The year he turned 19, he won gold in the open-weight class at the Asian Judo Championships in Jakarta, and bronze at the World Judo Championships that same year. In 1983, he won gold at the Pan-Pacific Judo Championships.
The breakthrough yearThe year he turned 22, he won the up-to-95kg class in judo at the Los Angeles Olympics. He had entered the opening ceremony as flag bearer of the Korean team.
In 1985, he won silver at the World Championships in Seoul and gold at the Kobe Universiade. In 1986, he won gold at the Seoul Asian Games, avenging, he says, his loss in the World Championships final. In 1987, he became a professor at his alma mater, Dong-A University. In 1988, he lost in the first round at the Seoul Olympics and ended his career as a competitor with that Games.
In 1996, he received a science doctorate from Sungkyunkwan University. In 1999, he founded the Korea Youth Sports Culture Institute. In 2002, he lit the cauldron at the opening ceremony of the Busan Asian Games together with Kye Sun-hui of North Korea.
In 2010, he was chosen to light the cauldron at the opening ceremony of the National Sports Festival in Gyeongnam. In 2015, he became dean of the Dong-A University College of Sport Science. In 2017, he received the Busan Metropolitan City Culture Award. In 2018, he carried the Taegukgi in at the opening ceremony of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.
In 2023, he took office as standing auditor of the Korea Sports Promotion Foundation. In 2024, he was named a Korean Sports Hero, and in November became chairman of the foundation.
In 2025, he held his Sports Hero induction ceremony, and in December gave a press conference marking the first anniversary of his chairmanship. In 2026, he donated 130 items to the National Sports Museum, and in September visited the Asian Games.
Ha Hyung-joo (born Jun 3, 1962) won gold in the open-weight class at the Asian Judo Championships in 1981, the year he turned 19, and became known on Aug 10, 1984, the year he turned 22, when he won the up-to-95kg class in judo at the Los Angeles Olympics. He won gold at the Seoul Asian Games in 1986, the year he turned 24.
Ages are by calendar year (the year minus the birth year), birthdays aside.