[PyeongChang 2018] PyeongChang to host largest Winter Paralympics next month

The 2018 PyeongChang Winter Paralympic Games will be the largest Winter Paralympics in history, local organizers said Monday.PyeongChang's organizing committee said 570 athletes from 49 countries had registered for the March 9-18 competition as of Saturday. The 2014 Sochi Paralympics had previously been the biggest, with 547 athletes from 45 countries.According to the organizers, the United States has the greatest number of athletes at 68, followed by Canada at 52 and Japan at 38.Host nation Sou

Feb. 26, 2018

[Newsmaker] With treasured memories, PyeongChang bids adieu

About 200 South Korean athletes, coaches and officials gathered outside the Olympic athletes’ village in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, on Monday to attend the disbandment ceremony for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic team.For the South Korean delegation, it was the final step of a journey that started on Feb. 9 when world-renowned figure skater Kim Yu-na illuminated the tiny rural town of PyeongChang by lighting the Olympic torch atop the Olympic Stadium. The torch served as a beacon of dreams

Feb. 26, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] 7 Korean male athletes eligible for military exemption after winning medals

PYEONGCHANG, Gangwon Province -- Seven South Korean athletes who won a medal at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics will be eligible for military exemption, officials here said Monday.All South Korean men between 18 and 35 are conscripted into the armed forces for about two years, but athletes who earn an Olympic medal or an Asian Games gold medal are effectively exempted from the mandatory service.The seven athletes are: skeleton slider Yun Sung-bin, bobsledder Seo Young-woo, speed skaters Cha Min-

Feb. 26, 2018

NK athletes, cheerleaders return home as Olympics end

North Korean athletes and cheerleaders returned home Monday after the North sent a record size delegation to the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, which ended the previous day.Nearly 300 North Koreans, including 22 athletes and 229 cheerleaders, crossed the inter-Korean border to return home at 12:38 p.m. after leaving a checkpoint in Paju, just south of the border, according to pool reports.North Korea sent a 492-strong Olympics delegation, which included athletes, musicians, cheerleaders and taekwo

Feb. 26, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Korean delegation for PyeongChang 2018 disbands with appreciation

GANGNEUNG -- The Korean delegation for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games officially disbanded on Monday after finishing seventh in the medal race.The ceremony to mark the end of Korean athletes' Olympic campaign was held at Gangneung Athletes' Village in Gangneung, Gangwon Province. Nearly 200 athletes, coaches and officials attended the ceremony honoring their hard work and achievements at the 23rd Winter Olympics at home."We saw athletes and people getting together, feeling the same em

Feb. 26, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] How foreign visitors chronicle Winter Olympics journeys online

This year, as many as 80,000 people from abroad boarded flights to South Korea in hopes of being a part of the Olympics buzz. And with the influx of visitors for the 2018 PyeongChang Games, we thought we’d take a look at how they chronicled their Winter Olympics adventures online. Strap in for some trending Twitter hashtag memes, Tinder thirstiness, quirky Gangwon Province hangouts and addictive vlogs: When in doubt, try for a gold medal in irony Olympics visitors and apparent nonvisitors have b

Feb. 26, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] S. Korean female hockey players bid teary farewell to NK teammates

GANGNEUNG, South Korea -- South Korea women's ice hockey players on Monday bid a teary farewell to their North Korean teammates on the unified Korean team for the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, a day after they marched in together at the closing ceremony.The historic joint hockey team -- the first unified Korean squad in any sport at any Olympics -- was assembled on Jan. 25, five days after the International Olympic Committee approved an inter-Korean agreement on its formation. The South Korean te

Feb. 26, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] PyeongChang hands over Olympic flag to Beijing

The Olympic flag that fluttered over 17 days at the Olympic Stadium in PyeongChang, South Korea, was handed over to Chinese organizers on Sunday for the next Winter Games in Beijing in 2022.The 23rd Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, some 180 kilometers east of Seoul, came to an official end after a 17-day run in the South Korean alpine town, with the closing ceremony in the Olympic Stadium in PyeongChang. When the Olympic flag is lowered and handed over to the organizers of the next Winter Olympic

Feb. 25, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] PyeongChang draws curtains with messages of peace, progress, perseverance

After more than two weeks of cutthroat competition and chivalrous camaraderie among the world’s top athletes, the PyeongChang Winter Games on South Korea’s wintry slopes and ice came to a genteel close Sunday evening. A general view of the closing ceremony for the 2018 PyeongChang Games at PyeongChang Stadium in Gangwon Province, Sunday (Yonhap)The quadrennial event from Feb. 9-25 in PyeongChang and subhost cities Gangneung and Jeongseon in Gangwon Province attracted nearly 3,000 athletes from 9

Feb. 25, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Top organizer says 'world became one' during PyeongChang Winter Olympics

The PyeongChang Winter Olympics brought the world together "in peace and harmony," the event's top organizer said during the closing ceremony on Sunday."In PyeongChang, the world became one," said Lee Hee-beom, head of the PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games (POCOG), during the ceremony at PyeongChang Olympic Stadium."Transcending the differences of race, religion, nation and gender, we smiled together, cried together, and shared friendship together.Even though we

