Koreas' joint march at Olympics opening to be 'very emotional': IOC president

The head of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Wednesday predicted that the upcoming joint march by the two Koreas at the opening of the PyeongChang Winter Games will be an emotional embodiment of the Olympic spirit of peace.Last month, the IOC and the two Koreas reached an agreement over North Korea's participation in the PyeongChang Olympics, which open Friday. Athletes of the two Koreas will enter PyeongChang Olympic Stadium behind the Korean Unification Flag, an image of the Korean

Feb. 7, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] K-pop concerts across Korea during Olympics

From Friday to Feb. 25, Korea will be home to the fiercest competition in the winter sports world. But while taking it all in, it is recommended to make time to enjoy other aspects of the country, like the nation’s famed K-pop.Here are some of the K-pop events that will take place around Korea during the Olympic period. For tickets, visit Interpark. Wooyoung’s 1st solo concert - Feb. 9 (JYP Entertainment)A member of K-pop boy band 2PM, Wooyoung has also been building a significant career as a so

Feb. 7, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Free tickets offered to volunteers to offset low turnout

The PyeongChang Organizing Committee is offering free admission for Olympic volunteers to some ski jumping and curling events of the Winter Games, in what appears to be a move to fill stadiums amid worries of low turnout due to the frigid weather.  Olympic volunteers at the Olympic village in PyeongChang, Gangwon Province. YonhapAccording to an internal notice that the committee sent to some 17,000 volunteers based near the venues, which was obtained by The Korea Herald, the volunteers are able

Feb. 7, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Public shows mixed reaction to ‘PyeongChang Dessert’

Just two days ahead of the opening ceremony for the Winter Olympics, the “PyeongChang Dessert,” also called “a dish of hope,” became the center of attention online Wednesday. The dessert is to be served at the Olympic opening ceremony reception dinner for South Korean President Moon Jae-in and his counterparts from across the world. The light blue dessert takes on the shape of the Korean Peninsula, with the Demilitarized Zone partially covered by white chocolate drizzled on top. It is reportedly

Feb. 7, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Officials of N. Korean taekwondo body arrive in Seoul

GANGNEUNG, South Korea -- High-ranking officials from Pyongyang's taekwondo governing body arrived in South Korea on Wednesday, as two Koreas prepare for joint taekwondo demonstrations to celebrate the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.Six officials from the International Taekwondo Federation, including President Ri Yong-son, arrived at Gimpo International Airport in western Seoul, via a flight from Beijing."I hope our taekwondo demonstration team's visit will lend hands to the success of the PyeongCh

Feb. 7, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Medical team issues guidelines to prevent norovirus infection

The South Korean Olympic medical team on Wednesday sent out guidelines to national athletes to prevent norovirus infections.Some 1,200 security workers for the PyeongChang Winter Olympics are currently sequestered in their rooms to be tested for the contagious virus after 41 guards suffering diarrhea and vomiting tested positive. The virus causes stomach pain and diarrhea.The security personnel have been replaced by some 900 soldiers.The Korea Sport & Olympic Committee said the guidelines were s

Feb. 7, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Hockey player says training with N. Koreans has been problem free

Randi Heesoo Griffin, a naturalized half-Korean forward for the joint Korean women's hockey team, said Wednesday training with North Koreans for the PyeongChang Olympics has gone well.Griffin, a former Harvard forward who has been with the national team since 2015, said there has been no disputes with North Koreans inside the team. The International Olympic Committee has allowed the Koreas to put 35 players on their joint entry -- 23 South Koreans and 12 North Koreans -- though the game roster o

Feb. 7, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Archery trio to carry flame to PyeongChang as final torchbearers

Rio 2016 Olympic Champions Ki Bo-bae, Chang Hye-jin and Choi Mi-sun are the final torchbearers of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics to carry the flame to the opening ceremony of the main venue in PyeongChang. From left: South Korean archers Chang Hye-jin, Ki Bo-bae and Choi Mi-sun. Photo: Coca-ColaThe flame is scheduled to arrive at PyeongChang Olympic Stadium on Friday, 101 days after it first came to South Korea as part of the torch relay in the run-up to the Olympic and Paralympic Games.Ki

Feb. 7, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] N. Korea dominates pre-Olympic media coverage at Pyeongchang

A giant national flag. A smiling angel. The dictator's pop diva. And a dozen women added to a South Korean hockey team to form the Koreas' first-ever joint Olympic team.Yes, North Korea is again stealing the show in pre-Olympic media coverage, although none of its 22 athletes is expected to win a medal at the South Korean Winter Games. The athletes hardly speak but still gather a crowd of journalists and curious South Korean spectators whenever they attend a training session, the only chance for

Feb. 6, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Two NK taekwondo athletes part of North's women's hockey staff

Two members of North Korea's taekwondo squad that will perform in the South during the Winter Olympics were found to have made their way across the border earlier than initially expected, as supporting members of the country's women's hockey team, officials said Tuesday.The Unification Ministry announced that a 280-member North Korean delegation, including cheerleaders and taekwondo demonstrators, will travel to South Korea on Wednesday ahead of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.The ministry said

