured myself because they’ve been doing so well.”

His calm presence extends to mixed team partner So Chaewon, who has said how much his experience has helped her. It is a priceless asset at a world championships, and one the Korean compound team will need if they are to progress further.

The addition of mixed team to the LA28 Olympic Games has already sparked unprecedented interest in compound in Korea. May’s world record will have boosted that profile even further, and a Gwangju homecoming could elevate Yonghee and Korean compound to a new level of recognition.

From world record holder to world champion in just four months – that would be something to brag about. The question is: can he do it?