North Korean art troupe Samjiyon Orchestra’s Seoul performance was, in many ways, a carefully orchestrated spectacle of today’s ever-dramatic inter-Korean politics, featuring the Olympics, the North’s female performers and, most importantly, K-pop.　One of the highlights of the performance, which took place at the National Theater of Korea on Sunday, was inarguably the surprise appearance of K-pop star Seohyun. The 26-year-old is a member of Girls’ Generation, one of the most popular South Korean

“We saw the potential we had in Sochi but didn’t capitalize on it. This time we really want to nail it into the coffin and win this thing.”

Gangneung, the sub-host city of the PyeongChang Winter Games, is facing an unforeseen boom in its local coffee scene.This year, Gangneung’s annual coffee festival takes place during the Winter Olympic Games, from Feb. 9 to Feb. 25 under the name, “2018 Gangneung World Winter Coffee Festival: JazzPresso.”On the first weekend after the Olympic Games kicked off, many foreign visitors could be seen at Anmok Beach, which is known for having cafes line the beach. Visitors to Gangneung spend time on Gy

The much-anticipated opening ceremony of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics was finally revealed to the world on Friday. Global media scampered to comment on the ceremony’s prominent points, which included the use of drones to create the Olympic flag mid-air and a creepy yet intriguing bird puppet with a human face. The following are three additional pieces of trivia about some of the ceremony’s other highlights.   The PyeongChang Winter Olympics opening ceremony took place last Friday. (Yonhap)1.

Extreme cold weather is to continue in Gangwon Province on Monday, where PyeongChang and the two subhost cities of the 2018 Winter Olympics are located, with the wind chill falling to minus 21 degrees Celsius at the Alpensia Biathlon Centre in PyeongChang.The weather agency said Monday’s high is expected to hit minus 8 C and 1 C in Daegwallyeong and Gangneung, respectively, with light snow overnight in the western inland region of Gangwon Province.  Spectators view the women’s 7.5-kilometer spri

As North Korea’s Samjiyon Orchestra neared the end of its Seoul performance on Sunday, its leader Hyon Song-wol stepped on to the stage and grabbed the microphone. North Korean Samjiyon Orchestra's leader Hyon Song-wol performs Sunday in Seoul. Yonhap“I’ve crossed the inter-Korean borders twice to come here to the South. It pained me to realize that the distance between Pyongyang and Seoul is so close but it feels so far away,” Hyon said as she announced that she will sing a song herself. “I’ve

CONGESTED ROADS TO OLYMPICS -- The Daegwallyeong IC linking Seoul to the main venues for the PyeongChang Winter Olympics is congested with traffic Sunday. A total of 2,952 athletes are competing in 102 sports across 15 different events over the course of 16 days. (Park Hyun-koo/The Korea Herald) CONGESTED ROADS TO OLYMPICS -- The Daegwallyeong IC linking Seoul to the main venues for the PyeongChang Winter Olympics is congested with traffic Sunday. A total of 2,952 athletes are competing in 102 s

PYEONGCHANG, Gangwon Province -- Norway swept the medals board at the men’s 30km skiathlon on Feb. 11, at PyeongChang Olympics. Simen Hegstad Krueger nabbed the gold despite a fall in the first lap. Krueger crossed the line in 1 hour, 16 minutes, 20 seconds. Martin Johnsrud Sundby followed, taking silver, and Hans Christer Holund took bronze. This was Norway’s first gold in the PyeongChang Olympics.The crowd gathered to cheer despite the biting cold.  Gold medalist Simen Hegstad Krueger (Center)

GANGNEUNG, Gangwon Province -- When Jeong Yeon-min, 57, came to watch the men’s short track speedskating Olympic game at Gangneung Ice Arena on Saturday, he was in for two surprises. One was South Korea’s first gold won by speedskater Lim Hyo-jun, and second was a rare spectacle of North Korean cheerleaders waving and singing at the section right next to him. He even had the chance to shake hands with one of the ladies. Jeong Yeon-min shakes hands with a North Korean cheerleader. (Paul Kerry/The

Here are the Olympic gold medalists and winning team for Saturday at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games, including South Korea's first gold Lim Hyo-jun.South Korea’s Lim Hyo-jun won gold in the mens 1,500 meter short track speed skating on Saturday, the first medal of Olympic for the host country. YonhapSven Kramer celebrates his gold in the mens 5,000 meter for his third straight title. YonhapLaura Dahlmeier took Germany’s first gold medal in the women’s biathlon sprint. YonhapNetherlands gold m

PYEONGCHANG -- South Korea's first gold medalist at PyeongChang Olympics Lim Hyo-jun said Sunday that he will never let his guard down to bring home more gold, while competing on home soil at the world's biggest winter sports competition."It was like a dream come true. It's still incredible that I won gold," the 21-year old said at the medal ceremony held at the PyeongChang Medal Plaza in PyeongChang. "But there are still many competitions out there. I'll do my best to keep this tempo further." 

PYEONGCHANG -- A senior American member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) called on Sunday for North and South Korea's joint women's ice hockey team to be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.Angela Ruggiero, a four-times ice hockey world champion and Olympic gold medallist, told Reuters she would ask others to nominate the team, which included 12 players from North Korea which is still technically at war with the South.It was the first time an inter-Korean team had competed at an Olym

PYEONGCHANG -- South Korean celebrity Kim Mi-hwa came under fire Sunday for having made seemingly uninformed and highly-opinionated comments during MBC TV's broadcast of the PyeongChang Winter Games' opening ceremony.The veteran comedian-turned-radio host appeared as a guest commentator on MBC TV's broadcast of the PyeongChang Olympics'on Friday, along with the station's sportscaster Park Kyung-chu and commentator Hur Seung-wook.  Kim Mi-hwa (right, Yonhap)Many viewers have expressed discomfort

The largest official stores of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics opened in Gangneung Olympic Park and PyeongChang Olympic Plaza on Thursday and Friday respectively. On Sunday afternoon, the Super Store in Gangneung was packed with sports fans, who were looking for souvenirs and gifts. Super Store in Gangneung Olympic Park. (Park Hyun-koo/The Korea Herald)The store features some 1,100 official licensed products, including Olympic mascots Soohorang and Bandabi rag dolls. The Super Stores will r

US broadcaster NBC has apologized for a controversial comment made on Korea-Japan relations during Friday’s opening ceremony of the PyeongChang Games, after receiving numerous complaints and angry posts online.　It was NBC’s Asian correspondent, Joshua Cooper Ramo, who said “every Korean” thinks Japan has been a very “important” example to South Korea’s own achievements. 　Many South Koreans, as well as Korean-Americans, found the comment to be insensitive to the nation’s own history, including Ja