Hyun Jung-hwa (; born October 6, 1969, in Busan, South Korea) is a retired table tennis player from South Korea who competed in the 1988 Summer Olympics, and in the 1992 Summer Olympics.
Career
National South Korean table tennis player Hyun Jung-Hwa brought about the golden age of table tennis to Korea. She is one of an elite group of players who have won at least one gold medal in every discipline they were eligible to compete in at the World Table Tennis Championships.
Her first gold medal came in the women's doubles (partnering
Yang Young-Ja) at the 1987 World Table Tennis Championships in
New Delhi. She followed it up by winning the mixed doubles title with
Yoo Nam-Kyu at the 1989 World Table Tennis Championships in
Dortmund. During 1988 Seoul Olympics, she led the South Korean team to victory against the unbeatable Chinese team. She was again part of the first ever Unified Korean team that stunned China to win the women's team event at the 1991 World Table Tennis Championships in Chiba. Her final World title was an unexpected win in the women's singles event at the 1993 World Table Tennis Championships in
Gothenburg, where she also brought home medals in the mixed doubles and team event, making her the only Korean to achieve a Grand Slam. In 2011, she became the first Korean table tennis player to be inducted into the International Table Tennis Federation's Hall of Fame.
Notable achievements
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Hall of Fame Inductee, International Table Tennis Federation
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Executive Director, Korea Table Tennis Association
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Table Tennis Director, Korean Racing Authority
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Head Coach, South Korean national team
In popular culture
Film
The story of the Unified Korean team in the 1991 World Championships and its victory over the Chinese in the women's team event is told by the movie
As One starring actress
Ha Ji-won as Hyun Jung-Hwa.
Television appearances
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2020: King of Mask Singer (MBC), contestant as "Libra" (episode 251)
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2021: Hospital Playlist Season 2 (tvN), cameo. Yulje hospital hosts a departmental table tennis tournament every year. Hyun appears as one of the Department of Nuclear Medicine doctors, and easily wins the championship with her partner, Joo Sae-hyuk. (episode 9)
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2022: National University is National University (MBN, 2022); Participant
See also
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List of table tennis players