In 1983 he joined the national team as a third-year student at Busan Nam Middle School. In 1986 he won both the singles and the team events in table tennis at the Seoul Asian Games.
The breakthrough yearThe year he turned 20, he beat Kim Ki-taik 3-1 in the final of the Seoul Olympics men’s singles to win gold. At the same Games he won bronze in men’s doubles with Ahn Jae-hyung.
In 1989 he won mixed doubles at the World Championships in Dortmund, partnering Hyun Jung-hwa. In 1990 he won the men’s team event at the Asian Games.
In 2002 he coached the men’s team at the Busan Asian Games. In 2005 he was named head coach of the men’s national team. In 2007 he stepped down as head coach together with Hyun Jung-hwa. In 2009 he returned as head coach after about a year.
In 2013 he was kept on as men’s national team head coach. In 2016 he became head coach of the Samsung Life women’s team. In 2018 he was present at the International Table Tennis Federation congress in Sweden when Busan was chosen to host the World Championships. In 2019 a lesson video featuring him was posted on Samsung Life’s table tennis YouTube channel “Takchyeo.”
In 2020 he took the vice president post at the Korea Table Tennis Association. In 2022 he became the first coach of the Korea Exchange table tennis team.
In 2024 he became adviser chair of the Busan World Table Tennis Championships organizing committee, and in December he was named chair of the federation’s performance improvement committee. In 2025 he was named executive vice president of the Korea Table Tennis Association. In 2026 he led Korea Exchange to a sweep of the corporate table tennis championships and three golds at the autumn tournament, and commentated on the Nagoya Asian Games for MBC.
Yoo Nam-kyu (born Jun 4, 1968) joined the national team in 1983, the year he turned 15, and became known when he won Olympic men’s singles gold in Seoul in 1988, the year he turned 20. In 1989, the year he turned 21, he won mixed doubles at the World Championships, and he is now coach of the Korea Exchange table tennis team.
Ages are by calendar year (the year minus the birth year), birthdays aside.
Joined the national team in 1983 as a third-year student at Busan Nam Middle School.
Source 04 · Hankyoreh (Korean) · Busan wins the World Table Tennis Championships · opens in a new tabSource 05 · Busan Ilbo (Korean) · Yeongdo-gu, a table tennis city · opens in a new tab The month and day were not confirmed. Hankyoreh gives his age that year as 16 (Korean age counting).Won both the singles and the team events in table tennis at the Seoul Asian Games.
Source 05 · Busan Ilbo (Korean) · Yeongdo-gu, a table tennis city · opens in a new tab The dates of the tournament were not confirmed.Beat Kim Ki-taik 3-1 in the final to win. Nocut News says he rose to stardom at once with this gold medal.
Won bronze in men’s doubles at the same Games, partnering Ahn Jae-hyung.
Source 06 · Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · Ahn Jae-hyung, president of the Korea Business Table Tennis Federation · opens in a new tab The date of the match was not confirmed.Won the mixed doubles, partnering Hyun Jung-hwa.
Source 07 · Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · Dortmund World Championships mixed doubles title · opens in a new tab The date of the match was not confirmed.Won the men’s team event at the Asian Games.
Source 08 · Busan Ilbo (Korean) · Ahead of the Busan World Table Tennis Championships · opens in a new tab The dates of the tournament were not confirmed. The article does not list the players who competed.Served as men’s team coach at the Busan Asian Games, where Lee Chul-seung and Ryu Seung-min won gold in men’s doubles.
Source 10 · Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · Yoo Nam-kyu and Hyun Jung-hwa return to the national team · opens in a new tabSource 03 · Nocut News (Korean) · Table tennis star Yoo Nam-kyu to marry · opens in a new tab The dates of the tournament were not confirmed.Then a coach at Nongshim Samdasoo, he was named head coach of the men’s team for the 2005 Korea Open. Hyun Jung-hwa was head coach of the women’s team.
Source 09 · Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · Yoo Nam-kyu and Hyun Jung-hwa named national team heads · opens in a new tabStepped down as head coach together with Hyun Jung-hwa, after leading the national team for two years and seven months from May 2005.
