Two thirds of South Koreans don't know the opening day of the Winter Paralympic Games in their country, a survey showed Monday.According to local pollster Realmeter, which last Friday asked 500 adults about the opening day of the 2018 Winter Paralympics, only 33.6 percent of them answered correctly.The PyeongChang Winter Paralympics run from March 9 to 18 in PyeongChang, some 180 kilometers east of Seoul, and two adjacent cities, Gangneung and Jeongseon. Torchbearers for the PyeongChang Winter P

South Korea will hold a cultural festival with "hallyu," or Korean Wave, stars for domestic and foreign tourists as part of its efforts to promote the PyeongChang Paralympics, which are set to kick off later this week, the country's tourism promotion agency said Sunday. Snow Festival in March will begin Friday with actor Jang Keun-suk's two-day meeting with fans, according to the Korea Tourism Organization.Jang will provide 2,018 tickets to his fans to watch an ice hockey event together in Gangn

The torch relay for the March 9-18 PyeongChang Paralympic Games kicked off on Saturday, heralding another international sports festival following the two-week Winter Olympics held in the same host city last month.The organizing committees of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics and Paralympics held a torch lighting ceremony at 7 p.m. at Olympic Park in eastern Seoul.Eight flames were unified into a single flame at a cauldron, with the flames representing the five regions of host country South Korea;

The first group from the South Korean squad for the PyeongChang Winter Paralympics arrived in the host city of PyeongChang on Saturday, with a goal of achieving the country's best results ever.The group composed of 71 of the squad's 83 members checked in at the PyeongChang Athletes' Village, while the wheelchair curling team will join them at the village Tuesday.  (Yonhap) (Yonhap)The athletes were to begin training in the afternoon to prepare for the medal race set to begin next Saturday. The S

The PyeongChang Winter Olympics is over, but the fever of various cultural side events that heated up the Olympics will carry over to the Paralympics.The Gangwon provincial government said Saturday it will continue to run most of its cultural programs presented during the Olympics to offer the best cultural experiences to Korean and foreign visitors during the Paralympics.The cultural side events of the Paralympics will kick off with a show at Saimdang Hall of the Gangneung Arts Center in Gangne

Lighting ceremonies for the Paralympic flame were held in five local cities on Friday as South Korea began its eight-day torch relay for the 2018 Winter Paralympics in PyeongChang, Gangwon Province.   Five Korean cities and counties -- Jeju, Anyang, Nonsan, Gochang and Cheongdo -- each ignited a flame on the day of the first full moon of the Lunar New Year. These five cities were selected because they provide convenient access to tourism facilities and services for people with disabilities, acco

President Moon Jae-in promised all-out support for the upcoming PyeongChang Paralympic Winter Games on Friday, calling the games a rare chance to improve conditions for all people with disabilities."I believe the PyeongChang Paralympic Games will further increase the people's interest in disabilities and sports for people with disabilities. I hope the prejudice that those with disabilities are people who need help will disappear, and that we will all realize we can all give hope and courage to o

South Korea's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae on Wednesday welcomed US President Donald Trump's appointment of his secretary for homeland security to lead a delegation to the PyeongChang Paralympic Games.The White House announced earlier that Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen will head the presidential delegation to the March 9 opening ceremony of the Paralympics set to run through March 18 in the same alpine town where the Winter Olympics took place. US Department of of Homeland

Bob de Jong, the Netherlands-born coach for South Korean speed skating at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, is set to leave the country later this week, with his contract expiring on Wednesday, the sport's national federation said.The Korea Skating Union added it is also considering an extension of de Jong's deal, depending on the opinions of skaters and other coaches."Bob de Jong is returning to the Netherlands for visa-related matters, but we'll continue to talk," a KSU official said. "The Olym

South Korean President Moon Jae-in is apparently gearing up to promote the upcoming Paralympic Games, officials from the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae noted Tuesday, two days after the end of what the president has called an incredibly successful Winter Olympic Games.The move comes as the country is set to host the 2018 Paralympic Games from March 9-18 in PyeongChang, the host city of the recently concluded Winter Olympic Games."With yesterday's closing ceremonies, the PyeongChang Winter Oly

The 2018 PyeongChang Winter Paralympic Games will be the largest Winter Paralympics in history, local organizers said Monday.PyeongChang's organizing committee said 570 athletes from 49 countries had registered for the March 9-18 competition as of Saturday. The 2014 Sochi Paralympics had previously been the biggest, with 547 athletes from 45 countries.According to the organizers, the United States has the greatest number of athletes at 68, followed by Canada at 52 and Japan at 38.Host nation Sou

About 200 South Korean athletes, coaches and officials gathered outside the Olympic athletes’ village in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, on Monday to attend the disbandment ceremony for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic team.For the South Korean delegation, it was the final step of a journey that started on Feb. 9 when world-renowned figure skater Kim Yu-na illuminated the tiny rural town of PyeongChang by lighting the Olympic torch atop the Olympic Stadium. The torch served as a beacon of dreams

PYEONGCHANG, Gangwon Province -- Seven South Korean athletes who won a medal at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics will be eligible for military exemption, officials here said Monday.All South Korean men between 18 and 35 are conscripted into the armed forces for about two years, but athletes who earn an Olympic medal or an Asian Games gold medal are effectively exempted from the mandatory service.The seven athletes are: skeleton slider Yun Sung-bin, bobsledder Seo Young-woo, speed skaters Cha Min-

North Korean athletes and cheerleaders returned home Monday after the North sent a record size delegation to the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, which ended the previous day.Nearly 300 North Koreans, including 22 athletes and 229 cheerleaders, crossed the inter-Korean border to return home at 12:38 p.m. after leaving a checkpoint in Paju, just south of the border, according to pool reports.North Korea sent a 492-strong Olympics delegation, which included athletes, musicians, cheerleaders and taekwo

GANGNEUNG -- The Korean delegation for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games officially disbanded on Monday after finishing seventh in the medal race.The ceremony to mark the end of Korean athletes' Olympic campaign was held at Gangneung Athletes' Village in Gangneung, Gangwon Province. Nearly 200 athletes, coaches and officials attended the ceremony honoring their hard work and achievements at the 23rd Winter Olympics at home."We saw athletes and people getting together, feeling the same em