South Korea captured historic medals in women's taekwondo and men's football on Friday at the London Olympics, and matched its record for the most number of gold medals at a single Olympics.

Hwang Kyung-seon claimed the gold in women's under-67-kilogram taekwondo Friday for the country's 13th gold medal. It equaled the record gold medal count from the Beijing Olympics, with two days of competition left in London.

But the day may just have belonged to the men's football team, which defeated Japan 2-0 to win the bronze medal in Cardiff. It's the first Olympic football medal for South Korea.

Arsenal forward Park Chu-young and team captain Koo Ja-cheol were the goal scorers. Japan had a goal called back late in the match, when South Korean goalkeeper Jung Sung-ryong was fouled as Maya Yoshida headed in a corner.

The momentous victory came hours after South Korean President Lee Myung-bak made an unprecedented visit to Dokdo, South Korea's easternmost islets to which Japan has long laid territorial claim.

Japan lodged strong protests against the move, which was largely seen as Seoul's attempt to assert its sovereignty over the tiny islets.

The win in Cardiff also came five days before the Aug. 15 Liberation Day for South Korea, commemorating the country's independence from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule.

Park's goal was worthy of a highlight reel, as the forward zigzagged his way through three helpless Japanese defenders and put it past goalkeeper Shuichi Gonda.

Park, though, admitted later that he actually misfired the ball.

"I got lucky with the goal," he said. "I was actually aiming for the far side on the left, but I didn't get all of it and it ended up tailing toward the right. But at that moment, I had no choice but to shoot and tried to give myself some space."

On the taekwondo court in London's ExCeL Arena, Hwang also made history, becoming the first female taekwondo fighter to win a medal in three straight Olympics. She started out with bronze in 2004 and claimed gold in 2008.

Against Nur Tatar of Turkey in the gold medal bout, Hwang charged to a comfortable 8-3 lead with a kick to the head in the second of the three two-minute rounds. Hwang enjoyed a seven-point cushion entering the final two-minute period and put the match further out of reach with a successful punch worth one point.

Hwang will be 30 by the next Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

When asked whether she will come back for her fourth Olympics, she said she has other plans.

"My dream was always to go out on top," she said with a smile.

"I need to go back to my graduate school and finish up my thesis. I also want to travel with my family."

Earlier Friday, boxer Han Soon-chul reached the gold medal bout in the men's lightweight class, beating Evaldas Petrauskas of Lithuania in the semis Friday. Han's final match is scheduled for Sunday, the last day of the London Olympics.

South Korea hasn't had an Olympic boxing champion since 1988.

Also on this day, Son Yeon-jae became the first South Korean to reach an Olympic final in rhythmic gymnastics.

Son finished sixth among 24 gymnasts in the two-day qualification at 110.300 points combined from four elements: hoop, ball, clubs and ribbon. The top-10 qualifiers have moved on to the final, scheduled for Saturday.

Son, 18, entered Friday fourth overall, after ball and hoop routines Thursday. She lost her right shoe during the clubs routine, but regrouped to pull off an excellent ribbon routine that clinched her berth in the final. (Yonhap News)