[PyeongChang 2018] ‘Christmas in March’ for Paralympics

For the heat of the Olympics to continue on to the Paralympics, organizers are packing the Paralympic main events with an assortment of Hallyu performances.In the set of Hallyu events dubbed by the Gangwon Province and Korea Tourism Organization as “Christmas in March,” major Korean celebrities will accompany the Paralympic audience in watching the games. Jang Keun-suk and Lee Dong-wook, honorary ambassadors for the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games, as well as K-pop stars B1A4, BTOB, Samuel

Feb. 22, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Dutch skating star Sven Kramer set to race mass start against Lee Seung-hoon

GANGNEUNG -- Dutch skating star Sven Kramer said Thursday he has a special strategy to take on Korean gold medal favorite Lee Seung-hoon in the upcoming mass start event.The mass start is a new Olympic sport at the PyeongChang Winter Games. In the event to premier on Saturday, all skaters start on the ice at the same time like in short track speed skating.Korea's Lee Seung-hoon, who switched to long track speed skating from short track, is the strongest hopeful for gold medal in the new event"Fo

Feb. 22, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Speedskating empress Lee Sang-hwa emotional after ‘unforgettable’ experience

Winning her third Olympic medal for Korea on Sunday in the women’s 500 meters, Korea’s ace speedskater Lee Sang-hwa shared a picture of her hugging PyeongChang’s mascot Soohorang on Thursday via Instagram. Overwhelmed with emotions after claiming the silver, Lee described the PyeongChang Olympics as an “unforgettable” experience in the post. Japanese speedskater Nao Kodaira clinched the gold in the close race, setting an Olympic record of 36.94 seconds. (Left photo) Lee Sang-hwa hugs PyeongChang

Feb. 22, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Red-hot women's curling team trying to stay grounded

GANGNEUNG, South Korea -- In a span of days, the South Korean women's curling team has gone from being a curious afterthought to a darling of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, rewriting the country's curling history with each match.And head coach Kim Min-jung is worried that her athletes may get carried away by all the attention.South Korea finished first in the round robin session with an 8-1 record and became the first team to clinch a berth in the semifinals. As the top seed, it will face the

Feb. 22, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Kim Yuna reigns supreme in Olympics commercials

The former Olympic figure skater Kim Yuna is dominating Korea’s ad industry during the PyeongChang Winter Games. Kim is featured in Coca-Cola’s Olympics commercials alongside actor Park Bo-gum, as well as a host of other ads, reminding viewers of her solid standing as a top-notch model for big-time advertisers here. (The Coca-Cola Company) Kim Yuna models for Korean beauty brand, It's Skin. (YouTube)Widely dubbed “Queen Yuna” or “figure queen” in Korea, Kim reaped gold in the Vancouver Olympics

Feb. 22, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] PyeongChang Olympic spectators top 1m: organizers

PYEONGCHANG, Gangwon Province -- The total number of spectators who have visited the PyeongChang Winter Olympics has surpassed 1 million, with just three days left to the closing ceremony, local organizers said Thursday."The combined number of spectators as of Wednesday was 1,076,000," said Sung Baik-you, spokesperson for the PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Olympic & Paralympic Games. "We saw 91,567 spectators yesterday."Sung said that POCOG has sold 105,000 tickets so far, or 98.7

Feb. 22, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Male speed skaters highlight bond amid bullying scandal　

After South Korea’s male speed skating team captured its second consecutive Olympic medal in the team pursuit discipline, the trio said the bond between teammates is the secret to their success.“I believe South Korea has the best teamwork in the world,” Kim Min-seok, a two-time medalist in the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, said after winning silver in the men’s pursuit on Wednesday. “(If we are to learn from Norway), I think it is important to improve our individual capabilities.”South Korea coun

Feb. 22, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] S. Korea to compete in women's curling semifinals

PYEONGCHANG, Gangwon Province -- The South Korean women's curling team, a surprise sensation at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, will compete in the semifinals on Friday. Figure skaters will participate in free programs.The curling team, comprised of Kim Yeong-mi, Kim Kyeong-ae, Kim Eun-jung, Kim Seon-yeong and alternate Kim Cho-hi, will compete in a semifinal event at Gangneung Curling Centre in sub-host city of Gangneung. With an 8-1 record, the Korean women topped the round robin session, win

Feb. 22, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] S. Korean women's curling team tops round robin session

GANGNEUNG, Gangwon Province -- The South Korean female curling team topped the round robin session with two more victories at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics on Wednesday.South Korea clinched the first seed with an 11-2 win over the Olympic Athletes from Russia in the morning session. Then in the evening match, South Korea defeated 9-3 to run its record to 8-1. South Korea has won its last seven matches.As the top seed, South Korea will face No. 4 seed Japan in the semifinals. Japan, ranked sixt

Feb. 22, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] S. Korea wins second straight silver in men’s team pursuit

South Korea grasped the silver medal in the men’s speed skating team pursuit event on Wednesday, marking the country’s third silver medal and ninth medal in total in this year’s Winter Games. Lee Seung-Hoon, Chung Jae-won and Kim Min Seok of South Korea on Wednesday win gold medal in the men's team pursuit event held at Gangneung Oval, Gangneung. (Yonhap)The four-member team consisting of Lee Seung-hoon, Kim Min-seok, Chung Jae-won, and Joo Hyong-jun timed 3:38.52 at Gangneung Oval in the easter

