2018 PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games

Olympic Torch Relay Begins: 2017-11-01
Charts & Stats

Moon Urges N. Korea to Join PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics: President Moon Jae-in is urging North Korea to take part in the upcoming PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea, saying it will be great progress for peace that cannot be gained by hundreds of missiles. President Moon on Tuesday attended the full session of the National Unification Advisory Council in Gangwon Province and delivered his opening address. [Sound bite: President Moon Jae-in (Korean)] "[The government] is determined to make the Olympic Games into a global peace festival. Peace is the fundamental spirit of the Olympics. Our citizens have the unwavering determination and ability to achieve peace. The door to PyeongChang and the path to peace are open to North Korea as well. North Korea's one step toward PyeongChang will be great progress for peace that cannot be gained by hundreds of missiles." Moon also stressed that the South Korean government's principle for a peaceful reunification is resolute although the North Korean nuclear and missile threats are its biggest challenges.; 2017-10-31
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Special Discover Seoul Pass to be Released to Mark PyeongChang Winter Games: To mark the upcoming PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games, the Seoul government will release a special tourism pass for foreigners with which they can enjoy major discounts and free entrances when traveling around Seoul and Pyeongchang. The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on Tuesday that it will release the special edition Discover Seoul Pass-Pyeongchang on Wednesday. With the pass, foreigners can get up to a 50-percent discount at 95 resorts and key tourist spots in Seoul and Gangwon Province. The Discover Seoul Pass is a card issued by the Seoul government for foreigners. With it, tourists can enter 21 of Seoul’s biggest landmarks free of charge and get discounts at 13 performance centers and duty free shops. It can also be used as a transportation card after it is loaded. The price of the special edition pass is the same as the existing Discover Seoul Pass at 39-thousand-900 won for 24-hour use and 55-thousand won for 48-hour use. The passes are sold in 25 offline shops, including the CU convenience store at Incheon International Airport, and on 12 online sites. A total of five-thousand of the special edition passes will available for purchase until March 31st.; 2017-10-31
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'IOC Willing to Pay Full Cost if N. Korea Joins PyeongChang Olympics': Radio Free Asia reported Saturday that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is willing to cover all costs for North Korea if it takes part in the PyeongChang Winter Olympics in February. The IOC told RFA that it is ready to pay for "all costs" through the Olympic Solidarity program if North Korea wishes to compete in the 2018 games. The IOC said that in order to help the North Korean Olympic Committee join training camps and compete in qualified events, it is cooperating with the International Ski Federation and the International Skating Union. The report also explained the Solidarity program is a fund coming from broadcasting profits that is provided to national Olympic bodies that are in most need of financial aid. The IOC added it has also organized a special support program for North Korea's PyeongChang hopefuls to take part in preliminaries and training. RFA said the IOC also regularly contacts the North's Olympic Committee and North Korean athletes are invited to compete in Pyeongchang alongside athletes of 205 countries.; 2017-10-28
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Gov't to Assist Foreign Media Coverage of PyeongChang Olympics: The government says it will assist with foreign media coverage of the PyeongChang Olympics ahead of the 100-day countdown to the opening of the global sporting event. The Korean Culture and Information Service under the Culture, Sports and Tourism Ministry explained on Friday that around 60 foreign journalists will receive Seoul's supports in covering the country’s preparations for the Winter Games. They include eleven reporters from eight invited media outlets from Russia, Singapore, Poland, Argentina and Cambodia as well as around 50 foreign correspondents stationed locally.; 2017-10-27
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S. Korea Aims to Rank 10th in Pyeongchang Paralympics: South Korean athletes who will compete in the 2018 PyeongChang Paralympic Winter Games have vowed their best efforts to rank tenth in the overall tally. About 200 athletes and officials on Thursday gathered at a ceremony at a training camp in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province. The head of the South Korean squad said that Team Korea is aiming to rank tenth with one gold, one silver and two bronze medals in the upcoming Games. About 15-hundred athletes from 50 countries will compete in six events in the Pyeongchang Paralymics, which will be held for ten days from March ninth next year.; 2017-10-27
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Torch Lit for PyeongChang Winter Olympics in Greece: The torch that will help light up the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics in February has been lit in Greece. The ceremony was held Tuesday for around 50 minutes at the ancient temple of Hera in Olympia, the birthplace of the ancient Olympic Games. The ceremony began with the raising of the Olympic Flag, and then the national flags of South Korea and Greece before a local actor recited the poem, “The Light of Olympia.” The ceremony was followed by speeches from the Mayor of Olympia, the head of the Pyeongchang Organizing Committee Lee Hee-beom, IOC President Thomas Bach and President of the Hellenic Olympic Committee Spyros Capralos. Lee said the flame is the symbol of the Olympic spirit and signifies the start of the international sports festival. Due to cloudy conditions, the torch was unable to be lit with a parabolic mirror, so Monday's dress rehearsal flame was used instead. The Olympic flame is scheduled to arrive at Incheon International Airport on November first after a weeklong relay around Greece. The PyeongChang Winter Games will take place from February ninth to the 25th next year in the South Korean county.; 2017-10-24
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Germany Reaffirms Intention to Participate in PyeongChang Olympics: Germany has again officially unveiled its intention to participate in the 2018 PyeongChang Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. The Culture Ministry announced on Tuesday that its second vice minister, Roh Tae-kang, reconfirmed Germany’s intention when he met with the CEO of the German Olympic Sports Confederation’s executive board, Michael Vesper, in Frankfurt on Monday. Vesper told Roh that he trusts the South Korean government in terms of guaranteeing safety for the winter sports event. He said Germany will take part in the winter games, adding that a ceremony unveiling the uniform for the competing German athletes will be held next Thursday. Vesper said a launch ceremony will also be held next Thursday in Düsseldorf. He said the event will see the participation of some 160 athletes and will clearly demonstrate Germany’s determination to participate in the PyeongChang Games.; 2017-10-24
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Prime Minister Reassures Safety of PyeongChang Olympics: Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon says he is confident the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics will go off without any major security hitches. Lee gave his assurance at a meeting with South Korean business people in Athens, Greece on Monday. He said he believes North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is sensible enough not to conduct any provocations during South Korea's hosting of the global sporting event. Lee said there have been some positive signals from the North, raising the prospect of a successful PyeongChang Olympics, but declined to give details, saying it is too early to disclose them. The PyeongChang Games, he said, could rather become a good opportunity for Kim to send a message to the world that his regime wants peace, not cause anxiety. The prime minister also cited remarks made by Chang Ung, the North's delegate to the International Olympic Committee(IOC), who said politics and Olympics are two separate issues and that there won’t be a significant problem during the Winter Games.; 2017-10-23
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Torch for PyeongChang Games to be Lit in Greece Next Tues.: A torch lighting ceremony for the 2018 PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games will take place in Olympia, Greece next Tuesday. The ceremony will be attended by International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach and president of Greece’s Hellenic Olympic Committee, Spyros Capralos. Representing South Korea at the event will be Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon, Second Vice Culture Minister Roh Tae-kang, PyeongChang Organizing Committee President Lee Hee-beom and former member of the national soccer team, Park Ji-sung. Greece’s cross-country skier, Apostolos Angelis, who will be competing in the upcoming winter games, will be the first torchbearer. The torch will then tour around the European country for seven days. Park, who is an honorary ambassador for the PyeongChang games and who used to play for Manchester United, will become the second torchbearer. The torch will arrive in South Korea on November first and tour around the country for 101 days. The tour is expected to cover some two-thousand kilometers and involve roughly 75-hundred torchbearers.; 2017-10-20
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