[PyeongChang 2018] 'Korea PyeongChang Night’ to be held in Davos

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the PyeongChang Organizing Committee will host the Korea PyeongChang Night in Davos, Switzerland during the Davos forum on Thursday as part of an event to promote the upcoming Winter Games slated for next month. The mascots for the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games Suhorang (R) and Bandabi. YonhapAccording to the ministry, the separate session on the sidelines of the forum will take place at 7 p.m. (Korean time) and will be attended by Foreign Minister Kan

Jan. 25, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] S. Korean ice dance team finishes 7th at Four Continents championships

South Korea's sole ice dance team of Min Yu-ra and Alexander Gamelin finished 7th at the 2018 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships on Thursday, wrapping up the final rehearsal before the next month's PyeongChang Winter Olympics.The duo received 91.27 points in free skating at the competition in Taipei, Taiwan, to record a combined 151.38 points, including 60.11 points from the previous day's short program.The total score is just 0.62 point short of their best score of 152 points, which t

Jan. 25, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Seoul City to hold extended welcoming week for Winter Olympics

Seoul City will hold “Special Welcoming Week” for foreigners visiting Seoul for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics.Under the slogan “Welcome to Seoul, Gate to Pyeongchang,” the welcoming week event, usually spanning seven days, has been extended to 52 days for the Olympics, starting from Friday and running through March 18 when the Paralympic Games are set to end.Seoul Metropolitan Government said it will install welcoming booths at Incheon and Gimpo international airports. At these booths, vi

Jan. 25, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] N. Korea likely to send 2 athletes to PyeongChang Winter Paralympics

North Korea is expected to send two athletes to the upcoming PyeongChang Winter Paralympic Games, following its decision to participate in the multi-sport event, which will be held in the South, Seoul's sports minister said Thursday. "I expect two North Korean athletes to attend the PyeongChang Paralympics. Their participation will help the event organizers hold the Paralympic Games more peacefully," Do Jong-whan, minister of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, told reporters at the tra

Jan. 25, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Reselling Olympic tickets at premium punishable by up to W5m fine

The resale of tickets for the PyeongChang Olympics at a premium is punishable by a fine of up to 5 million won ($4,700), according to article 92 of the Special Act on Support for the 2018 PyeongChang Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Joongonara, Korea’s biggest e-market for secondhand goods, has cautioned its some 16 million users against trading Olympic tickets on its website, relaying the notice sent out by the PyeongChang Organizing Committee. The notice makes it clear that trading the tic

Jan. 25, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Here’s good news for Muslims visiting Korea

The 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics in South Korea will welcome delegations from a record 94 countries and tourists around the world for the international event slated for next month. And among the visitors will be Muslims. Mobile Prayer Room. Photo: KTOFor Muslims visiting Gangneung -- one of three venues in Gangwon Province where the games will be held -- “mobile prayer rooms” will be set up in the region to attract more adherents of Islam that make up the world’s second-largest religious gro

Jan. 24, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] S. Korea's short track team braces for PyeongChang amid assault scandal

In the wake of allegations that South Korea's female short track speed skating star Shim Suk-hee was assaulted by her own instructor, the national team head coach said Wednesday his athletes have gone back to their normal training routines."It is important for athletes to perform at the Winter Games in good conditions and atmosphere and overcome the incident," Kim Sun-tae told reporters after the launch ceremony for South Korean athletes competing at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics.Earlier

Jan. 24, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Bobsleigh coach rejects joint Korean Olympic team idea

South Korean bobsleigh head coach Lee Yong on Wednesday rejected a recent proposal for a joint Korean team for test runs at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, saying the idea would only embarrass the sport.Last Friday, the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF) said "a mixed 4-man bobsleigh team with athletes from North and South Korea could be among the sleds testing the conditions" ahead of the Olympic races scheduled for Feb. 24 and 25. South Korean Olympic bobsleigh head coach

Jan. 24, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] S. Korean athletes for PyeongChang 2018 hold team launch ceremony

Athletes competing for host South Korea at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics gathered Wednesday for their team launch ceremony.Some 150 athletes from seven sports and 15 disciplines, including speed skating, ice hockey, curling, alpine skiing, biathlon and bobsleigh, were on hand for the occasion.Kim Ji-yong, executive director at Kookmin University in Seoul, will be the chief delegate for South Korea, which is expected to have 218 athletes in all events.South Korea has set out to win at leas

Jan. 24, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Bobsleigh tandem look to end roller coaster ride on high note

Two years ago, South Korea's bobsleigh tandem of Won Yun-jong and Seo Young-woo were at the top of the world and were considered a strong medal hope for PyeongChang Winter Olympics. Since then, Won, the pilot, and Seo, his brakeman, have had up-and-down seasons that raise concerns for their Olympic performance. Two weeks before the Olympics, however, they remain confident their roller coaster ride will end on a high note at the games.Before skeleton slider Yun Sung-bin, the two-man bobsleigh tea

Jan. 24, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] PyeongChang or Pyongyang? And PyeongChang Station or Jinbu Station?

