Im Dong Hyun: Blind King, Personal Life & Net Worth
Im Dong Hyun is a South Korean recurve archer born to make history and become the king of the archery world.
Im Dong is also known as the ‘Blind King’ of archery.
He is blind in both of his eyes with 20/200 vision in each eye, but he became one of the best archers in the world despite that.
The South Korean is registered as blind, but he has done miracles that not even a normal person can think of.
He is a four-time world archery champion, the world record holder for most points in 72 arrows, and a gold medalist at the Olympics.
Even though he is blind, it did not stop him from achieving all that, and it is a truly inspiring story of how he got to the top.
Quick Facts
Before we go further with his inspiring story, let’s look at some quick facts about Im Dong Hyun.
| Full Name | Im Dong Hyun |
| Birth Date | May 12, 1986 |
| Birth Place | Chungbuk, South Korea |
| Nick Name | Blind King |
| Religion | Unknown |
| Nationality | South Korean |
| Ethnicity | Asian |
| Education | Gyodong Elementary, Wonbong Middle School, Chungbuk Physical High School |
| Horoscope | Taurus |
| Father’s Name | Unknown |
| Mother’s Name | Unknown |
| Siblings | Unknown |
| Age | 37 Years Old |
| Height | 6 feet |
| Weight | 220 lbs |
| Hair Color | Brown with Burnt orange highlights |
| Eye Color | Unknown |
| Build | Athletic |
| Profession | Recurve Archer |
| Sport | Archery |
| Coach | Young Sool Jang |
| Active Years | 2002-present |
| Marital Status | Single |
| Vison Imparity | 20/200 |
| Wins-Loss | 142 wins – 38 losses |
| Net Worth | $1 Million to $5 Million |
| Social Media | None |
| All-time highest ranking | 1st |
| Current ranking | 60th |
| Archery’s Equipment | Arm Guard, Archery Target, Bow |
| Last Update | 2024 |
Age, Height, Weight, and Physical Appearance
Im is currently 37 Years Old.
The Korean archer stands at 6 feet tall and is a very tall athlete compared to his compatriots.
Similarly, he weighs about 220 lbs which is approximately 100 kilograms. Despite being 100 kgs, he has a pretty athletic body and also a strong build.
Complimenting his handsome face, he has brown hair, which is highlighted with a burnt orange tint.
Unfortunately, there is no information about his eye color or even his body build size.
Nationality, Ethnicity, and Zodiac Sign
Dong Hyun is a Korean citizen as he was born and raised in Korea. Both of his parents are originally from Korea as well.
Similarly, He belongs to the Asian ethnicity as both of his parents are from Korea and have pure Asian blood.
The Korean is a Taurus on the zodiac sign. Taurus is an earth sign which is represented by a bull sign. Some of Taurus’s traits are strong and responsible.
Similarly, he is a great person with mental and physical strength garnered inside him.
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Im Dong Hyun: Early life, Education, and Family
Im was born in Chungbuk, South Korea, on the 12th of May, 1986.
He was born and raised in Chungbuk, did all his schooling there, and even started his archery training from his hometown.
There is not much information about his early life and his family as he has kept it to himself and does not prefer to discuss it.
Both of his parents’ names are not known. The Korean seems like he wants to keep it private as it might cause trouble for his family.
It is unknown if he has siblings or if he is the only child too.
Even though there is very little information on his early life and family, but Im Dong Hyun firstly went to Gyodong Elementary in Cheong-Ju city.
He studied there and also started his archery training there.
After that, he moved on to Wonbong Middle School for his middle school education, and he continued his training there and improved his skills along the way.
Finally, he attended Chungbuk Physical High School, where he would attend various school-based tournaments and earn a name.
In an interview, the blind king thanked all of his schools and said that he is very grateful towards his elementary school for introducing him to archery.
Similarly, he thanked his middle and high school for helping him train and provide the best coaches.
Relationship status and Personal Life
The former world’s no.1 archer seems to be Single for the time being, but mere speculation.
He is quiet about his love life, so there is no information if he is seeing somebody or plans to stay single.
He is a rather private person as well, so he probably would not disclose any information about his spouse or girlfriend even if he had one.
Moving on to his personal life, despite having so many problems and struggles in his life, he is a really cheerful person with great humor.
The Korean sportsman is rather funny and exciting to talk to, and he also answers most of his questions with humorous remarks.
In an interview from the past, he stated that he finds it unpleasing when people call him disabled because of his blindness.
He achieved feats that even normal archers dream of, and people still treat him like that, making him quite sad.
Im doesn’t like wearing glasses, not to improve his eyesight, but he finds it rather uncomfortable.
When Im is looking at the target board, he distinguishes it with its bright color and aims within the yellow, red, blue, and black colors.
Im Dong Hyun: Career
The Korean prodigy started practicing and training in archery when he was just in elementary school.
He continued with his training in middle and high school and all those early years of training paid off for him as he got to debut at the early age of 17.
Debut
Im Dong started his career at the age of 17 on 23 July 2002.
He was one of the youngest archers to debut for the Korean team, and soon after, he went to participate in his first-ever big tournament.
Dong Hyun participated in the Asian games of 2002, where he represented Korea in Individual recurve archery, and he was also in the team.
The Korean archer won against many top archers globally and won the bronze medal for Korea after losing in the semifinals.
