Olympic Winter Games 2018 PyeongChang
Seoul Incheon, Daegu, Daejeon and Gwang ju Approx. 50 million Korean Confucianism, Buddhism and Christianity are the main formal religions but many profess no religion. Moon Jae-in who was sworn in following his victory in a May 2017 election to replace the country’s first female president, Park Geun-hye, who was impeached. SOUTH KOREA Daegu Gwangju Busan Electronic products, machinery and transport equipment. Samsung, one of the world’s biggest technology companies, is headquartered in Seoul. won Kimchi, which is a spicy pickled cabbage Bowing is the traditional way to greet in South Korea Over 20 per cent of South Koreans have the last name Kim. Other common last names are Park and Lee. South Korea requires all of its male citizens to serve in the military for two years LEE Suk-woo, an industrial designer from Korea, designed the medals. The front of the medal features diagonal lines that symbolise “both the history of the Olympics and the determination of the participants”. The back of the medal denotes the sports discipline and event alongside the Games’ emblem. A local textile called Gapsa was used for the ribbons, which are embroidered with Hangul patterns. Bobsleigh Curling Ice hockey Nordic combined
THE XXIII Olympic Winter Games will be held for 17 days from February 9 – 25 in PyeongChang, Gangwon province, the Republic of Korea. The capital Seoul hosted the Summer Olympic Games in 1988. Most snow sports plus the Opening and Closing ceremonies will be held at PyeongChang. Alpine speed events will take place in Jeongseon, and all ice sports will be competed in the coastal city of Gangneung. About 90 countries will be sending teams. Australia is looking to take 45 athletes. “This is the best performed team that we’ve taken to an Olympic Games with a large number of athletes who have established that they are among the very best in their sports globally,” said Chef de Mission Ian Chesterman. Learn more: pyeongchang2018.com/en/index NORTH KOREA
Seoul
Incheon
PyeongChang
Ski jumping Speed skating THE white tiger has long been considered the guardian animal of South Korea and the 2018 Winter Olympics has chosen a white tiger named Soohorang as the official mascot. The name originates from a Korean word, “Sooho”, which means protection. It is meant to symbolise the protection offered to everyone involved with the Games while “Rang” is a mixture of the Korean word for tiger and the name of a traditional folk song in the Gangwon Province, where the Games will be held. The Asiatic bear often photographed with Soohorang is Bandabi, the 2018 Paralympic mascot. SKELETON racing involves plummeting head-first down a steep and treacherous ice track 1200 – 1500m on a tiny sled. Elite racers can reach speeds up to 130 km/h.
(pictured) is Australia’s top female Skeleton athlete currently ranked 17th in the world. She is following in the footsteps of her uncle Paul Narracott who competed at the Los Angeles 1984 Olympics Games and the Albertville 1992 Winter Olympic Games. He was the first person to compete at both a Summer and Winter Olympic Games after switching from athletics in ‘84 to Bobsleigh in ‘92. John Farrow from Sydney will also be representing Australia in the Skeleton event. Farrow, 35, will make his second Olympic appearance in the men’s event. He will compete on days 6 (February 15) and 7 (February 16), with Narracott to follow on day 7 and 8 (February 17) at the Alpensia Sliding Centre.
pyeongchang2018. olympics.com.au/sports/skeleton
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