The South Korean delegation to the Rio de Janeiro Olympics was greeted by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the opening ceremony Friday. South Korea was the 52nd country to appear in "Parade of Nations" in accordance with the Portuguese alphabet. With the sabre fencer Gu Bon-gil, the 2012 Olympic champion in the men's team event, carrying the national flag, Ban, a South Korean native, gave the delegation a standing ovation from the stands.South Korea, with Korea Football Association Presiden

South Korean swimmer Park Tae-hwan will race alongside the defending Olympic champion in the 400m freestyle heat at the Rio de Janeiro Games on Saturday.Park has been assigned the third lane in the sixth heat, with Sun Yang of China, the 2012 gold medalist, in the fourth lane.Park is going for his third consecutive Olympic medal the 400m free. He was the champion in 2008 and won the silver behind Sun four years later.Swimming in the fifth lane will be Connor Jaeger of the United States.Sun has t

South Korea pounded Fiji 8-0 for a rousing start to the Rio de Janeiro Olympic football tournament on Thursday.Midfielder Ryu Seung-woo picked up the first hat trick in South Korean Olympic history, while midfielder Kwon Chang-hoon and forward Suk Hyun-jun each grabbed a brace in Group C action at Fonte Nova Arena in Salvador, some 1,600 kilometers north of Rio de Janeiro. Seven of the eight goals came in the second half.It was the most goals ever scored by South Korea in an Olympic football mat

South Korean swimmer Park Tae-hwan would be the first to tell you he shouldn't be the one in the spotlight at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, and that suits him just fine.He does bring impressive credentials -- with four Olympic medals and two world championships -- but in his main event, the 400m freestyle, Park is ranked only sixth this year. His time of 3:44.26 is nearly three seconds behind the leader, Mack Horton of Australia."I am only sixth in the world and people aren't probably all that in

The chief organizer for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games said Thursday the main purpose of his visit to Rio de Janeiro is to learn about Olympic preparations.With Rio hosting South America's first Summer Games, Lee Hee-beom, president of the PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, said he will be picking Rio's collective brain."We still have many things to learn and one of our main purposes to be in Rio is to learn from the experience in the Olympic Ga

Chang Ung, the lone North Korean member of the International Olympic Committee, said Wednesday he'll attend the 2018 Winter Games held in South Korea.Chang is in Rio de Janeiro for the 129th IOC Session. Asked by Yonhap News Agency whether he'd visit South Korean host city PyeongChang for the next Winter Games, Chang replied, "I'll go.""It will be my last Olympics as an IOC member," added Chang, who has been an IOC member since 1996 and will reach the retirement age of 80 in 2018.During the IOC

RIO DE JANEIRO (Yonhap) -- In South Korea's bid for an archery gold medal sweep at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, the U.S. men's team may just provide the stiffest challenge.And the three members of this year's American team say, while they reserve respect for the South Koreans, they fear no one.At the 2012 London Olympics, the Americans defeated the South Koreans in the semifinals of the men's team event, preventing their Asian rivals from winning their fourth straight gold. With two carryovers f

South Korea will try to capitalize on a favorable matchup when they open the men's football tournament at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics against Fiji on Thursday.South Korea's first Group C match will kick off at Fonte Nova Arena in Salvador, more than 1,200 kilometers north of Rio, at 8 p.m. Thursday, or 8 a.m. Friday in South Korea. It will be held on the eve of the opening ceremony of the 31st Summer Olympics.South Korea, making their eighth straight Olympic appearance, will try to win their sec

The South Korean advertisement industry is forecast to experience a slump despite the upcoming Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics, mainly due to the sluggish economy and a time difference between the two countries, industry sources said Tuesday.Sporting events, such as the Olympics and the World Cup, have typically boosted the advertisement industry, they said.Marketing companies launched various TV ads and promotions designed to enhance awareness of the games and help companies sell more products j

South Korean swimming star Park Tae-hwan arrived in Rio de Janeiro for the Olympics on Sunday, hoping for a shot at redemption after a tumultuous build-up to his fourth Summer Games.The 2008 Olympic gold medalist in the 400m freestyle wrapped up his two-week training camp in Orlando, Florida, and arrived at Santos Dumont Airport on Sunday afternoon here. The Rio Olympics will kick off Friday, and Park's first race, the 400m free, is set for the following day."I had great training in Florida," Pa

North Korea on Sunday entered the athletes' village for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in a modest ceremony, with only the country's officials on hand.North Korea and Uganda were welcomed into the athletes' quarters for the Aug. 5-21 Olympics. However, none of North Korea's 31 athletes, competing in nine sports, attended the occasion. Yun Song-bom, head of the North's delegation, was one of 16 officials present.One North Korean official said the athletes were still jet-lagged and their training sch

South Korean baseball club KT Wiz said Friday they've signed a castoff from another club for rotation help.The Wiz in the Korea Baseball Organization acquired left-hander Ryan Feierabend, who was released by the Nexen Heroes last Friday when they signed Andy Van Hekken.The Wiz will be on the hook for the duration of Feierabend's $450,000 contract.The Wiz, a second-year franchise mired in last place in the 10-club league, had released Yohan Pino last Sunday.KBO teams can each sign up to three for

The St. Louis Cardinals' South Korean closer Oh Seung-hwan is on a nice little roll.The closer picked up a save for the third straight day on Thursday (local time) against the Miami Marlins at Marlins Park in Miami, preserving the Cards' 5-4 victory with a scoreless ninth inning. The right-hander now has seven saves in his first big league season.With the Cardinals nursing a one-run lead, Oh took over from Kevin Siegrist in the bottom of the ninth.He retired cleanup Giancarlo Stanton on a ground

South Korea will host China at the country's largest football-only stadium in the upcoming FIFA World Cup qualifier following the visitors' excessive demand for tickets, the national football governing body said Friday.The Korea Football Association said South Korea's opener versus China in the final Asian qualifying round for the 2018 FIFA World Cup will be staged at Seoul World Cup Stadium on Sept. 1. For the final round, where 12 teams compete, South Korea are grouped with Iran, Uzbekistan, C