He also won the gold medal with the Korean team in the recurve archery team event.
The Korean team beat the Japanese team in the finals claiming the gold medal for themselves. Im Dong Hyun played a very crucial role in that event.
Similarly, in 2003, in the World archery championships, he played another vital role in the win for Korea’s gold medal in the team event.
First Olympics appearance
The next major event for Im was the prestigious Olympic game that was going to be held in Athens in 2004.
He appeared in his first-ever Olympics representing Korea in the individual archery event and team event as well.
In the 72 arrow men’s individual ranking round, every archer shoots 72 arrows, and they are seeded in the tournament according to their ranks in this round.
Im set a new world record for the most points scored in a 72 arrow round. The total number of points anyone can achieve is 720, as one arrow shot is worth 10 points.
Dong Hyun scored a staggering 687 points and set a new world record.
This was the new world record, but the Olympic board did not consider it an Olympic record because these ranking rounds took place one day before the main Olympic event.
There in the main tournament, Im was defeated in the quarter-finals by the Japanese archer Hiroshi Yamamoto.
The Korean was placed 6th at the end of the individual tournament.
Despite not achieving a medal in the individual tournament, Im won the gold medal at his first-ever Olympics with the Korean team.
Im Dong Hyun: 2006 Asian games
Im Dong Hyun next completed in the 2006 Asian game that was held in Doha, Qatar.
People placed their hopes on Im Dong, and he performed his best. He did not let his people down.
The blind king won gold medals in both of the events in the 2006 Asian games.
He brought gold to the individual and team event as well.
Next, he appeared in the 2007 world championship. This was his second appearance in the world archery championships.
He was coming in hot with all the wins from Asian games as well, and he proved that he was the best in the world again by winning both individual and team events.
He earned two more gold medals for his country.
Im Dong Hyun: 2008 Olympics
In the 2008 Olympics, Im was at his prime and ranked the world’s number 1 archer, but the crowd was upset as he lost to the American archer, Vic Wunderle, in the third round of the individual tournament.
He was eliminated from the Individual rounds.
Despite losing the individual rounds at an early stage, he won the team event for Korea alongside his teammates Lee Chang-hwan and Park Kyung-Mo.
They defeated the Chinese team to claim the gold medal.
Asian Games and World Archery Championships
After the Olympics ended in 2009, Dong Hyun appeared in the World archery championships again, but this time, he could not defend his title.
He lost in the finals and just earned the silver medal.
Meanwhile, in the team event, he was able to help his team achieve the gold medal. He was going to appear in another Asian Games at this point, and he started training hard.
The Korean archer appeared in another Asian games event in 2010, but sadly he could not live up to the expectations again in the individual event.
He lost at an early stage and was eliminated, but he managed to win the gold medal with the Korean team.
2012 Olympics
The Korean archer was prepared to appear in his third consecutive Olympic event, and people’s expectations were high.
In the 72 arrows around, Im broke his own world record again and scored 699 points in the ranking rounds.
He was praised a lot for his precision and this extremely fabulous start to his tournament. He was favored to be the best contestant to win the individual event.
Unfortunately, he underperformed.
He failed to win in the individual event and was eliminated in the round of 16.
The blind king and his team won the bronze medal coming in 3rd in the team event.
This was a major disappointment for the Korean side as many expectations were on the line.
Fall from the top
After the bad performance in the 2012 Olympics, his bad form continued, and he appeared in many tournaments, but he was not able to perform well.
Due to his bad performance, he was also left out of the 2016 Olympics, and it was the first time in 15 years he was not there representing Korea in Archery.
This was an extremely rough patch in his career.
After the Olympics was done, he was still happy that his country won gold medals in team and individual events.
After this, there were some points in his career where he looked he was back in the game, but his form dropped right after again.
In 2017, Archery world championships won the gold medal in the Individual event, followed by a bronze medal in the team event.
After this performance, he has not been able to win anything major or perform well in any tournament in the last 4-5 years.
Current Career and Statistics
Im is still going through his rough patch as he recently failed to qualify for the trials for the Korean national squad for the first time since 2002.
Is this the end to his legendary career? We will see it soon in the upcoming years if he returns or announces his retirement.
As of 4/17/2021, Im Dong Hyun has 142 wins and 38 losses to his name.
Thus, he has a win percentage of 79%.
Furthermore, he is currently ranked at 60th in the World archery rankings.
Im Dong Hyun: Net Worth
The Korean athlete has amassed a lot of money throughout his career from all the tournaments he has played and won.
“Im Dong Hyun has the Net worth between $1 Million to $5 Million”
Despite having a hard life, he chose to strive and did so well in his field and even earned the title of the World’s no 1 archer in his prime.
He deserves all this fame and wealth as it is the result of his hard work and determination.
Im Dong Hyun: Social Media
Unfortunately, the Korean archer is not available on any social media platforms.
As he is blind, he would not be able to operate a smartphone properly, let alone be on social media.
FAQs
Does Im Dong Hyun’s 72 arrow record still stand?
Unfortunately, the record was surpassed in 2019 by an American archer.
What is Im Dong Hyun’s average arrow accuracy?
His average accuracy is around 9.69.
What is Im Dong Hyun’s vision imparity?
He has a vision imparity of 20/200.
