Im Ae-ji, Park Tae-joon close Paris Olympics for Team Korea, who end with 13 gold

Athletes from around the world bid farewell to the Paris Olympics Sunday as the closing ceremony at Stade de France in Saint-Denis, France wrapped up 17 days of action.

Fireworks are seen during the Paris Olympics closing ceremony at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, France on Sunday. [AP/YONHAP]

Athletes from around the world bid farewell to the Paris Olympics Sunday as the closing ceremony at Stade de France in Saint-Denis, France wrapped up 17 days of action.

A parade of nations, with athletes again bearing their countries' flags, began at the grandiose stadium with an 80,000-large crowd celebrating the Olympians in song.

Taekwondo practitioner Park Tae-joon and boxer Im Ae-ji entered the stadium with the Korean flag. Park won a gold medal in the men’s -58-kilogram category to bring the country’s first gold in taekwondo since 2016, while Im secured bronze in the women's bantamweight to become the first female Korean boxer to medal at the Games.

Taekwondo practitioner Park Tae-joon, left, and boxer Im Ae-ji enter Stade de France in Saint-Denis, France with the Korean flag for the Paris Olympics closing ceremony on Sunday. [NEWS1]

Musical performances by French indie rock band Phoenix and Cambodian rapper Vannda amped up the stadium's festival energy, with athletes dancing around and waving their flags.

It didn’t stop there. To introduce Los Angeles as the host city for the 2028 Olympics, Hollywood star Tom Cruise made an airborne cameo, descending from the roof before landing on the ground, grabbing the Olympic flag and exiting the stadium on a motorbike.

Tom Cruise is lowered on the Stade de France during the Paris Olympics closing ceremony in Saint-Denis, France on Sunday. [AP/YONHAP]

A video then showed him riding through Paris and flying to Los Angeles to carry the flag to Hollywood.

This year’s Olympics ended with the United States topping the medal table with 126 medals, followed by 91 from China and 45 from Japan.

The Olympic rings are assembled and risen over the stage during the closing ceremony of the Paris Olympics at the Stade de France, in Saint-Denis, France on Sunday. [AFP/YONHAP]

Korea finished in No. 8 with 32 medals — 13 gold, nine silver and 10 bronze — which came despite the country sending its smallest delegation to the Olympics since 1976. The number of gold medals matched the standing record, with Korea having won 13 apiece at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics.

This year’s success was partly thanks to the Korean archers who swept gold medals in all five categories. The country’s dominance was clear, especially in the women’s individual contest where the final was an all-Korean affair between eventual gold medalist Lim Si-hyeon and silver medalist Nam Su-hyeon.

The women’s archery team of Lim, Nam and Jeon Hun-young won the country’s 10th straight Olympic gold in the women's team discipline.

Korean shooters were also a big part of the country’s impressive medal run, winning six medals — three gold and three silver.

And the shooting team produced its share of breakout stars. Ban Hyo-jin, 16, became the youngest Korean to claim a gold medal at the Summer Olympics by winning the women's 10-meter air rifle, and Kim Ye-ji went viral for her ice-cold pose during the women's 10-meter air pistol in which she won silver.

Athletes also put an end to long medal droughts in sports like table tennis and swimming, both in which no Korean athletes had reached the podium since 2012.

Table tennis duo Shin Yu-bin and Lim Jong-hooncut the 12-year medal-less streak by winning a bronze medal in the mixed doubles event. Shin later made it two, winning bronze with Jeon Ji-hee and Lee Eun-hye in the women's team table tennis contest.

Elsewhere, Kim Woo-min also took bronzein the men’s 400-meter freestyle and became the first Korean swimmer to medal since Park Tae-hwan won silver in London.

Over in modern pentathlon, Seong Seung-min became the first Korean woman to medal in the sport, taking bronze on the final days of the Games.

This year also saw Korea return to the top of the podium in the sport they invented: Taekwondo. After the country's first Olympics without a single taekwondo gold in Tokyo in 2021, Park Tae-joon and Kim Yu-jin brought back the glory by winning a gold apiece.

Korea walks away with zero medals in team sports this year, however, as the women’s handball team crashed out of the race in the group stage and all other teams like football and volleyball failed to even qualify for the Olympics.

The Olympics is over in Paris, but the French capital will soon hold another international competition: The 2024 Paralympics, set to run from Aug. 28 through Sept. 8.

While Korea’s 13 gold medals — eight more than the country initially anticipated — are being lauded, Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism emphasized that the country’s cultural presence proved just as compelling as its athletic achievements.

Culture Minister Yu In-chon expressed his admiration not only for the athletes' accomplishments but also for the enthusiastic reception of Korean culture by international visitors in Paris.

In a strategic move to showcase Korea's rich cultural heritage, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism launched the “2024 Korea Season” in May. This initiative, part of the Paris Cultural Olympiad, features 33 cultural programs designed to promote Korean culture across France throughout the year.

To date, 29 of these programs have captivated audiences, beginning with a dynamic collaboration between Korea’s 1Million Dance Studio and France’s Pokemon Crew in the performance “Urban Pulse Uprising” at Théâtre du Châtelet on May 2.

Additional highlights included the Korea National Opera, the Korea National Symphony Orchestra and the National Chorus of Korea’s rendition of "Tcheo Yong," as well as performances by the Korea National Contemporary Dance Company and the Korea National Ballet.

Yong Ho-seong, the first vice minister of culture, sports, and tourism, emphasized the significance of these cultural showcases, noting that “foreign media who came to watch these performances by Korea’s state-run companies were able to take notice of Korea’s unique soft power, which harmoniously blends Western culture with Korean traditional culture.”

The Korea House, the Culture Ministry’s Korean cultural center in Paris, was a hotspot for international visitors, offering experiences ranging from hanbok, traditional Korean dress, fashion shows to Korean culinary tastings. Initially expecting around 2,000 visitors daily, the center welcomed an average of 3,500 guests, with over 40 percent being international visitors.

The ministry said its role also involved ensuring Korean athletes were in their best condition to compete. The best thing it did, as it recalls, was preparing hansik, or Korean food, as soon as athletes arrived in Paris to train.

“It’s important for them to sleep well and eat well,” said Yu. “The Paralympic Games will start in two weeks and we’ll do the same for the athletes who will be departing for Paris soon. I will also be visiting Paris to watch the Paralympics.”

On Monday, Yu met up with 177 athletes who will be competing at the upcoming Paralympic Games in Paris at Olympic Parktel in southern Seoul. The Culture Ministry will be preparing hansik meals for the athletes in Paris, who will be departing for Paris for training on Wednesday.

The Korea House in Paris will also be open to international visitors from Aug. 28 to Sept. 6, showcasing various exhibitions and events to promote the Paralympic Games and policies involving athletes with disabilities. Culture Minister Yu will be visiting Paris during the Paralympic Games.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN, YIM SEUNG-HYE [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]