[Graphic News] Winter Olympic Games: Luge

　Competitors ride a small flat sled in single or two-person format and accelerate feet first and face-up down a sharp gradient on an ice track measuring 1,000 to 1,500 meters. Maximum average speeds reach 140 kilometers per hour - faster than bobsleigh and skeleton. Medals are awarded in men’s singles, women’s singles, doubles and team relay.　The course includes left curves, right curves, hairpin curves, S-shaped curves, and a labyrinth. The track has a U-shaped groove, and the walls on both sid

Feb. 13, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Olympic Plaza in PyeongChang packs a bundle of fun

Days have passed since the PyeongChang Olympic Plaza hosted the opening ceremony for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games, but it hardly means that the place is now not worth a visit. The plaza encompassing the Olympic Stadium, where the closing ceremony will be held on Feb. 25, is jammed-packed with the crowd checking out the various programs its exhibition halls have to offer.Upon entering gate six, you can see the flags of participating nations hanging on poles. On your right there is the Medal

Feb. 13, 2018

After two big losses, Korean hockey coach looks for fresh start

With her players reeling from their second straight 8-0 loss in the Olympic women’s hockey tournament, joint Korean team head coach Sarah Murray said Monday she’ll look for a fresh start in the upcoming game.Korea was pounded by Sweden 8-0 in its second Group B game of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics at Kwandong Hockey Centre in Gangneung. Korea had also lost 8-0 to Switzerland on Saturday, and has been eliminated from medal contention in the eight-team competition. (Yonhap)But Korea can still s

Feb. 13, 2018

Despite finishing last, S. Korean ski jumper makes history

Although she was the worst performer, South Korean ski jumper Park Guy-lim put her name in the history books of the country’s winter sports on Monday. Park became the first South Korean woman to compete in the Olympic ski jumping competition after she took part in the women’s normal hill individual qualifying round at the 23rd Winter Games at Alpensia Ski Jumping Centre in PyeongChang, some 180 kilometers east of Seoul.   (Yonhap)The 18-year-old failed to make the finals as she scored 14.2 point

Feb. 13, 2018

Speed skater Noh Seon-yeong finishes 14th in women's 1,500m

GANGNEUNG, Gangwon Province  -- South Korean speed skater Noh Seon-yeong made her first appearance at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics in the women's 1,500 meter race on Monday, where she fell well short of winning a medal by finishing in 14th place.At the competition, held at Gangneung Oval, the venue of speed skating races, Noh finished her laps with a time of 1:58.75.  The figure hovered below her personal best of 1:56.04 and season best of 1:57.84. South Korea`s speed skater Noh Seon-yeong (Y

Feb. 13, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Korea slumps to another 8-0 hockey defeat but supporters’ spirits stay high

GANGNEUNG, Gangwon Province -- The unified Korean team lost to Sweden 8-0 in their second women’s hockey preliminary, but despite the crushing defeat, the crowd was kept on the edge of their seats throughout the match.Some very near misses and jostling near the Swedish team's post sent the Korean crowd on a rollercoaster ride from ear-splitting exclamations to collective groans.Shouts of “Himnaera (hang in there)” echoed the Kwandong Hockey Centre, to support and encourage both South and North K

Feb. 13, 2018

Timofei Lapshin finishes 22nd in men's 12.5km biathlon pursuit

South Korea's Timofei Lapshin finished 22nd in the men's biathlon pursuit finals Monday at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.The naturalized Korean clocked a time of 35 minutes, 50.7 seconds in the 12.5km pursuit competition at Alpensia Biathlon Centre in PyeongChang, Gangwon Province, some 182 kilometers east of Seoul. He missed four shots, one prone and three standing. (Yonhap)Martin Fourcade of France won gold, coming in at 32 minutes, 51.7 seconds, followed by Sebastian Samuelsson of Sweden an

Feb. 12, 2018

[Video] Humanoid robots compete for gold in alpine skiing on sidelines of PyeongChang Olympics

HOENGSEONG, Gangwon Province — “Skiro, who showed an impressive performance in the first round is off to a steady start. He passes through the red gates successfully! He makes a great turn to the right at the right speed!” Though they may seem like the words of any regular sports commentator, this announcer was describing a skiing tournament with a difference — the world’s first ever humanoid robot ski competition, organized by South Korea on the sidelines of the PyeongChang Olympics.(Shot and e

Feb. 12, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] NK IOC member says he was touched by joint march of two Koreas' athletes

Chang Ung, the lone North Korean member of the International Olympics Committee (IOC), said Monday that he was touched by the scene of South and North Korean athletes' joint march during the opening ceremony of the PyeongChang Olympics last week.   Speaking at a sports diplomacy photo exhibition in Gangneung, a sub-host city of the Feb. 9-25 games, he also touted the two Koreas' joint women's hockey team as carrying a significant meaning.   "I felt exactly the same way you, journalists, have fel

Feb. 12, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Switzerland beats Japan for 2nd straight win in women's hockey

Switzerland defeated Japan 3-1 for its second straight win in the women's hockey tournament at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics here on Monday.   Forward Sara Benz scored twice in the second period, and Alina Muller added another in the third at Kwandong Hockey Centre, as Switzerland moved to the top of Group B with six points. The Swiss beat the joint Korean team 8-0 on Saturday.Japan has now lost two straight games, having fallen to Sweden 2-1 on Saturday. Japan will next face Korea at 4:40 p.m

