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Special Olympic Games is originally created to help people with intellectual disabilities and to persue a personal ideal realization. In March 1963, Ms Eunice Kennedy Shriver started day camp for people with intellectual disabilities in her own home. The purpose of this day camp was to find the participants' potential through various sports and physical activities. Gradually became popular, this ideal of hers, supported by Joseph, P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation, sprang as a regional day camp, little by little improved to state-level, and eventually developed to international level, Special Olympic games. In 1977, Special Olympic Games was introduced into Korea by Seong-su Kim, the principal of St. Bedero school and an Episcopal bishop.
Mr. Kim founded Special Olympics Korea in May 1978 and put his every effort to promote this committee nationally. He dispatched athletes to the fifth (Aug. 1978) and the sixth (Jul. 1983) International Special Olympic Games, to 10th (May. 1978) Asia-Pacific Special Olympic Games, and to the first (Oct. 1981) and the second (Nov. 1982) Japan Special Olympic Games as well.
Regardless of his effort, this committee was neither approved as an organization nor developed to national level. The athletes he had dispatched were limited to the students of St. Peter's School. To overcome this limitation, discussed with Special Olympics International, Korean Special Olympics Committee was reorganized in September 1985 and participated in the seventh and the eighth games. In the seventh Special Olympic Games, 35 people (14 athletes and 21 officers) participated and won 4 gold medals from athletics and 2 bronze medals from football. In the eighth games, where 32 athletes, 15 officers, and 5 volunteers were participating, the committee obtained an outstanding result both qualitatively and quantitatively, winning total 24 medals-10 golds (athletics 6, swimming 3, and table tennis 1), 6 silvers (athletics 3, swimming 1, and table tennis 2), and 8 bronzes (athletics 5, swimming 2, and table tennis 1).
| NO | YEAR | HOST CITY | PARTICIPATION (Countries/Participants) |
RESULT OF KOREAN TEAM | |
| MEDAL | RANKING | ||||
| 12th | 2007 | Shanghai, China | 164Countries/7,291ppl | - | - |
| 11th | 2004 | Dublin, Ireland | 150Countries/6500ppl | Gold 5 Silver 5 Bronze 1 |
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| 10th | 1999 | North Carolina, USA | 100Countries/7000ppl | Gold 14 Silver 8 Bronze 13 |
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| 9th | 1995 | Connecticut, USA | 143Countries/7000ppl | Gold 10 Silver 6 Bronze 4 |
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| 8th | 1991 | Minnesota, USA | 101Countries/6000ppl | Gold 10 Silver 6 Bronze 8 |
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| 7th | 1987 | Indiana, USA | 82Countries/5000ppl | - | |
| 6th | 1983 | Louisiana, USA | 51Countries/4000ppl | - | |
| 5th | 1979 | New York, USA | 16Countries/2500ppl | - | |
| 4th | 1975 | Michigan, USA | 10Countries/2000ppl | - | |
| 3rd | 1972 | Los Angeles, USA | 4Countries/1500ppl | - | |
| 2nd | 1970 | Chicago, USA | 4Countries/2000ppl | - | |
| 1st | 1968 | Chicago, USA | 3Countries/1000ppl | - | |
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