Feb. 25, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] K-pop artists CL, EXO entertain athletes, spectators at closing ceremony

South Korean K-pop artists CL and EXO took the stage at the closing ceremony of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics on Sunday, sending compliments to athletes for their hard work and victories.The 23rd Winter Olympic Games ended its 17-day run in PyeongChang, some 180 kilometers east of Seoul. At the closing ceremony, hip-hop songstress CL took the stage to present the future vision of the country through K-pop under theme of "Song of Passion." (Yonhap)Following a segment that honored and recognized

Feb. 25, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Two Koreas carry own flags, but march together at closing ceremony

At the closing ceremony of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics on Sunday, South and North Korean athletes entered separately carrying their own national flags but later joined to march together in a show of rapprochement driven by the sports event.The South Korean flag was carried by speed skater Lee Seung-hoon, who won the gold medal in the inaugural men's mass start on Saturday, while Kim Ju-sik, who competed in pairs figure skating with Ryom Tae-ok at the Olympics, was the North Korean flagbearer

Feb. 25, 2018

[Live Photo] Pyeongchang Olympics closing ceremony under way

  To mark the 17 days of journey, a closing ceremony for the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics kicked off at a main stadium on Sunday at 8 p.m.The colorful ceremony started under the theme of “The Next Wave.”Veteran singer Jang Sa-ik sang the South Korean national anthem, followed by a series of dances, performances and fireworks.          Photos by Yonhap Written by Park Ju-young (jupark@herladcorp.com)

Feb. 25, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Case of misogyny? ‘Bully’ skater wins silver, yet dispute lingers

After South Korean speedskater Kim Bo-reum finished second in the women’s mass start final event Saturday, she gave a deep bow on her knees to the crowd from the ice. 　　Many Korean athletes have done the same in the past at the Olympics as a way to show gratitude. But for Kim, who had been labeled a “bully” after leaving a teammate behind during the women’s team pursuit preliminary event on Feb. 19, it was a way to show her remorse -- an apology.　　“I didn’t think about winning medals during this

Feb. 25, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Medal standings

The 2018 PyeongChang Olympics came to a close on Sunday.Norway's Marit Bjoergen won final gold of the games in cross-country skiing, pulling up her country to the first place in the medal standings. (Pyeongchang2018.com)

Feb. 25, 2018

[Newsmaker] How Uiseong slid into center of Korea’s curling boom

When South Korea’s first curling rink was completed in Uiseong, North Gyeongsang Province in 2006, little could the county administration that backed its construction expect the unfamiliar facility to produce Olympic medal winners in the sport a dozen years later. The story of how the Korean women’s curling team came about has now become known worldwide. In 2007, classmates Kim Yeong-mi, whose name has reverberated through the curling venue at PyeongChang and global media outlets in the past wee

Feb. 25, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Norway's Marit Bjoergen wins final gold of PyeongChang 2018 in cross-country skiing

Norwegian cross-country skier Marit Bjoergen won the final gold medal of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics on Sunday.Bjoergen won the ladies' 30-kilometer mass start classic at Alpensia Cross-Country Centre in PyeongChang in one hour, 22 minutes and 17.6 seconds. It was the last event at PyeongChang 2018, which will draw to a conclusion with a closing ceremony later Sunday. Bjoergen of Norway celebrates winning the Women`s Cross Country 30 km Mass Start Classic race at the Alpensia Cross Coun

Feb. 25, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] 'Garlic Girls' sweep Korea with curling sensation

No one expected it, but they’ve done it. South Korea’s women’s curling team has made Olympic history at PyeongChang by clinching silver. Never considered a medal contender in the sport, the team crushed the world’s top curling powerhouses to arrive at Sunday’s final match, where it lost to Sweden 8-3 to take home silver.Having won its first-ever Olympic medal in curling, South Korea is more excited than ever for its “Garlic Girls” who have emerged as the surprise stars of the 2018 Winter Olympic

Feb. 25, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] South Korea places 7th with 5 gold, 8 silver and 4 bronze medals

South Korea set its own record for the 2018 Winter Olympics with 17 medals in total: five gold, eight silver and four bronze. It was the only Asian nation to rank in the top 10. For Korean spectators, the best part of the games in the past two weeks were the unexpected wins in previously little-known disciplines, such as the gold in men’s skeleton and the silver in women’s curling. This was the first Winter Games in which Korea scored medals in disciplines other than ice skating. The country als

Feb. 25, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] S. Korean bobsledders say silver medal is result of teamwork

South Korean bobsledders said Sunday their silver in the four-man event at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics is the result of teamwork.The team of Won Yun-jong, Seo Young-woo, Jun Jung-lin and Kim Dong-hyun tied for second with a German team in the four-man bobsleigh competition at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics. "Our personal talent may not exceed other European or North American athletes, but when we're together, we're strong," said Won, the pilot of the team. "It's not only us four who produce

Feb. 25, 2018