The South Korean delegation to the Rio de Janeiro Olympics was greeted by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the opening ceremony Friday. South Korea was the 52nd country to appear in "Parade of Nations" in accordance with the Portuguese alphabet. With the sabre fencer Gu Bon-gil, the 2012 Olympic champion in the men's team event, carrying the national flag, Ban, a South Korean native, gave the delegation a standing ovation from the stands.South Korea, with Korea Football Association Presiden

Aug. 6, 2016

South Korean swimmer Park Tae-hwan will race alongside the defending Olympic champion in the 400m freestyle heat at the Rio de Janeiro Games on Saturday.Park has been assigned the third lane in the sixth heat, with Sun Yang of China, the 2012 gold medalist, in the fourth lane.Park is going for his third consecutive Olympic medal the 400m free. He was the champion in 2008 and won the silver behind Sun four years later.Swimming in the fifth lane will be Connor Jaeger of the United States.Sun has t

Aug. 5, 2016

South Korea pounded Fiji 8-0 for a rousing start to the Rio de Janeiro Olympic football tournament on Thursday.Midfielder Ryu Seung-woo picked up the first hat trick in South Korean Olympic history, while midfielder Kwon Chang-hoon and forward Suk Hyun-jun each grabbed a brace in Group C action at Fonte Nova Arena in Salvador, some 1,600 kilometers north of Rio de Janeiro. Seven of the eight goals came in the second half.It was the most goals ever scored by South Korea in an Olympic football mat

Aug. 5, 2016

South Korean swimmer Park Tae-hwan would be the first to tell you he shouldn't be the one in the spotlight at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, and that suits him just fine.He does bring impressive credentials -- with four Olympic medals and two world championships -- but in his main event, the 400m freestyle, Park is ranked only sixth this year. His time of 3:44.26 is nearly three seconds behind the leader, Mack Horton of Australia."I am only sixth in the world and people aren't probably all that in

Aug. 5, 2016

The chief organizer for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games said Thursday the main purpose of his visit to Rio de Janeiro is to learn about Olympic preparations.With Rio hosting South America's first Summer Games, Lee Hee-beom, president of the PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, said he will be picking Rio's collective brain."We still have many things to learn and one of our main purposes to be in Rio is to learn from the experience in the Olympic Ga

Aug. 5, 2016

Chang Ung, the lone North Korean member of the International Olympic Committee, said Wednesday he'll attend the 2018 Winter Games held in South Korea.Chang is in Rio de Janeiro for the 129th IOC Session. Asked by Yonhap News Agency whether he'd visit South Korean host city PyeongChang for the next Winter Games, Chang replied, "I'll go.""It will be my last Olympics as an IOC member," added Chang, who has been an IOC member since 1996 and will reach the retirement age of 80 in 2018.During the IOC

Aug. 4, 2016

RIO DE JANEIRO (Yonhap) -- In South Korea's bid for an archery gold medal sweep at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, the U.S. men's team may just provide the stiffest challenge.And the three members of this year's American team say, while they reserve respect for the South Koreans, they fear no one.At the 2012 London Olympics, the Americans defeated the South Koreans in the semifinals of the men's team event, preventing their Asian rivals from winning their fourth straight gold. With two carryovers f

Aug. 3, 2016

South Korea will try to capitalize on a favorable matchup when they open the men's football tournament at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics against Fiji on Thursday.South Korea's first Group C match will kick off at Fonte Nova Arena in Salvador, more than 1,200 kilometers north of Rio, at 8 p.m. Thursday, or 8 a.m. Friday in South Korea. It will be held on the eve of the opening ceremony of the 31st Summer Olympics.South Korea, making their eighth straight Olympic appearance, will try to win their sec

Aug. 2, 2016

The South Korean advertisement industry is forecast to experience a slump despite the upcoming Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics, mainly due to the sluggish economy and a time difference between the two countries, industry sources said Tuesday.Sporting events, such as the Olympics and the World Cup, have typically boosted the advertisement industry, they said.Marketing companies launched various TV ads and promotions designed to enhance awareness of the games and help companies sell more products j

Aug. 2, 2016

South Korean swimming star Park Tae-hwan arrived in Rio de Janeiro for the Olympics on Sunday, hoping for a shot at redemption after a tumultuous build-up to his fourth Summer Games.The 2008 Olympic gold medalist in the 400m freestyle wrapped up his two-week training camp in Orlando, Florida, and arrived at Santos Dumont Airport on Sunday afternoon here. The Rio Olympics will kick off Friday, and Park's first race, the 400m free, is set for the following day."I had great training in Florida," Pa

Aug. 1, 2016

North Korea on Sunday entered the athletes' village for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in a modest ceremony, with only the country's officials on hand.North Korea and Uganda were welcomed into the athletes' quarters for the Aug. 5-21 Olympics. However, none of North Korea's 31 athletes, competing in nine sports, attended the occasion. Yun Song-bom, head of the North's delegation, was one of 16 officials present.One North Korean official said the athletes were still jet-lagged and their training sch

Aug. 1, 2016

The South Korean men's Olympic football team will face Sweden in their final tune-up for the Rio de Janeiro Summer Games as they aim to test their tactics and push players to regain their form.The match will take place at Pacaembu Stadium in Sao Paulo at 8 p.m. Friday (8 a.m. Saturday in Seoul). The men's team led by Shin Tae-yong arrived in Sao Paulo on July 19 and set up a base camp there.South Korea, the 2012 bronze medalists, are making their eighth straight Olympic appearance. They've been

July 29, 2016

There was no rest for the weary South Korean Olympians in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday, as they began training for the upcoming Summer Games less than 24 hours after landing in the Brazilian city.With the main contingent of the delegation in Rio, there are now 79 athletes in eight sports at the athletes' village. And they tried to beat jet lag by heading straight to practice.Six national team swimmers got their first look at the Olympic Aquatics Centre, the venue for all of their races during the

July 29, 2016

The first contingent of South Korea's 331-member Olympic squad arrived in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Wednesday.The group, consisting of 97 athletes and 23 sports officials, departed from Incheon International Airport aboard a chartered flight. They stopped over in Dubai before landing at Galeao International Airport in Rio. The Korean Olympic Committee said it took 24 hours and 35 minutes to arrive in Brazil. The first batch of the delegation was welcomed by some 90 South Korean residents in Bra

July 28, 2016

The official opening of the Olympic Village in Rio turned to fiasco Sunday with the discovery of blocked toilets and leaky pipes, prompting Australia to call the facility “not safe or ready.”Even Brazilian athletes who were meant to have started taking up lodgings in the brand-new complex from Sunday were being kept in hotels instead.Britain's delegation said it, too, had encountered some “maintenance difficulties,” but added it was staying in the Village as planned.Rio's Olympic organizers said

July 25, 2016