As the KTX “bullet train” to Gangwon Province passes through its final stations, visitors to the Olympic Games venue may intuitively choose to disembark at PyeongChang Station. But here is why “PyeongChang 2018” may be the most misleading name for the Winter Olympics in South Korea -- not only does the name sound precariously similar to the capital of North Korea (Pyongyang), PyeongChang only has one Olympics venue: Phoenix Snow Park, where Freestyle Skiing and Snowboard games will take place. P

Jan. 24, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Pro-NK residents in Japan getting ready to cheer N. Korean Olympic athletes

Chongryon, a pro-Pyongyang association of Korean residents in Japan, is stepping up work to create a cheering squad for North Korean athletes who will take part in South Korea's Winter Olympics, sources well-versed in the organization said Wednesday. The South Korean government promised to guarantee the safety of the Chongryon cheering squad, during its recent talks with the North on its participation in the Olympics.The size of the cheering group has been set at around 170 people, and it can be

Jan. 24, 2018

[Breaking] N. Korea to send 15 for hockey team, sets date for concerts in South

North Korea will dispatch 15 women‘s ice hockey team members to the South, together with an eight-member advance team Thursday, the Ministry of Unification said late Tuesday night. The advance team is to be led by Yoon Yong-bok, a deputy director at North Korea‘s Sports Ministry. Additionally, the 15 members to join the South in forming an inter-Korean Olympic team include 12 players, a coach and two support personnel, according to the ministry.  Players from South Korea and North Korea pose for

Jan. 23, 2018

Women’s hockey coach has ‘mixed feelings’ over joint Korean team

South Korea women’s national hockey coach Sarah Murray said Tuesday she has “mixed feelings” about having to coach the joint Korean team at the upcoming PyeongChang Winter Olympics.At a hastily scheduled press conference at the national team practice rink, Murray said it‘s “exciting” to coach the first-ever unified Korean team in any sport at the Olympic Games, though she wished it didn’t have to come at the expense of her own players.“It‘s exciting to be a part of something that’s so historic,

Jan. 22, 2018

S. Korean presidential office welcomes IOC decision on NK Olympic participation

South Korea's presidential office on Sunday welcomed the International Olympic Committee's approval of North Korean athletes' participation in the upcoming PyeongChang Winter Olympics. The IOC said Saturday that North Korea will be allowed to send 22 athletes to compete in three sports at the games after a meeting with representatives from the two Koreas in Lausanne, Switzerland.They include 12 North Korean players to join the South Korean women's hockey squad to establish the first joint Olympi

Jan. 21, 2018

Talks open at Korean Olympic unity meeting in Switzerland

LAUSANNE, Switzerland -- Olympic and government officials from North Korea and South Korea have begun a meeting at the International Olympic Committee headquarters in Switzerland to confirm how they will unite for the Pyeongchang Winter Games next month.Sports ministers from both countries have joined the session to build on a breakthrough agreement reached Wednesday at their shared border. yeongChang 2018 Olympics (POCOG) President Lee Hee-beom, North Korea`s Sports Minister and Olympic Committ

Jan. 20, 2018

IOC creates pool of Russians eligible for Winter Olympics

LAUSANNE, Switzerland -- The International Olympic Committee said Friday it has created a pool of 389 Russians who are eligible to compete under a neutral flag at next month's Winter Olympics amid the country's doping scandal.An IOC panel whittled down an initial list of 500 to create what the IOC calls "a pool of clean athletes.'' That could potentially make it possible for Russia to meet its target of fielding around 200 athletes in Pyeongchang _ slightly fewer than in Sochi in 2014, but more

Jan. 20, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] S. Korea working on N. Korea's Olympic participation not running afoul of int'l sanctions: FM

South Korea's top diplomat said Friday Seoul is working closely with the international community to make sure North Korea's PyeongChang Olympic participation does not run afoul of international sanctions imposed on the North. "We are closely working with the United States and the United Nations Security Council Sanctions Committee on North Korea so that there should be no controversy regarding the North's PyeongChang Olympic participation running counter to international sanctions,"Foreign Minis

Jan. 19, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Failed ski resort looms over Pyeongchang Games' legacy

Only an hour's drive from the Winter Olympics venues in South Korea, a stained mattress lies in an abandoned ski resort, a possible harbinger of the gleaming new facilities' fate.The Alps Ski Resort was one of the country's first winter sports destinations, attracting tens of thousands of skiers every year until it abruptly shut its doors in 2006.Now South Korea has spent $800 million on the sporting facilities for next month's Winter Olympics, but the International Olympic Committee has express

Jan. 19, 2018

[Newsmaker] Masikryong, hermit kingdom’s controversy-ridden ski resort

Seoul and Pyongyang announced Wednesday night that a joint training exercise of their skiers will take place at Masikryong Ski Resort in North Korea ahead of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.It was agreed that South Korean officials will visit the resort from Jan. 23-25 to check the facility, which will be followed by a joint training exercise there. The South Korean players sent there, however, will not be members of the South Korean national team that will compete in the Olympics, but those rec

Jan. 18, 2018