Kim Young-nam

Since their arrival in PyeongChang, North Korea’s top leadership has been at the center of international attention, with the media and public closely watching their every move.

One of those in the spotlight is Kim Young-nam, the president of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly of North Korea, who attended the Olympic pening ceremony Friday.

North Korea’s ceremonial head of state surprised Olympic watchers worldwide when the cameras caught him tearing up at the sight of South Korean and North Korean athletes marching together under the Korean Unification Flag symbolizing a “unified Korea.”

The Koreas’ Olympians, clad in matching uniforms, joined hands and excitedly waved to the crowd as they walked behind a unification flag featuring the image of a blue Korean peninsula.

It was the first time in 12 years that the two Koreas marched as one at an Olympics. The North and South have not made a joint entrance since the Turin Games in 2006.

Though he had maintained a stoic face throughout the evening, Kim Young-nam broke into tears at the sight of the two Koreas together at the Olympics.

Kim attended Friday’s ceremony together with Kim Yo-jong, the younger sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The two sat behind South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in and first lady Kim Jung-sook, who were flanked by US Vice President Mike Pence and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

At the event, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach lauded the two Koreas’ decision to march together at the opening ceremony, noting that their efforts reflected the Olympic spirit of peace.

In addition to the joint march, the two Koreas have formed a joint team in women’s ice hockey. The team is slated to hold its first match on Saturday night.

Non-stop dancing volunteers

Typically, flashy performances and athletes make up the core of any Olympic opening ceremony. At PyeongChang, however, an unlikely body has emerged as a new star — the group of volunteers dancing ceaselessly in the cold.

Despite the freezing temperatures, hundreds of South Korean volunteers danced ceaselessly for around an hour as the Olympic athletes from the 92 countries participating in the Winter Games marched into the stadium.

The volunteers formed a circle in the middle of the stadium, while the Olympic athletes marched around them. Spectators praised them for their unique dance routines, stamina and enthusiasm.

“The real heroes of this games so far are the dancers who are busting out every bad dad move for an hour and a half loop,” wrote one Twitter user.

“Forget the athletes -- those South Korean dancers in the middle are probably the fittest people in that stadium right now,” said another user on Twitter.

Shim Suk-hee

South Korean short track speeskater Shim Suk-hee, who was a three-time medalist at the Sochi Games and was recently involved in an alleged abuse case, was eliminated in the heats of the 500 meters on Saturday.

In January, the athlete had to take a break from her training after alleged being physically assaulted by her own coach. She reportedly had to seek medical attention after the incident.

The Korea Skating Union faced heavy public criticism after it was revealed that its officials lied to the Presidential Office that Shim had the flu, though she was absent from the training site because of the alleged assault, when President Moon Jae-in visited the skating team on Jan. 17.

Following the controversy, her coach was later fired and permanently banned from re-entering the union. 

In spite of failing to advance to the semifinals in the women’s 500 meters, Shim and her colleagues -- Choi Min-jeong, Kim Ye-jin and Lee Yu-bin -- won their heat in the 3,000-meter short track speed skating relay on the same day.

Charlotte Kalla

The first gold medal at this year’s PyeongChang Winter Games went to Swedish cross-country skier Charlotte Kalla, who beat Norway's Marit Bjorgen by 7.8 seconds. It was her third gold and her sixth Olympic medal overall.

“Winning the first gold (at PyeongChang) means a lot.” Kalla said. “I was quite nervous today and the Olympics is something I have focused on for a long, long time.”

A tweet from PyeongChang2018 official account, saying “And the first Olympic gold medal of the Winter Olympic Games PyeongChang 2018 goes to. … Sweden‘s Charlotte Kalla,” received more than 1,200 likes as of Saturday evening.

By Sohn Ji-young, Claire Lee and Park Ju-young (jys@heraldcorp.com) (dyc@heraldcorp.com) (jupark@heraldcorp.com)