[Photo News] Two silvers, soaring ‘garlic girls’ at PyeongChang

With five days left of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, Korea’s teams are faring well overall, most recently gaining two more silver medals.Korea’s ace female speedskater Lee Sang-hwa won her third Olympic medal on Sunday in the women’s 500-meter event wrought with emotion. Claiming the silver, Lee fell just short of pulling off a three-time consecutive Olympic gold streak but received thunderous support from the crowd.Cha Min-kyu clinched a surprise silver in men’s speedskating 500 on Monday, c

Feb. 20, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Joint Korean women's hockey team loses final match to Sweden

GANGNEUNG, Gangwon Province -- The joint Korean hockey team lost its final game at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics on Tuesday, falling to Sweden 6-1 in the seventh place match.Korea did get its second goal of the tournament, a power play marker by forward Han Soo-jin on the team's first shot of the game in the first period, but fifth-ranked Sweden was simply too much for Korea to handle.Korea finished dead last in the eight-team competition with the loss at Kwandong Hockey Centre in Gangneung.Th

Feb. 20, 2018

[KH Explains] Why Soohorang plushies instead of medals at Winter Olympic events?

If you’ve been watching the Olympics, you may have been confused to see winning athletes being handed not medals, but dolls of Soohorang, the official white tiger mascot of the PyeongChang Games.You might also have wondered whether the flower bouquets, which traditionally get presented with the medals at the Olympics, have entirely disappeared. Stuffed Soohorangs wearing a usahwa hat, which are awarded to the medalists at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics (Yonhap)Why the stuffed tigers instead of

Feb. 20, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Even with losses piling up, unified Korean hockey team hailed as symbol of peace

GANGNEUNG, South Korea -- The once-improbable Olympic journey has come to an end for the unified Korean women's hockey team, which, even with losses piling up, has been hailed in many corners as a symbol of peace.Korea lost to Sweden 6-1 in the seventh place match of the women's tournament at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, and it was the team's final contest of the competition. Korea lost all five games it played here by a combined score of 28-2.In the minds of those who engineer it all behind

Feb. 20, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Ice dancers dedicate 'Arirang' free dance to new home country

GANGNEUNG, South Korea -- When the South Korean ice dance couple of Min Yu-ra and Alexander Gamelin decided to choose "Arirang," a Korean folk ballad, as their free dance music for the 2017-2018 Olympic season, their coaches and friends opposed the plan.Their coaches had tried to stop them, saying the audience and even judges would hardly understand the meaning and feeling of such unfamiliar music and rhythm.But they pushed forward with it and skated to the traditional folk song regarded as one

Feb. 20, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Korean ice dance team finishes 18th after Arirang free dance

GANGNEUNG, South Korea -- South Korea's sole ice dance team of Min Yu-ra and Alexander Gamelin finished 18th in the PyeongChang Winter Olympics after performing their emotional "Arirang" free dance.Min and Gamelin scored 86.52 points in the free dance at the Gangneung Ice Arena and posted an overall 147.74 points to finish 18th. They were 16th after the short program on Monday with a score of 61.22.The gold medal went to three-time world champions and former Olympic champions Tessa Virtue and Sc

Feb. 20, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] S. Korea's male curling team beats Switzerland in 3rd victory

GANGNEUNG, Gangwon Province -- South Korea's male curling team on Tuesday secured its third victory at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics in a match against Switzerland, but still fell short of moving on to the semifinals.In the round robin match with Switzerland at the Gangneung Curling Centre, South Korea's four-member male team won 8-7, marking its third win at the 2018 Winter Games.The men's team had been clinging on to the dim hope of moving on to semifinals by beating Italy the previous day,

Feb. 20, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Mini flag of Korea peeks out in unexpected places

The flag of South Korea has been spotted in unexpected places by attentive watchers of the PyeongChang Winter Games, providing Koreans with a pleasant surprise. When Korean-American snowboarder Chloe Kim finished her competition in the women’s halfpipe on Feb. 13, the game which won her a gold medal, she was spotted shedding a tear with her parents by her side. (Yonhap)What caught the eyes of some spectators were not only her tears but also the delicately painted Korean flag settled on a fingern

Feb. 20, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] 3 N. Koreans dress for joint hockey team's final game

GANGNEUNG, Gangwon Province -- Three North Koreans will dress for the joint Korean female hockey team's last game against Sweden at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics on Tuesday.At least three out of 22 players in the lineup for each game here must be from North Korea, as per terms set by the International Olympic Committee for the combined team last month. And head coach Sarah Murray went with forwards Kim Un-hyang and Kim Hyang-mi, and defender Hwang Chung-gum. The puck drop for this seventh-plac

Feb. 20, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Women's alpine combined event rescheduled due to adverse weather forecast

PYEONGCHANG, Gangwon Province -- Local organizers of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics said Tuesday the women's alpine combined event has been rescheduled due to an adverse weather forecast.The organizers said the alpine combined -- which features one downhill run and one slalom run -- will be held at 11:30 a.m. Thursday at Jeongseon Alpine Centre in Jeongseon, Gangwon Province. The event was originally slated for Friday, but due to a forecast of severe winds, the organizers said they decided to s

Feb. 20, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Korea eyes 1st gold in men's speed skating team pursuit

