Korea is not a newcomer when it comes to alpine skiing, but when it comes to the sport's speed events, like downhill and super giant slalom (super-G), it is.

Korea formed its national team for alpine speed events in July 2016. And with Jeongseon Alpine Centre -- the venue for alpine speed events -- constructed for the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, the country had to send a skier who is specialized in downhill and super-G.

Kim Dong-woo will be the only Korean skier at Jeongseon Alpine Center in Jeongseon, Gangwon Province. But Kim's road to the Olympics wasn't smooth.

For the Olympic men's alpine team selection, the Korea Ski Association decided to send one skier each for alpine speed and technical events. While Jung Dong-hyun was picked for the technical disciplines, Kim's selection created some controversy as people argued that there are other skiers whose overall rankings are better than Kim's.

The KSA later explained it decided to go with Kim because he is more specialized in the speed disciplines.

Kim said Thursday he will forget about the past and focus on what he has to do at the PyeongChang Olympics.

"Many people are concerned about me, but I was selected legitimately," Kim said after finishing his training at Jeongseong Alpine Centre. "I try not to think of those issues."

For his training, Kim said he was not satisfied with his run.

"I didn't have a good race today," he said. "I tried to focus on learning the course. I'll try to fix my mistakes from today."

Kim is not considered a medal contender, but he hopes to show his best performance in his Olympics debut.

"My goal is to crack the top 30," he said. "As a representative of the Olympic host country, I want to have my best race."

The men's downhill event is scheduled for Sunday, while the super-G competition is slated for next Thursday.(Yonhap)