Feb. 21, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] S. Korea’s female pursuit team finishes last amid teamwork fiasco

South Korea’s female speedskating team on Wednesday lost its team pursuit playoff race against Poland finishing in eighth place.The result comes in the wake of a disputed race which triggered discussion on an apparent teamwork strife.Korea's three-member team of Kim Bo-reum, Park Ji-woo and Noh Seon-yeong (Yonhap)The three-member team of Kim Bo-reum, Park Ji-woo and Noh Seon-yeong clocked 3:07.30 in the event at Gangneung Oval in the eastern sub-host city of the 2018 Winter Games.During the quar

Feb. 21, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Alpine snowboarding event rescheduled due to unfavorable weather forecast

Local organizers of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics said Wednesday that the men's and women's alpine snowboarding parallel giant slalom  events have been rescheduled due to unfavorable weather forecast. (Yonhap)The organizers said the PGS qualifiers will be held on Saturday at Phoenix Snow Park in PyeongChang, Gangwon Province. The PGS qualifiers were originally slated for Thursday, but because "unpredictable weather" is expected that day, the organizers and the International Ski Federation jury

Feb. 21, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] S. Korean, N. Korean hockey players bond over Oreo McFlurries at breakfast

When asked on Wednesday to recount her favorite memory of having been with North Korean teammates at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, South Korean forward Randi Heesoo Griffin didn't have to think for long."In the dining hall (at the Olympic Village) two days ago, I saw the North Koreans in lineup at McDonald's and I was also in line at McDonald's," Griffin said at a press conference at Team Korea House in Gangneung, breaking into a grin. "They were getting Oreo McFlurries for breakfast. We all

Feb. 21, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] EXO thrilled by PyeongChang closer, hopes to meet skeleton sensation Yun

Members of K-pop act EXO said Wednesday they were thrilled to perform in front of what may be their biggest audience to date -- at the closing ceremony of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics this weekend."None of us EXO members existed in 1988. I truly can't believe that we're part of the closing ceremony of the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics," Suho, leader of the nine-member band, said at a press conference at the PyeongChang Olympic Main Press Centre at Alpensia Resort in PyeongChang.  K-pop band EXO p

Feb. 21, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Veteran S. Korean cross-country skier bids adieu to Winter Games

South Korean veteran cross-country skier Lee Chae-won bid farewell to the Winter Olympic Games as she competed in her last event, in her hometown on Wednesday.Lee, the oldest South Korean athlete at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics at the age of 36, competed in the women's team sprint free with Ju Hye-ri at Alpensia Cross-Country Skiing Centre, in PyeongChang, Gangwon Province, where they finished last among 21 teams with a time of 19:17.  South Korean cross-country skier Lee Chae-won (L) poses f

Feb. 21, 2018

[Newsmaker] Witch hunt or mob justice? Inside South Korea’s world of ‘inseong’ trials of athletes

At a press conference that was abruptly arranged on Tuesday evening, Kim Bo-reum, South Korea’s speed skater, offered her public apology while tears rolled down her face. 　“I apologize to those who have been hurt or affected by my TV interview (regarding teammate Noh Seon-yeong),” the 25-year-old said, looking visibly shaken.　Her apology came shortly after hundreds of thousands of angry South Korean fans, believing Kim guilty of bullying her teammate, had filed a petition with the country’s pres

Feb. 21, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Women curlers glide smoothly into final four

The South Korean women’s curling team topped the round robin preliminaries with an 11-2 win over the Olympic Athletes from Russia at the PyeongChang Winter Games on Wednesday morning. The home team, now having seven wins and one loss in the preliminaries, had already made it to the final four as of Tuesday. It is the first time that South Korea has advanced to the semifinals in curling at the Winter Games.The team will wrap up its round robin session against Denmark later on Wednesday.The men’s

Feb. 21, 2018

[PyeongChang2018] Korea's male curling team beats Japan in last round-robin match

GANGNEUNG -- Korea's male curling team on Wednesday captured its fourth victory, against Japan, in its last round-robin match at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.Posting four wins and five losses at the 2018 Winter Games, the Korean team failed to move on to semifinals, as did Japan, which needed to post one more victory to qualify for tie-breakers.While the Korean team already learned it would not be able to compete in the semifinals regardless of the result of the match with Japan, the home tea

Feb. 21, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Chinese fans slam Koreans over speedskating penalty

Some of the infuriated Chinese fans have launched a verbal warfare against Korean counterparts on short track speedskater Choi Min-jeong’s Instagram account. The online confrontation came after the judges handed over the gold medal to Team Korea at the women’s 3,000-meter short track relay on Tuesday. Shim Suk-hee, Choi Min-jeong, Kim A-land and Kim Ye-jin went up against Team China, Italy and Canada in the finals relay Tuesday at Gangneung Ice Arena in Gangneung. (Yonhap)The race was a very clo

Feb. 21, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] ‘Yeong-mi-yah!’ and other hallmarks of curling sweeping Korea

The trail-blazing women’s curling team of South Korea is making Olympic history at PyeongChang, as it prepares for the medal match after securing a string of surprise victories over the world’s top teams in the winter strategy sport. And the team’s fast-growing fan base in Korea can’t seem to get enough of the four Olympic curlers from the small town of Uiseong, North Gyeongsang Province.From curling-imitation parodies featuring vacuum robots and broomsticks to memes commemorating the team’s ste

Feb. 21, 2018