Feb. 12, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] 3 N. Koreans dress for joint hockey team's 2nd game

Three North Koreans, including one new face, dressed for the joint Korean female hockey team's second game, against Sweden at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, on Monday.   At least three out of 22 players in the lineup for each game must be from North Korea, as per terms set by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for the combined team last month. And head coach Sarah Murray went with forwards Kim Un-hyang and Ryo Song-hui and defenseman Hwang Chung-gum.   Ryo is making her Olympic debut, r

Feb. 12, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Homestaying at local’s house an option at Olympics

PYEONGCHANG, Gangwon Province -- The city of PyeongChang is operating homestay services for foreign visitors to the PyeongChang Olympics, in a bid to help supply more housing options for avid Olympic-goers.The homestay hosts are limited to 60 in total, including 21 in Bongpyeong, 13 in Jinbu, six in Yongpyeong and four in Daegwallyeong. As of Monday, 18 houses had been requested to host homestayers.The homestay program runs until March 31, encompassing the Olympics and Paralympics period.  (Home

Feb. 12, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Will unified Korea in PyeongChang herald a new phase for the inter-Korean relations?

Hours before the opening ceremony of PyeongChang Winter Games last Friday, President Moon Jae-in, at the dinner reception, expressed his hopes that the Olympics will play a part in bringing peace to the ever-turbulent Korean Peninsula.“You will all witness fair and beautiful competition, and be at the center of peace on the Korean Peninsula,” he said at the ice-breaking ceremony to the guests, which included IOC chief Thomas Bach, North Korea’s nominal head of state Kim Young-nam and Secretary-G

Feb. 12, 2018

[Graphic News] Winter Olympic Games: Biathlon

　Eleven gold medals (five for men, five for women, one mixed) are on offer in biathlon.　Biathlon is a sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting, two events that are very different from each other. Athletes strap the guns on their backs, ski for a certain distance, and then stop to shoot at a designated target. For the shooting, there are two types of the shooting positions. One of these is shooting while lying face down, and the other is shooting while standing up. The final ra

Feb. 12, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Opening ceremony dancers ‘surprised’ by global attention

WONJU, Gangwon Province -- From the unified march of warring South and North Korean athletes to the spectacular displays of K-pop music, the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics provided some of its most stunning moments during the opening ceremony on Feb. 9. (Shot by Park Hyun-koo / Edited by Park Ju-young)But one group in particular has received the lion’s share of attention from home and abroad: pink-suited volunteer dancers.In a tightly choreographed performance under their pink ski pants and So

Feb. 12, 2018

[KH Explains] When K-pop met North Korean art troupe

North Korean art troupe Samjiyon Orchestra’s Seoul performance was, in many ways, a carefully orchestrated spectacle of today’s ever-dramatic inter-Korean politics, featuring the Olympics, the North’s female performers and, most importantly, K-pop.　One of the highlights of the performance, which took place at the National Theater of Korea on Sunday, was inarguably the surprise appearance of K-pop star Seohyun. The 26-year-old is a member of Girls’ Generation, one of the most popular South Korean

Feb. 12, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] ‘Determined’ Canadian figure skaters clinch Canada’s first gold medal

Canada has won its first gold medal at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics in South Korea on Monday with sterling performances from its figure skaters. At Gangneung Ice Arena in Gangneung, one of two hosting cities of the PyeongChang Games, the Canadians won the figure skating team event, finishing with a combined score of 73.Patrick Chan won the men’s free skating segment with a score of 189.75, which was followed by Gabrielle Daleman, who secured a team victory with her third-place finish on

Feb. 12, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Foreigners enjoy coffee festival in Gangneung

Gangneung, the sub-host city of the PyeongChang Winter Games, is facing an unforeseen boom in its local coffee scene.This year, Gangneung’s annual coffee festival takes place during the Winter Olympic Games, from Feb. 9 to Feb. 25 under the name, “2018 Gangneung World Winter Coffee Festival: JazzPresso.”On the first weekend after the Olympic Games kicked off, many foreign visitors could be seen at Anmok Beach, which is known for having cafes line the beach. Visitors to Gangneung spend time on Gy

Feb. 12, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] 3 things you might have missed about the opening ceremony

The much-anticipated opening ceremony of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics was finally revealed to the world on Friday. Global media scampered to comment on the ceremony’s prominent points, which included the use of drones to create the Olympic flag mid-air and a creepy yet intriguing bird puppet with a human face. The following are three additional pieces of trivia about some of the ceremony’s other highlights.   The PyeongChang Winter Olympics opening ceremony took place last Friday. (Yonhap)1.

Feb. 12, 2018

[Weather] Wind chill drops temperatures to -21 C in PyeongChang

Extreme cold weather is to continue in Gangwon Province on Monday, where PyeongChang and the two subhost cities of the 2018 Winter Olympics are located, with the wind chill falling to minus 21 degrees Celsius at the Alpensia Biathlon Centre in PyeongChang.The weather agency said Monday’s high is expected to hit minus 8 C and 1 C in Daegwallyeong and Gangneung, respectively, with light snow overnight in the western inland region of Gangwon Province.  Spectators view the women’s 7.5-kilometer spri

Feb. 12, 2018