As South Korea's notoriously competitive national archery team trials enter their final stages, compound archery—newly added to the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics—is drawing significant attention.
Unlike recurve archery, which relies solely on human strength to draw the bowstring, compound archery uses a mechanical pulley system to shoot arrows. While already an official event at the Asian Games, compound archery will make its Olympic debut at the 2028 LA Games. Industry observers are watching closely to see if this could become a new medal opportunity for Korean archery.
According to the Korea Archery Association, the third round of national team trials begins today at the Kim Soo-nyung Archery Range in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province. Combined with two final evaluation rounds scheduled for April, these trials will determine the final roster for the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan this September.
Previous first and second round trials last year narrowed the field to 20 male and 20 female athletes each in both recurve and compound categories. The third round will further reduce each group to eight athletes, with final evaluations selecting three per category to compete at major international events including the Asian Games. The current top three in women's recurve are Kang Chae-young, An San, and Lim Si-hyeon, while the men's leaders are Kim Woo-jin, Kim Je-deok, and Ku Bon-chan—all familiar names in the sport.
The archery community is particularly focused on compound events. In April last year, the International Olympic Committee announced the addition of compound mixed team competition to archery at the 2028 LA Olympics. This brings the total Olympic archery gold medals from five to six, adding to the existing recurve men's and women's individual, team, and mixed team events.
In compound archery, the pulley system reduces drawing force beyond a certain point, making it easier to maintain stability while aiming. Arrow speeds are 30-40% faster than recurve, and minute errors significantly impact scores. Unlike recurve's set-based system, compound uses cumulative scoring, meaning a single missed shot can determine the outcome.
Since the Olympic adoption announcement, compound athletes say their excitement about potential Olympic participation has transformed their mindset. They have been completing final preparations at the Jincheon National Training Center ahead of the third trials.
