S. Korean president confers state decoration on IOC chief

South Korean President Moon Jae-in conferred a state medal on Thomas Bach, the head of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), on Thursday for his contributions to the PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games.Bach was presented with the Cheongryong Medal, the highest decoration in the country's Order of Sport Merit, in a ceremony at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae. President Moon Jae-in (right) confers the Cheongryong Medal on IOC chief Thomas Bach at Cheong Wa Dae on Thursday. (Yonhap)"North K

March 8, 2018

[Photo News] PyeongChang gears up for 2018 Paralympic Games

With the opening of 2018 PyeongChang Paralympic Games just a day away, the city is busy making final preparations for the event. The torch for the games arrived in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, Thursday afternoon, on a route that even took a brief trip above the sea via the Aranabi zip-line that connects Amnok and Namhangjin beaches. The torch for the PyeongChang Paralympics arrives in Gangneung via the Aranabi zip-line on Thursday.Athletes from North Korea, China and Uzbekistan made their offici

March 8, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Fierce competition to become life-size Bandabi mascots

More than 7,000 people volunteered to become one of 24 life-size Bandabi mascots at the opening ceremony of the upcoming Winter Paralympics, the PyeongChang Organizing Committee said Wednesday. Bandabi is the mascot for the Paralympic Games set to begin Friday. Forty-eight volunteers were chosen for the 24 mascots. They signed up in pairs, with one person to don a life-size costume, and the other to accompany the mascot.Among those selected were a person rehabilitating from a former disability a

March 7, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] N. Koreans enter Paralympic Village in PyeongChang

PYEONGCHANG, Gangwon Province -- North Korea's delegation to the 2018 Winter Paralympic Games entered the athletes' village in the South Korean alpine town of PyeongChang on Wednesday.Kim Mun-chol, who heads the central committee of the Korean Federation for the Protection of the Disabled, expressed warm greetings to South Korea after arriving at the Paralympic Village in PyeongChang, Gangwon Province."Hello, our beloved compatriots and people with disabilities in the South," Kim told reporters

March 7, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] PyeongChang skies to be lit by fireworks during Paralympics

The night skies of PyeongChang will be lit up during the PyeongChang Winter Paralympics, according to the culture and sports ministry Wednesday.During the nine days of the Paralympic Games, which will run from Friday to March 18, there will be many cultural events, performances and fireworks in various venues, including the Olympic Festival Park in PyeongChang, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said. A performer dances with sparklers during "Fire Fantasy_Magical Night" in this photo pr

March 7, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] N. Korean delegation to Paralympics arrives in S. Korea

SEOUL/PAJU -- A 24-member North Korean delegation to the PyeongChang Winter Paralympics crossed the border into the South on Wednesday, according to pool reporters.The delegation, including sit-skiers Kim Jong-hyon and Ma Yu-chol, who will compete in Para Nordic skiing events at a wildcard invitation, will join the Paralympics which start Friday. They will return home on March 15."I am pleased," Hwang Chung-song, a senior official at the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country, s

March 7, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Record number of anti-doping tests conducted during PyeongChang 2018: IOC

The International Olympic Committee announced on Wednesday that a record number of anti-doping tests were conducted during the PyeongChang Winter Olympics last month.The IOC said 3,149 tests were carried out, making it "the most robust anti-doping program in the history of the Olympic Winter Games." It said 1,393 of the tests were in competition, and 1,756 were out of competition.According to the IOC, 1,615 out of 2,963 accredited athletes, or 54 percent, were tested at least once, the majority

March 7, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Korean Paralympic squad officially welcomed at athletes' village

PYEONGCHANG, South Korea -- The South Korean Paralympic team was officially admitted Tuesday into the athletes' village for the PyeongChang Winter Paralympic Games.A welcome ceremony for the South Korean team took place at the athletes' village in PyeongChang, some 180 kilometers east of Seoul, and 62 athletes and officials, including Vice Sports Minister Roh Tae-kang, attended the ceremony.The alpine skiers and wheelchair curling team members missed the ceremony due to training. South Korea was

March 6, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Trump names delegation to PyeongChang Paralympics

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump on Monday named additional members of a delegation to the opening ceremony of the PyeongChang Paralympic Games.The designations come after he chose Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen to lead the group to the event this Friday. Donald Trump and Kirstjen Nielsen (AP)The other members are Marcia Lee Kelly, deputy assistant to Trump; Marc Knapper, charge d'affaires at the US Embassy in Seoul; John Bardis, assistant secretary for administration at

March 6, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Paralympic medals similar to Olympic medals, but differences hidden

The medals for the PyeongChang Winter Paralympics are similar to those of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics as they are both inspired by unique Korean culture, but there are differences. According to local organizers Monday, both medals for the Olympics and the Paralympics were inspired by the Korean alphabet, "hangeul," Korean traditional clothing, "hanbok," and Korean traditional houses, "hanok." Both medals, designed by famed industrial designer Lee Suk-woo, use straps that are created with "ga

