The North Korea national badminton team () represents North Korea in international badminton team competitions. The team has participated once in the Sudirman Cup, which was in 1991. The team was ranked 31st in the leaderboards. The North Korean team made a rare public appearance after a long hiatus in competing when they participated in the 2019 Military World Games badminton team event in Wuhan, China. They have never medaled in any badminton tournament.
History It is unknown when the national badminton team of North Korea was established. The national team soon became affiliated with the Olympic Committee of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and was eligible to compete in international tournaments. North Korea has not competed in many team tournaments in the international stage. The national team made a few appearances in international team tournaments and have achieved decent results in the 1990s.
Men's team The North Korean men's team made their international debut when the team competed in the 1974 Asian Games. They were eliminated in the first round. In 1990, the team competed in the qualifiers for the 1990 Thomas Cup. The team finished on the bottom of their group, losing 5–0 to Iceland, 4–1 to Belgium. The team almost beat France but lost 3–2. The team later competed in the 1990 Asian Games in September 1990. The team had a bye in the first round and entered the quarter-finals. The team failed to advance further after losing to Malaysia 5–0 in quarter-finals. In 1993, the team competed in the 1993 East Asian Games men's team event and lost the quarter-finals to China.
After 26 years, the men's team made another appearance in the 2019 Military World Games men's team event. The team lost 5–0 to China, South Korea and Thailand in the group but won 3–2 against France to achieve fourth place in the event.
Women's team The women's team took part in qualifying for the 1990 Uber Cup. The team failed to qualify after finishing 2nd in their group. The team won 3–2 against Austria, 5–0 against Spain but lost 0–5 to the United States.
Mixed team The North Korean mixed team first competed in the 1991 Sudirman Cup. The team were placed in Group 8 with teams Spain, Mauritius, Italy and Malta. The team performed well and topped the group, winning 4–1 against Spain and Mauritius, then 5–0 against Italy and Malta. The team finished in 31st place on the overall ranking.
Competitive record
Thomas Cup Year Result 1949 Did not enter 1952 1955 1958 1961 1964 1967 1970 1973 1976 1979 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990Did not qualify 1992Did not enter 1994Withdrew 1996Did not enter 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 2026TBD 2028TBD 2030TBD
Uber Cup Year Result 1957Did not enter 1960 1963 1966 1969 1972 1975 1978 1981 1984 1986 1988 1990Did not qualify 1992Did not enter 1994Did not qualify 1996Did not enter 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024TBD 2026TBD 2028TBD 2030TBD
Sudirman Cup Year Result 1989 Did not enter 1991 Group 8 – 31st 1993 Did not enter 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 2017 2019 2021 2023 2025TBD 2027TBD 2029TBD
Asian Games
Men's team Year Result 1962 Did not enter 1966 1970 1974 Round of 16 1978 Did not enter 1982 1986 1990Quarter-finals 1994Did not enter 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 2026 TBD 2030TBD 2034TBD
Women's team Year Result 1962 Did not enter 1966 1970 1974 Quarter-finals 1978 Did not enter 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 2026 TBD 2030TBD 2034TBD
Asian Team Championships
Men's team Year Result 1962 Did not enter 1965 1969 1971 1976 1983 1985 1987 1989 1993 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024TBD 2026TBD
Women's team Year Result 2004Did not enter 2006 2008 2010 2012 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024TBD 2026TBD
Mixed team Year Result 2017Did not enter 2019 2023 2025TBD 2027TBD
East Asian Games
Men's team Year Result 1993 Quarter-finals 1997 Did not enter 2009 2013
Women's team Year Result 1993 Did not enter 1997 2009 2013
Military World Games
Men's team Year Result 2019 Fourth place **Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.
Junior competitive record
Suhandinata Cup
Year Result 2000Did not enter 2002 2004 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2022
Asian Junior Team Championships
Boys' team Year Result 1997 Did not enter 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2004 2005
Girls' team Year Result 1997 Did not enter 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2004 2005
Mixed team Year Result 2006 Did not enter 2007 2008 Group stage 2009 Did not enter 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2023 2024TBD 2025TBD
**Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil. Staff The following list shows the coaching staff of the North Korean national badminton team. +NameRole Chang Son-namCoach Kim Chung-ilAssistant coach Ri Sung-gwonAssistant coach
Players
Current squad
Men's team NameDoB/AgeRanking of eventMSMDXDKim Chung-il – – –Choe Mu-gwang – – –Ri Sung-gwon – – –Yu Ho-chol – – –Pak Kum-yong – – –Pak Ryong-gun – – –Hwang Jin – – –
Women's team NameDoB/AgeRanking of eventWSWDXDKim Jin-hyang – – –Yu Mi-song – – –Jang Jin-hyang – – –O Ye-gyong – – –Kim Sol-hui – – –Kim Un-sun – – –Ri Jong-hyang – – –
References