The 17th Asian Games kicked off Friday with a colorful opening ceremony at the Incheon Asiad Main Stadium.

Thousands of athletes and officials from 45 Asian countries marched in the ceremony before President Park Geun-hye declared the opening of the 16-day event. 

Each country's team entered the stadium in the order of how its official name is spelled in the Korean alphabet Hanguel. Nepal and East Timor entered the stadium first, while North Korea was the 30th country to enter among the 45 teams. As the host nation, South Korea was the last country to enter the stadium.

Organized under the theme “One Asia, a Dream of 4.5 Billion,” the opening ceremony featured celebratory events by South Korea’s prominent poet Ko Un, soprano Jo Soo-mi and pansori singer Ahn Sook-sun. South Korean actors Jang Dong-gun and Kim Soo-hyun were also at the ceremony.

The highlight of the event came when Lee Young-ae, a South Korean actress, lit the torch. Lee, who became an Asian icon with her title role in the popular Korean drama, “Dae Jang Geum,” drew a large amount of applaud and camera flashes from the crowd.

Youtube sensation Psy brought the four-hour opening ceremony to a close with his signature song “Gangnam Style.”

Incheon is the host of the biggest-ever Asian Games since the multi-sporting event was launched in 1951. All of the 45 member countries of the Olympic Council of Asia, including North Korea, are competing at this year’s event, bringing about 15-thousand athletes and officials to the western port city.

It is is the third city in South Korea to host the Asiad as Seoul hosted it in 1986 and Busan in 2002. 

During the games, a total of 439 gold medals will be given in 36 sports events. China is bidding to extend its Asiad dominance to a ninth consecutive time. 

South Korea is aiming to rank second in the overall medal tally for the fifth consecutive time, with the goal of securing more than 90 gold medals.

























South Korea is once again aiming for the No. 2 position by winning 90 gold medals or more. The hosting country has been the runner-up to China for four consecutive times at the Asiad through the Guangzhou Games in 2010.