Ahead of the opening ceremony of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games, Korean national athletes have arrived in the Olympic Village in Sochi, Russia. Members of Team Korea participated in a welcoming ceremony to mark their moving into the village at the Sochi Olympic Park, located in the Coastal Cluster of Olympic venues in Sochi, close to the Black Sea coast, on February 5. Korea is the 18th country to arrive amongst the total of 88 nations that will participate in the international winter sports event.


The athletes showed their firm will to achieve their goal of ranking in the top-10 for the third consecutive Olympics, while watching the Taegeukgi, the Korean national flag, being raised as the “Aegukga,” the Korean national anthem, was played. Lee Kyou-hyuk, speed skater and flag bearer of the team, said at the ceremony, “I have exerted a lot of effort over the past four years for this very moment. I will do my best to live up to the support and the cheering.”

At the ceremony, the Sochi Olympic Committee staged a drum performance and a dance troupe performed to celebrate Team Korea’s arrival. The committee also offered a traditional Russian wooden doll to Kim Jae-youl, head of the national team for the Sochi games.



The opening ceremony of the Sochi Olympics will be held on February 7 at 8:14 p.m. local time in Sochi, or at 1:14 a.m. in the early morning on Saturday, February 8, in Korea. Some qualification matches will be held prior to the opening ceremony due to scheduling.

By Jeon Han, Yoon Sojung
Korea.net Staff Writers
hanjeon@korea.kr