Korea’s ‘Garlic Girls’ savour overnight fame

First South Korean rink to reach Olympic semi-finals

South Korean women curling team, nicknamed “Garlic Girls” to go with their other monikers, have become overnight internet sensations following their stellar performance and coolheadedness at the Pyeongchang Games.

Kim Eun-jung’s foursome became the first Korean rink to reach the Olympic semi-finals after Tuesday’s a 9-6 win over the United States. At the 2014 Sochi Olympics, South Korea’s women team finished eighth.

Their fairy-tale run has been celebrated on social media by fans who posted memes and parody videos, with floor mops and robot vacuum cleaners, that went viral.

Newfound fame

Team member Kim Yeong-mi said they had no clue about their newfound fame as they had turned off mobile phones to avoid distractions.

“Even when we had a national competition, we played without any crowd because curling has been unpopular and not well known, we didn’t expect many people would come and watch us,” she said on yesterday. “We’re just grateful for that.”

Several factors worked their favour.

For starters, all the five curlers — Kim Eun-jung, Kim Yeong-mi, Kim Kyeong-ae, Kim Seon-yeong and Kim Cho-hi, have the same family name.

No wonder fans also call them “Team Kim.” While Kim Yeong-mi and Kim Kyeong-ae are siblings, all five hail from the same hometown of Uiseong, a county famous for garlic. Understandably, they are called the “Garlic Girls.”

Reflecting South Koreans’ newfound interest in curling and the players, the Gangneung Curling Centre was nearly packed with spectators when games were held.

Yesterday, the curling team beat Olympic Athlete from Russia 11-2 in the round-robin session 11, continuing their winning streak. in