Korea won bronze medals at the 1967 and 1974 FIVB World Championship events, but have not been back on the podium since. After missing out on qualification in 2014, the team returns this year for their 12th appearance overall.
Korea have participated in all but two of the Olympic Games, absent only from Moscow 1980 and Barcelona 1992. They defeated Hungary 3-1 to win bronze in Montreal in 1976, and have also come close to a medal on two occasions, losing bronze medal matches, both in straight-sets, to North Korea at Munich 1972 and Japan at London 2012.
Korea won bronze medals in the first two editions of the FIVB World Cup (1973, 1977), as well as at the 1997 FIVB World Grand Prix. They ranked 12th in the inaugural FIVB Volleyball Nations League this year.
On a continental level, Korea have twice truck gold at the Asian Games; at Hiroshima 1994 and most recently Incheon 2014, after beating China 3-0 in the final. Korea also have seven silvers and nine bronze medals from the Asian Championship. In their latest appearance in 2017, Korea finished as bronze medallists after a 3-0 win over China in the third-place playoff.