PYEONGCHANG, South Korea -- South Korea is aiming for the country's first gold in the men's speed skating team pursuit event Wednesday. The country's female curling team also will face off against the Olympic Athletes from Russia and Denmark. Lee Seung-hoon, Chung Jae-won, Kim Min-seok and Joo Hyong-jun will compete in the men's pursuit semifinals against New Zealand at Gangneung Oval. If they advance, they will face the winner between the Netherlands and Norway on the same day to vie for the co

Feb. 20, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Wardrobe issues causes Olympic stress for French skaters

GANGNEUNG, South Korea -- The first notes of Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You” had just played when Gabriella Papadakis suddenly became aware that people were about to see a whole lot more of her shape than she had planned.The French ice dancer’s glittering emerald costume at the Olympics had come unhooked at the neckline and later in the routine her left breast was exposed live on television. When the clasp became unhooked, the 22-year-old Papadakis was more worried about holding up her outfit than m

Feb. 20, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Korean bobsledder promises improved performance in upcoming 4-man event

PYEONGCHANG -- Korean bobsleigh pilot Won Yun-jong on Monday promised to up his game in the four-man event later this week, after coming up empty-handed in the two-man competition at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.Won and his brakeman, Seo Young-woo, posted a combined time of 3 minutes, 17.40 seconds after their four heats at Olympic Sliding Centre in PyeongChang, Gangwon Province, to finish sixth among 30 teams."We're regretful (of the result) since we've worked hard for eight years for this d

Feb. 20, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Cha Min-kyu denied gold in 500m by whisker

South Korean Cha Min-kyu clinched the silver medal in the men’s speedskating 500 meters Monday evening, finishing second by a whisker behind winner and world No. 1 Havard Lorentzen of Norway. Cha came in at 34.42 seconds -- 0.01 second behind the Norwegian -- at Gangneung Oval in Gangneung, one of two cities hosting the PyeongChang Winter Games. Cha’s teammates Kim Jun-ho and Mo Tae-bum clocked in at 35.01 and 35.154 for 12th and 16th, respectively.The bronze medal went to Gao Tingyu of China at

Feb. 19, 2018

[Graphic News] Winter Olympic Games: Bobsleigh

　Bobsleigh is an event in the Winter Olympic Games where a two-or four-person team drives a specially designed sled down an ice track, with the winning team completing the route with the fastest time.　For bobsleigh, the track length is 1,200 to 1,500 meters long with an average slope of 8 to 15 percent while the curve radius is minimum 20m. The bobsleigh reaches an average maximum speed of 135 kilometers per hour. 

Feb. 19, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Korean male curling team posts rare win against Italy

GANGNEUNG, South Korea -- South Korea's male curling team, which has been performing sluggishly at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, posted its second win in its match against Italy on Monday.In the round robin match with Italy at the Gangneung Curling Center, South Korea's male team of Kim Chang-min, Seong Se-hyeon, Oh Eun-su and Lee Ki-bok won 8-6, marking its second victory at the 2018 Winter Games.The team posted its fifth loss the previous day when it was defeated by Denmark. South Korea had

Feb. 19, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Norway blazes trails at PyeongChang skiing

It was a day of victories for Norway, which won four medals for skiing at the PyeongChang Winter Games on Sunday.Norway clinched a gold in the men’s slopestyle freestyle skiing, won by Oystein Braten, and another in the men’s 4x10 kilometer relay in cross-country skiing, won by a team of Martin Johnsrud Sundby, Didrik Toenseth, Simen Hegstad Krueger and Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo. It also grabbed one silver in the men’s alpine skiing giant slalom with Henrik Kristoffersen and one bronze in biathlo

Feb. 19, 2018

[Newsmaker] Olympic fans touched by Lee Sang-hwa’s friendship with her Japanese rival Nao Kodaira

After winning silver in the women’s 500-meter speedskating Sunday, Lee Sang-hwa, South Korea’s two-time defending Olympic champion, burst into tears.　PyeongChang was her fourth and possibly her last Olympics, and Lee was aiming for a third straight gold in front of her home crowd. But it was Japan’s Nao Kodaira who took the gold with an Olympic-record 36.94 seconds, becoming the first Japanese female speedskater to win an Olympic title. Lee, a longtime friend of Kodaira, had to settle for silver

Feb. 19, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] 'Garlic girls' on track for first-ever semifinals in curling

Until the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, curling was a sport largely unknown to South Koreans. However, the latest string of breakout performances by the women’s curling team has thrown the strategic winter sport into the limelight.　South Korea’s female curling team has risen to fresh international stardom at PyeongChang. Ranked eighth in global rankings, the host country has secured victories over some of the world’s top contenders in curling, including Canada, Switzerland and Great Britain.　On M

Feb. 19, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Korean speed skater Lee Sang-hwa undecided on Beijing 2022

GANGNEUNG, South Korea -- South Korean female speed skater Lee Sang-hwa, who captured her third Olympic medal in the women's 500 meter at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, on Monday said she is undecided on whether to retire or continue her career towards Beijing."I cannot give a concrete answer now," Lee told reporters during a press conference hosted by the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee when asked about her future career path. "The competition just ended yesterday. I want to take a good rest

Feb. 19, 2018