An is the son of two Olympic table-tennis medallists. His mother Jiao Zhimin won silver (doubles) and bronze (singles) for China at the 1988 Games where his father Ahn Jae-hyung (doubles) took bronze for Korea.
The couple were dating at the time, according to An, who jests that he would never have been conceived had it not been for those Summer Games staged in Seoul.
"I'm really looking forward to next year," An, 23, said during a news conference at Firestone Country Club on Wednesday to mark the one-year countdown to the 2016 Games.
"After I heard the announcement that golf will be involved in the Olympics, I was like, 'Okay, then let's try to make the Korean team.'
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"Hopefully, I'll get one of the medals. It would be nice if it's a gold, as it's one better than them (his parents). That would be great."
An, who is making his first appearance in one of golf's elite World Golf Championships events at this week's Bridgestone Invitational, recalled that his parents began dating in 1986.
"I think they met at the 1986 Asian Games, and then also at the 1988 Olympics where they won the medals. I wouldn't be here if there wasn't an Olympics," he grinned.
"In 1988, when the Olympics was held in Korea, it was an issue, I guess, with a China and Korean player dating. That's when everyone got to know in public.
"That's where they sealed it," said the Korean, who won the biggest title of his career at the European Tour's flagship BMW PGA Championship in May.
Asked where his parents kept their Olympic medals, An replied: "I've never seen them personally, only in pictures. I asked them a couple times, but they said, 'It's not at our house.' They're somewhere, like in a safe."
Sixty players will compete over 72 holes of strokeplay in both the men's and women's events in Rio. Golfers in the top 15 of the world rankings will automatically be eligible, although no more than four players from any one country can take part.
Based on this week's rankings, An (58th in the world) and Bae Sang-moon (111th) would both qualify to represent South Korea.
(Editing by Andrew Both)