March 5, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Two-thirds of Koreans don't know Winter Paralympics opening day: survey

Two thirds of South Koreans don't know the opening day of the Winter Paralympic Games in their country, a survey showed Monday.According to local pollster Realmeter, which last Friday asked 500 adults about the opening day of the 2018 Winter Paralympics, only 33.6 percent of them answered correctly.The PyeongChang Winter Paralympics run from March 9 to 18 in PyeongChang, some 180 kilometers east of Seoul, and two adjacent cities, Gangneung and Jeongseon. Torchbearers for the PyeongChang Winter P

March 5, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] S. Korea to hold hallyu festival to boost Paralympics

South Korea will hold a cultural festival with "hallyu," or Korean Wave, stars for domestic and foreign tourists as part of its efforts to promote the PyeongChang Paralympics, which are set to kick off later this week, the country's tourism promotion agency said Sunday. Snow Festival in March will begin Friday with actor Jang Keun-suk's two-day meeting with fans, according to the Korea Tourism Organization.Jang will provide 2,018 tickets to his fans to watch an ice hockey event together in Gangn

March 4, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Torch relay starts for PyeongChang Paralympics

The torch relay for the March 9-18 PyeongChang Paralympic Games kicked off on Saturday, heralding another international sports festival following the two-week Winter Olympics held in the same host city last month.The organizing committees of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics and Paralympics held a torch lighting ceremony at 7 p.m. at Olympic Park in eastern Seoul.Eight flames were unified into a single flame at a cauldron, with the flames representing the five regions of host country South Korea;

March 4, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] S. Korean athletes arrive for PyeongChang Winter Paralympics

The first group from the South Korean squad for the PyeongChang Winter Paralympics arrived in the host city of PyeongChang on Saturday, with a goal of achieving the country's best results ever.The group composed of 71 of the squad's 83 members checked in at the PyeongChang Athletes' Village, while the wheelchair curling team will join them at the village Tuesday.  (Yonhap) (Yonhap)The athletes were to begin training in the afternoon to prepare for the medal race set to begin next Saturday. The S

March 3, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Fever of Olympics' cultural events to continue in Paralympics

The PyeongChang Winter Olympics is over, but the fever of various cultural side events that heated up the Olympics will carry over to the Paralympics.The Gangwon provincial government said Saturday it will continue to run most of its cultural programs presented during the Olympics to offer the best cultural experiences to Korean and foreign visitors during the Paralympics.The cultural side events of the Paralympics will kick off with a show at Saimdang Hall of the Gangneung Arts Center in Gangne

March 3, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Flame for PyeongChang Paralympics lit in 5 S. Korean cities

Lighting ceremonies for the Paralympic flame were held in five local cities on Friday as South Korea began its eight-day torch relay for the 2018 Winter Paralympics in PyeongChang, Gangwon Province.   Five Korean cities and counties -- Jeju, Anyang, Nonsan, Gochang and Cheongdo -- each ignited a flame on the day of the first full moon of the Lunar New Year. These five cities were selected because they provide convenient access to tourism facilities and services for people with disabilities, acco

March 3, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Moon vows full support for Paralympics, people with disabilities

President Moon Jae-in promised all-out support for the upcoming PyeongChang Paralympic Winter Games on Friday, calling the games a rare chance to improve conditions for all people with disabilities."I believe the PyeongChang Paralympic Games will further increase the people's interest in disabilities and sports for people with disabilities. I hope the prejudice that those with disabilities are people who need help will disappear, and that we will all realize we can all give hope and courage to o

March 2, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Cheong Wa Dae welcomes US announcement of Paralympic delegation

South Korea's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae on Wednesday welcomed US President Donald Trump's appointment of his secretary for homeland security to lead a delegation to the PyeongChang Paralympic Games.The White House announced earlier that Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen will head the presidential delegation to the March 9 opening ceremony of the Paralympics set to run through March 18 in the same alpine town where the Winter Olympics took place. US Department of of Homeland

Feb. 28, 2018

Dutch coach for Korean speed skating to leave after contract expires

Bob de Jong, the Netherlands-born coach for South Korean speed skating at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, is set to leave the country later this week, with his contract expiring on Wednesday, the sport's national federation said.The Korea Skating Union added it is also considering an extension of de Jong's deal, depending on the opinions of skaters and other coaches."Bob de Jong is returning to the Netherlands for visa-related matters, but we'll continue to talk," a KSU official said. "The Olym

Feb. 28, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Moon gears up for Paralympic Games, urges support for another success

South Korean President Moon Jae-in is apparently gearing up to promote the upcoming Paralympic Games, officials from the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae noted Tuesday, two days after the end of what the president has called an incredibly successful Winter Olympic Games.The move comes as the country is set to host the 2018 Paralympic Games from March 9-18 in PyeongChang, the host city of the recently concluded Winter Olympic Games."With yesterday's closing ceremonies, the PyeongChang Winter Oly

Feb. 27, 2018