Source 10 · Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · Yoo Nam-kyu and Hyun Jung-hwa return to the national team · opens in a new tab The day was not confirmed.Took the head coach job again after about a year. The schedule ran from that April’s World Championships in Yokohama to the Guangzhou Asian Games the next year.
Source 10 · Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · Yoo Nam-kyu and Hyun Jung-hwa return to the national team · opens in a new tabThe Korea Table Tennis Association’s board decided to keep him on. The contract ran to October 2014, when the Incheon Asian Games were held.
Source 11 · Sportsworld (Korean) · Heads of the men’s and women’s table tennis teams · opens in a new tabAfter coaching the S-Oil men’s team, which was being disbanded, until the previous month, he moved to coach the Samsung Life women’s team.
Source 12 · Sports Chosun (Korean) · New Samsung Life coach · opens in a new tabSource 01 · Nocut News (Korean) · Samsung Life women’s table tennis team hires coach · opens in a new tabAfter Busan was chosen as host at the International Table Tennis Federation congress in Halmstad, Sweden, he posed for a photo with IOC athletes’ commission member Ryu Seung-min and coach Hyun Jung-hwa, among others.
Source 04 · Hankyoreh (Korean) · Busan wins the World Table Tennis Championships · opens in a new tab The event was later held in Busan in 2024 (Busan Ilbo, Feb. 7, 2024).A lesson video featuring coach Yoo Nam-kyu was posted on Samsung Life’s table tennis channel “Takchyeo.”
Source 13 · Daily Hankook (Korean) · Samsung Life table tennis on YouTube · opens in a new tab Daily Hankook says that by July 2021 Takchyeo and Kokchyeo had passed 10 million combined views.Took the vice president post.
Source 14 · Newsis (Korean) · Vice president named in new table tennis federation leadership · opens in a new tab The day was not confirmed. This is from the Newsis article of Feb. 13, 2025.Named the first coach of the professional table tennis team that Korea Exchange was preparing to launch. The contract was for the next three years.
Source 15 · Newsquest (Korean) · Korea Exchange table tennis team founding coach · opens in a new tabTook the adviser chair of the organizing committee ahead of the event in his hometown of Busan. Busan Ilbo lists his 1988 Olympic gold, 1989 World Championships mixed doubles title and 1990 Asian Games men’s team title as his record.
Source 08 · Busan Ilbo (Korean) · Ahead of the Busan World Table Tennis Championships · opens in a new tab The date of his appointment was not confirmed. This is as of the Feb. 7 article.Named chair of the performance improvement committee, he presented a strengthening roadmap that included expanding the national reserve team.
Source 16 · Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · Table tennis national team strengthening roadmap · opens in a new tab The date of the appointment was not confirmed. This is as of the Dec. 13 article.Chosen at the general meeting for the new leadership, together with senior vice president Hyun Jung-hwa.
Source 17 · The Ping Pong (Korean) · Korea Table Tennis Association general meeting · opens in a new tabSource 14 · Newsis (Korean) · Vice president named in new table tennis federation leadership · opens in a new tabKorea Exchange, coached by Yoo Nam-kyu, beat Sancheong County Office 3-0 in the men’s team final in Sangju, North Gyeongsang, and won every title.
Source 18 · Sports Chosun (Korean) · Sweep at the corporate table tennis championships · opens in a new tabKorea Exchange took three gold medals and every medal in men’s singles.
Source 19 · Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · Three golds at the autumn tournament · opens in a new tabCovered table tennis with MBC caster Kim Sung-joo. South Korea lost to Japan in the men’s and women’s team semifinals and took bronze in both.
Source 20 · MBC Entertainment (Korean) · Asian Games table tennis broadcast ratings · opens in a new tab The date is that of the women’s team semifinal broadcast (Sept. 23).END OF SELECTED RECORDSSelected records, 1983–2026 · not a complete list of work. “Key moment” is an editorial label, not a measure of success.
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Sports · South Korea
Jun 4, 1968 —
Ages are counted from the birth year 1968: the year of the event minus 1968, birthdays aside. “Key moment” labels and the connecting story are AgeTrail's editorial reading.
Fact-checked: 2026.10.05 · An independent archive, not affiliated with the person or their agency.