American snowboarder Chloe Kim will visit South Korea next week as a sports envoy for the State Department in a show of U.S. support for the ally's preparations to host the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games, the U.S. Embassy said Saturday.Kim is scheduled to arrive in Seoul on Wednesday and meet with local university students to "talk about the challenges of being a top-tier athlete competing on the world stage," the embassy in the capital said in a press release.Kim, a 16-year-old high scho

Tickets to the first Winter Olympics in South Korea will go on sale when the countdown reaches one year next month, the organizers said Monday.The organizing committee for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games said ticket sales will commence on Feb. 9. It has unveiled a 30-second promotional video clip, titled "Get Your Tickets and Share the Passion," on its website.The organizers had earlier planned to launch ticket sales last October. But it decided to postpone it for a few months to further stabi

S. Korean football ends 2016 ranked 37th

The Asian club football champions Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors took fifth place at the FIFA Club World Cup after defeating South African side the Mamelodi Sundowns 4-1 on Wednesday.Kim Bo-kyung, Lee Jong-ho and Kim Shin-wook each scored one goal to help Jeonbuk, the winners of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League, beat the Sundowns at the Suita City Football Stadium in Osaka, Japan.The FIFA Club World Cup features seven teams -- the winners of the continental club championships and

Spanish football star David Villa launched his football academy in South Korea on Tuesday.Villa announced the inauguration of his DV7 Soccer Academy, which aims to help young children develop personal values through football. The prolific goal scorer, now with New York City FC in Major League Soccer (MLS), said that he is willing to support kids who are looking to maximize their abilities and planning a professional football career."My life has been all about football," Villa said at a press con

South Korean swimming icon Park Tae-hwan has grabbed his third gold medal at the world's top short course competition.He won the men's 1,500-meter freestyle at the FINA World Short Course Swimming Championships in Windsor, Canada, on Sunday (local time), with a record time of 14 minutes, 15.51 seconds.The 2008 Olympic gold medalist broke the meet record, held by Gregorio Paltrinieri of Italy since 2014, by 0.59 second. Park also surpassed the Asian record of 14:22.47, set by Zhang Lin of China i

South Korean teenage figure skater Cha Jun-hwan captured a milestone medal at a major junior competition in France on Saturday.Cha finished third among six skaters with 225.55 total points at the 2016-2017 International Skating Union Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in Marseille, France, on Saturday.The 15-year-old is the first Korean man to win a medal at an ISU Junior Grand Prix Final. He earned 153.70 points in Saturday's free skate, two days after scoring 71.85 points in his short p

Park Tae-hwan has grabbed his second gold medal at the world's top short course competition.The South Korean star won the men's 200-meter freestyle at the FINA World Short Course Swimming Championships in Windsor, Canada, on Wednesday (local time), with a record time of 1 minute, 41.03 seconds.Park broke the previous meet record, held by Ryan Lochte of the United States since 2010, by 0.05 second. Park also surpassed his own Asian record of 1:42.22, set in Berlin in 2007.On Tuesday, Park won the

Park Tae-hwan has grabbed his first gold medal at the world's top short course competition.The South Korean star won the men's 400-meter freestyle at the FINA World Short Course Swimming Championships in Windsor, Canada, on Tuesday (local time), with a time of 3 minutes, 34.59 seconds.Aleksandr Krasnykh of Russia finished second at 3:35.30. Peter Bernek of Hungary took third place at 3:37.65.The short course worlds take place in 25m pools, half the length of the regular-sized pools at the Olympi

South Korean major leaguer Kang Jung-ho was questioned by police Tuesday over allegations of fleeing the scene after causing an accident while driving under the influence (DUI) last week.Kang, an infielder for the Pittsburgh Pirates, appeared at Gangnam Police Station in southern Seoul to undergo questioning for a second time over suspicions he left the scene after crashing into a guardrail on his way to his hotel on Friday. "I am very sorry to all my fans," he told reporters before entering the

When Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors won the Asian Football Confederation Champions League last month, Kim Shin-wook was happy and relieved. The towering striker knew he had just proved he is worth the money he is paid. "After winning the AFC Champions League, I told our general manager Lee Chul-geun that I did perform like a 2 billion ($1.7 million) won player," Kim said at a media event at Jeonbuk's clubhouse in Wanju, North Jeolla Province, on Thursday.Kim joined Jeonbuk from Ulsan Hyundai this year w