Medal
Overview
A medal is a disc-shaped award made of metal or other materials to commemorate and honor specific achievements or merits. It is used in a wide range of fields, including sports competition awards, military merit, and academic, cultural, and social contributions; in particular, the Olympic gold, silver, and bronze medals are regarded as symbols of the highest authority. Today, medals have developed beyond simple symbols into cultural media that reflect contemporary values such as manufacturing technology, design, and recycling and sustainability.
Main Content
Etymology and Origins
The word 'medal' settled into English as 'medal' via Latin 'medalia' (small coin) and Italian 'medaglia'. In ancient Rome and Greece, coins and relief plaques were produced for dedication in temples or for commemorating events, and in medieval Europe commemorative coins (medallions) engraved with portraits of saints or royal families were popular. During the Renaissance, artists such as Pisanello and Cellini in Italy produced elaborate portrait medals, establishing medals as an art genre; later, in the modern era, they expanded into a means of sports, military, and academic recognition.
Materials and Production
Medals are made from various metals such as gold, silver, bronze, brass, copper, zinc alloys, and nickel alloys, and recently non-metal materials such as acrylic, wood, and recycled electronic components are also used. The production process consists of design planning, sculpting (original model), casting or press molding, plating, polishing, and ribbon and case assembly. For Olympic medals, regulations stipulate that gold medals are made of silver of at least 92.5% purity plated with at least 6 g of gold, silver medals are at least 92.5% silver, and bronze medals are copper alloy (bronze).
Medals at Sports Competitions
At the 1896 Athens Games, the early modern Olympics, winners received a silver medal and an olive wreath, and second place received a bronze medal. The practice of awarding three types of medals—gold, silver, and bronze—to first, second, and third places, respectively, became established around the 1904 St. Louis Games. Since then, most sports competitions, including world championships, continental competitions, and professional leagues, have followed the same system, and national medal tally tables (medal tables) have become a major spectator element of competitions. At the same time, systems have become more sophisticated, including awarding bronze medals to all joint third-place finishers, disqualification and re-award procedures, and rules for revoking medals when doping is detected.
Orders and Civilian Awards
Medals at the military and state level are operated in combination with orders, medals, and commendations. Countries have hierarchical systems of orders according to the type and grade of merit, including South Korea's Order of Military Merit, Order of National Merit, and Presidential Commendation, and regulations on wearing positions and insignia are also set by law. In the private sector, medals are used in various forms such as academic awards, arts awards, and volunteer commendations, and commemorative medals by companies and organizations are also actively produced.
Collecting and Culture
Medal collecting is a hobby and academic field adjacent to coin collecting (numismatics), and is also used as historical source material for researching historical events or figures. Rare Olympic medals, early orders, art medals, and the like are traded at high prices in auction markets, and commemorative medals from host cities are also popular as tourism products. Medal design has developed into a design field that carries messages such as national identity, symbols of the host location, and Paralympic accessibility.
Recent Trends
The 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic medals drew much attention by inserting pieces of iron from the Eiffel Tower renovation process into the center of the medals and emphasizing the hexagonal shape traditional to France. Ahead of the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics and the 2028 LA Olympics, the use of recycled metals and eco-friendly materials and the reduction of carbon emissions in the production process have emerged as key agendas. Meanwhile, in esports and online leagues, cases of combining physical medals with digital badges and NFT-based certification are increasing, and anti-counterfeiting holograms and QR certification, small-lot production based on 3D printing, and blockchain records of medal revocation and re-award histories are being discussed as new standards. In Korea as well, medal design competitions for each competition and the introduction of eco-friendly production guidelines are spreading.
Related Topics
- [[올림픽]]
- [[훈장]]
- [[주화]]
- [[스포츠]]
- [[패럴림픽]]