The first group of South Korean Olympians has left for Athens.

The delegation comprises 27 officials and 176 athletes. The remaining Olympic crew will travel to Greece in several groups until August 25th.

A total of 267 South Korean athletes will compete in 24 of the 28 events at the Summer Games, running from August 13th through the 29th. The 17-day event will draw some 16,500 athletes from 202 countries, who will compete for the 301 gold medals up for grabs.

South Korea is aiming to finish among the top ten in the medal count by grabbing 13 gold, 10 silver and 13 bronze medals. The majority of those are expected to come in archery, taekwondo, judo, wrestling and badminton.

If the Korean squad manages to make it into the top ten, it would be its best performance since the 1996 Atlanta Games, when it ranked 8th in the total medal tally.