Feb. 6, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] S. Korean cosmetics for N. Korean figure skater Ryom Tae-ok

Regardless of the inter-Korean and sports rivalry enveloping them, South Korean figure skating pair Kim Kyu-eun, 19, and Kam Kang-chan, 23, are seemingly in a fairly great relationship with the North Korean pair Ryom Tae-ok, 19, and Kim Ju-sik, 26. The pairs trained alongside each other at Gangneung Ice Arena, Monday, for a session that lasted about 40 minutes from 3 p.m. during which they smiled at each other when their eyes met. Ryom Tae-ok and Kim Ju-sik (Yonhap)Throngs of Korean and foreign

Feb. 6, 2018

[Photo News] South, North skaters share ice rink in first joint practice

South and North Korean pair figure skaters shared the ice for the first time during a practice session at the Gangneung Ice Arena on Monday. The two pairs from each half of the peninsula, Kim Kyu-eun and Kam Kang-chan from the South and Ryom Tae-ok and Kim Ju-sik from the North, practiced side by side ahead of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, which start Friday. It was the first time the Kim-Kam duo practiced at the Gangneung Ice Arena. Ryom and Kim arrived in South Korea last Thursday and began

Feb. 6, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Korean short track team starts training in upbeat mood

GANGNEUNG, South Korea -- South Korea's national short track speed skating team started training in the Olympic city of Gangneung on Tuesday, highly confident of their prospects at the upcoming PyeongChang Games.The five male and five female skaters focused on speed and teamwork at the first training session at the ice rink at Gangneung Yeongdong University in the sub-host city of the Olympics.They arrived in Gangneung on Monday. The Winter Games are set to kick off Friday."We have finished trai

Feb. 6, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] K-pop performances at Olympics venues

The Olympics offer the chance to witness the top athletes from around the world, but the 2018 PyeongChang Olympic and Paralympic Games will also allow visitors to experience K-pop entertainment.“We are preparing around 400 various events during 20-30 minute intermissions to wow and entertain fans,” an official from the sports presentation division of the organizing committee for the Olympic Games said.Participating K-pop artists include boy band Teen Top, girl group Momoland and singers like Ail

Feb. 6, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Government to exempt freeway tolls near PyeongChang during Olympics

South Korean government will exempt freeway fees for drivers passing through toll gates adjacent to venues of 2018 PyeongChang Olympic and Paralympic Games. According to the event’s organizing committee and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, any car that passes through the eight tollgates of Myeonon, PyeongChang, Soksa, Jinbu, Daegwanryeong, Gangneung, North Gangneung and South Gangneung in Gangwon Province.  (Yonhap)The benefit will be made available to not only the cars that a

Feb. 6, 2018

Moon says PyeongChang Olympics will mark start of building peace in Asia

South Korean President Moon Jae-in reaffirmed his efforts Monday to make the upcoming Winter Olympic Games here a success, saying the event will mark the start of establishing peace in the region. The remarks came in the 132nd session of the International Olympic Committee, held in Gangneung, a coastal city located 230 kilometers east of Seoul."Now, the IOC and the Republic of Korea are joined here together with the opening of peaceful and safe Olympic Games that we have worked together for just

Feb. 5, 2018

North Korean IOC member wishes country's Olympians to 'do their best'

Chang Ung, the lone North Korean member of the International Olympics Committee, said Monday he wishes athletes from his country to "do their best" at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics."I haven't had the opportunity to meet with the North Korean athletes. I will tell them to do their best," Chang said at the cafeteria of the PyeongChang Olympic Village, the main athletes' village of the first Winter Games in South Korea. Chang Ung (Yonhap)Chang, a former basketball player, was participating in a V

Feb. 5, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Malaysian chief chef ‘ready to serve halal menu’

Faizul Hazly, Malaysian local food company Mamee’s executive chef, said he “will ensure to prepare around 20 halal meals that meet the international standard” for Muslim delegates from around the world, the chef said in an interview with The Herald Business.  Malaysian local food company Mamee’s executive chef Faizul Hazly displays halal foods at the headquarters of Shinsegae Food in Seoul on Friday. The Herald BusinessBased at the catering venue of both Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games slate

Feb. 5, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Winter Olympic athletes to be provided with 110,000 condoms

The PyeongChang Olympics will set a record for most condoms distributed during the Winter Games.According to the PyeongChang Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Thursday, about 110,000 condoms will be doled out at the Olympic Village and venues. With 2,925 men and women set to participate, it averages out to nearly 38 condoms per athlete over the two-week period, although they will also be accessible to Olympic staff.The Korean Association for AIDS Prevention supplied 10,00

Feb. 5, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] How to survive the coldest Winter Olympics

Both local and global media predict that PyeongChang could be the coldest Winter Olympics witnessed in recent decades. The northeastern Gangwon Province, where Pyeongchang county is located, is generally considered the coldest region in South Korea. This year is seeing a particularly cold winter, with ice sheets in rivers and lakes freezing some 25 centimeters thicker on average than last year, according to reports.The following are several tips for braving the cold and ingenious heat-trapping i

Feb. 5, 2018