Tickets to the first Winter Olympics in South Korea will go on sale when the countdown reaches one year next month, the organizers said Monday.The organizing committee for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games said ticket sales will commence on Feb. 9. It has unveiled a 30-second promotional video clip, titled "Get Your Tickets and Share the Passion," on its website.The organizers had earlier planned to launch ticket sales last October. But it decided to postpone it for a few months to further stabi

Jan. 23, 2017

South Korea will raise more than enough funds to make the upcoming 2018 Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang one of the most successful and well-organized events, the chief of the country's organizing committee said Thursday.Lee Hee-beom, a former commerce minister, insisted the 2018 games will also boost the local economy, with nearly 2.6 million people, including some 390,000 foreigners, expected to visit game venues."The committee seeks to raise more than 940 billion won (US$794million) in don

Nov. 24, 2016

South Korean swimming icon Park Tae-hwan said Monday that he only thought about competing at the Rio de Janeiro Summer Games when a high-ranking government official approached and allegedly tried to blackmail him to give up on the Olympics. Park's camp recently claimed that Kim Chong, former vice sports minister, tried to force him into not participating in the Rio Games following his doping suspension."Back then, I was scared because he (Kim Chong) was in a high-ranking position," Park told rep

Nov. 21, 2016

In their inaugural talks that wrapped up here Friday, the sports ministers of South Korea, China and Japan laid the groundwork for successful hosting of upcoming Olympic Games in the region.After their two-day meeting in PyeongChang, host of the 2018 Winter Olympics located 180 kilometers east of Seoul, the three ministers -- Cho Yoon-sun of South Korea, Liu Peng of China and Hirokazu Matsuno of Japan -- produced the "PyeongChang Declaration."It detailed the three countries' efforts to expand th

Sept. 23, 2016

Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee, hailed a "time of Asia" in the Olympic Movement on Thursday as South Korea opened the inaugural meeting of sports ministers among Northeast Asian neighbors.PyeongChang, host of the 2018 Winter Olympics located some 180 kilometers east of Seoul, is the host of the first meeting of sports ministers from South Korea, China and Japan. It was set up to promote sports cooperation among the three nations, which will take turns in hosting th

Sept. 23, 2016

South Korea has finished 20th in the gold medal tally at the Rio de Janeiro Paralympic Games. At the quadrennial event for athletes with disabilities, which came to an end in Brazil on Sunday (local time), South Korean Paralympians won a total of 35 medals -- seven gold, 11 silver and 17 bronze. A total of 139 athletes and officials from South Korea participated in 11 sports at the 2016 Summer Paralympics, which ran from Sept. 7-18, with a goal of winning 11 gold medals and finishing inside the

Sept. 19, 2016

Son Yeon-jae will perform with the world's top rhythmic gymnasts, including the Rio Olympics gold medalist, at a local rhythmic gymnastics gala show next week, her agency said Tuesday.Galaxia SM said Son and Margarita Mamun, the Russian who won the individual all-around title at the Rio Games, will perform at an event named "Rhythmic All Stars 2016." It will be staged at Goyang Gymnasium in Goyang, north of Seoul, on Sept. 16 and 17.The agency said world No. 3 Alexandra Soldatova of Russia will

Sept. 6, 2016

Two American figure skaters have applied for South Korean citizenship with an eye on competing at the 2018 Winter Olympics here, officials said Monday.The Korea Skating Union said Alexander Gamelin, an ice dance partner for South Korean Min Yu-ra, and Themistocles Lefttheris, a pairs partner for South Korea's Ji Min-ji, have submitted their applications for fast-track naturalization to the Korean Olympic Committee.The two teams have been skating together at the International Skating Union events

Aug. 29, 2016

The main contingent of South Korean athletes to the Rio de Janeiro Olympics came home to a heroes' welcome Wednesday after 17 days of competition in Brazil.The group made up of 70 athletes and sports officials arrived at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, at about 8:10 a.m.Hundreds of people, including the athletes' families and friends, were on hand at the airport to welcome the delegation with cheers.Wrestler Kim Hyeon-woo, who won a bronze medal in the men's under-75kg Greco-Roman

Aug. 24, 2016

South Korea's main delegation for the Rio de Janeiro Paralympics departed Tuesday as they begin the quest for a solid performance at the quadrennial competition.Eighty athletes from seven sports -- swimming, archery, judo, tennis, rowing, table tennis and athletics -- flew to Atlanta where their training camp is based. They will train in the US city about a week before landing in Brazil.This is the first time that the South Korean Paralympic delegation will have an overseas training camp before

Aug. 23, 2016

Olympic golf champion Park In-bee returned home to South Korea to a hero's welcome on Tuesday. Park was crowned the first Olympic women's golf champion in 116 years, with a comfortable five-shot victory over the world No. 1 Lydia Ko in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday. The victory made Park the only golfer, male or female, with an Olympic gold and a career grand slam -- which entails winning four different majors at least once."In Korean time, I played the game early in the morning," Park said after s

Aug. 23, 2016

South Korean archers and a veteran pistol shooter were on target at the Rio de Janeiro Summer Games, as they made their way into the record books.South Korea completed an unprecedented title sweep in archery.It all started with the men's team victory, followed by the women's team gold.Chang Hye-jin overcame some disastrous scores in windy conditions to take the women's individual gold. Ku Bon-chan capped off the historic run by capturing the men's individual title.In the process, Ku became the f

Aug. 22, 2016

With a combination of a slow start and underachieving athletes, South Korea came short of its gold medal target at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.The Rio Games drew to a conclusion Sunday, with 306 gold medals handed out in 28 sports.Nine of those gold medals were won by South Koreans -- four in archery, two in taekwondo and one each in fencing, shooting and golf.The country had set out to capture at least 10 gold medals and place inside the top 10 in the gold medal count for its fourth consecutive

Aug. 22, 2016