Cutting-edge Korean technologies such as doping tests, 4D replays, 5G networks and online ticketing were featured during the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics. Pictured here is Korea's Lee Da-bin on July 27 landing a kick on the U.K.'s Bianca Walkden during the women's 67-kg taekwondo semifinals at Makuhari Messe Hall A in Tokyo. (Yonhap News)

By Lee Kyoung Mi and Lee Hana

Video = 4DREPLAY's official YouTube channel

Case 1: During the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, World Athletics, the sport's world governing body, on July 31 announced the suspension of Nigerian sprinter Blessing Okagbare after he tested positive for a human growth hormone, the first doping case of the Games. 

Case 2: In the women's 67-kg taekwondo semifinals on July 27 at Makuhari Messe Hall A in Tokyo, Korea's Lee Da-bin, leading the U.K.'s Bianca Walkden 13-10, landed a kick to the head. The referee deducted points from Lee, however, and her coach Lee Chang-geon filed a challenge to have the call reviewed by video assistant referee (VAR). Replays from all angles gave Lee her points back. The timely use of two VAR calls helped Lee win the match, 25-24, and she eventually won the silver medal. 

Both of these cases vividly illustrated the know-how of advanced Korean technology. 

At the recently concluded Tokyo Olympics, whose closing ceremony was Aug. 8, cutting-edge Korean technology was used both in and out of competition venues. Some say Japan's technical shortcomings at the Olympics put a favorable light on Korea's technical prowess. In its July 20 article "Two Tokyo Olympics Show the Long Arc of Japan's Tech Decline," Bloomberg said, "Japan is in a technological funk."

The Korea Institute of Science and Technology's (KIST) Doping Control Center played a major role in exposing Okagbare's use of an illegal substance. To ensure a fair and dope-free competition, center director Son Jung-hyun and lead researcher Sung Chang-min were invited by the Olympics' anti-doping research center to share their know-how in testing for prohibited substances and analyzing samples. The human growth hormone found in Okagbare strengthens muscles and speeds up recovery but is difficult to detect. For this, Japan requested help from the Korean team.

The center was founded in 1984 to test athletes competing in the 1986 Asian Games and the 1988 Summer Olympics, two events held in Seoul. A report by the World Anti-Doping Agency said just three countries have the seven required technologies to detect the hormone: Korea, the U.S. and Brazil. 

People worldwide watching this year's Tokyo Olympics were treated to 360-degree replays of the best moments in the Games. The Korean company 4D Replay featured these "4D replays" using advanced media technology to capture the energetic movements of the athletes from every angle.

To capture a competition from many angles, special cameras were set up at various points, filming each play and sending the highlights to the replay screen. In Tokyo, around 800 cameras were set up at 11 venues to shoot around 50 events including taekwondo, judo, wrestling, track and field, and skateboarding. This technology allowed spectators to enjoy the 720-degree flips and turns of artistic gymnast Yeo Seo-jeong during the vault finals and BMX racer Niek Kimmann soaring through the air in slow motion. 

In taekwondo and wrestling, 4D replays were used to judge the accuracy of decisions made by judges during matches. In the U.S., the technology is used by Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association and the Professional Golfers' Association.

Korean technology also supported during the Games 5G internet service, online ticketing and credit card payments.

Samsung Electronics in March signed a deal with NTT Docomo, the service provider for the Tokyo Olympics, to provide communication technology needed for 5G connection. To ensure network stability and security, the Japanese company also tapped the Korean security solutions vendor Wins to set up an intrusion prevention system, a crucial component of network security for 5G networks that detects and prevents invasion from outside sources into the communication base station. 

The Olympics was held without spectators due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the Korean company Interpark built the online ticketing system, which allowed organizers to electronically manage seating, payments and refunds. Interpark's decades of experience, starting with the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Korea and Japan to the 2011 World Championships in Athletics in Daegu and the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, made the system in Tokyo possible. 

Finally, Hyundai Card's Hyundai-Advanced Library Card Information System, or H-ALIS, boosted the Japanese government's drive to improve its infrastructure for credit card payments leading up to the Olympics. This system handled large-scale purchases and sales as well as deposits and withdrawals around the clock and 365 days a year. Hyundai said this was possible because the system is backed by ICT capabilities that can securely process up to 150 million card payments a month.

km137426@korea.kr