Journalist

Lee Hugh
  • Author Kang Ji-young’s Korean-Rooted Characters Drive Global Interest in K-Thrillers
    Author Kang Ji-young’s Korean-Rooted Characters Drive Global Interest in K-Thrillers A woman in her 50s with urinary incontinence is a cold-blooded professional killer. A bald, potbellied shop owner is an arms dealer. A seemingly ordinary college student is suddenly swept into a war among assassins. In Kang Ji-young’s thrillers, characters look familiar but rarely turn out to be what they seem. The same goes for settings: a neighborhood supermarket or butcher shop can be more than it appears. Kang’s novel “Mrs. Shim Is a Killer,” credited with helping open the door for “K-thrillers,” is set to be published in more than 20 countries in the first half of this year. In a recent interview at Seoul Chaekbogo in Jamsil, Kang said the overseas attention is “because the characters are Korean,” adding that “there also seems to be a culture forming worldwide that ‘Korean things are hip.’” The upcoming U.S. and U.K. editions highlight Korean elements, including an image of metal chopsticks and bilingual English-and-Korean text for the title and author name. Kang will begin a book tour March 28, starting in Paris and continuing to Lyon, Poland and Hungary. She called the results “very joyful,” but said she also feels “a sense of responsibility.” “I’m excited, but I’m worried, too. I was lucky to export one work, but my work can’t end up blocking the path for other writers,” she said. Kang works across genre fiction and literary fiction, as well as webtoons and web novels. Disney+ released the 2024 drama “A Shop for Killers,” based on her work “A Shop for a Killer,” starring Lee Dong-wook and Kim Hye-jun. After the success of Season 1, Season 2 will be released within the year. Her books are known for quickly drawing interest in adaptation rights. Readers cite vivid descriptions that make scenes easy to picture, along with black humor that can prompt a laugh even amid sharp violence. Kang said she does not plan stories with screen adaptations in mind. She attributes the strength of a “super IP” to everyday life. She writes on a strict schedule, sitting at her desk at 9 a.m. and ending manuscript work at 5:30 p.m. “There was a time when it was hard to survive if I didn’t write diligently,” she said. “I have a child. A kid can’t grow on dreams alone,” she said. “I worked hard. Until my late 30s, I held a job while writing novels. Writing becomes meals, academy tuition, and school lunch money. That process itself was a period of growth. I feel not only accomplishment but a lot of pride. I didn’t choose writing as a high-end hobby.” Twists on familiar people Kang’s characters often begin with people around her. “The female lead in ‘Gama-goe on a Giraffe’ borrows some of my younger sister,” she said. “Jeong Jin-man in ‘A Shop for a Killer’ is a stand-in for my father, and Shim Eun-on in ‘Mrs. Shim Is a Killer’ draws partly from my aunt. After losing her husband, she raised her siblings while running a butcher shop. I took the basic setup from that. That’s why readers can find pieces of ‘our mom’ or ‘my sibling’ in my work.” Then comes the reversal: the middle-aged woman becomes a knife-wielding assassin, and the potbellied man a major figure in arms trafficking. Kang also often portrays women in their 20s and 30s as resilient people who “keep walking forward to find a way out.” Early in her career, she said, most of her short-story protagonists were men and women were often reduced to victims of violence. “As I started writing novels, I thought, ‘As a woman, I should make women into active characters,’” she said. “That’s why many of my novel protagonists are young women just stepping into the world.” That approach also shapes the three-part “A Shop for a Killer,” which reads like a coming-of-age story as protagonist Jeong Ji-an collides with the world and grows tougher. “Even without landing a full-time job, I wanted to portray a woman who faces the world in her own way — not a beginner anymore, but an independent person,” Kang said. Kang linked that to her own 20s. Raised in Paju, she said she had to become independent after entering a university in Seoul. “Back then I worked part-time jobs relentlessly. I started working and earning money at 21,” she said. “It felt like the world was picking on me for no reason. At some point, my family felt unfamiliar. I started devoting myself to family after I had a child. That’s when I moved from being Jeong Ji-an, the niece, to Jeong Jin-man, the uncle.” Dangerously convincing lies Many characters die in Kang’s novels, yet the stories can feel oddly cathartic. “Doesn’t everyone have at least one person they want to kill?” she said. “Doesn’t everyone think at least once, ‘I want to kill them cleanly’ or ‘I want to get rid of them’?” she said. “I’m just carrying out, in a story, what’s hard to do in real life.” She said the same logic applies to suffocating relationships. In “Gama-goe on a Giraffe,” the protagonist cuts off family ties. “I wanted to tell readers, ‘If it’s harmful, you can cut it off,’” she said. “You have to find your own path to happiness. For people who can’t bring themselves to do it, I want to give them at least some vicarious satisfaction.” Kang recently finished the novella “Dokni.” Its protagonist is described as a composite of South Korean female serial killers including Go Yoo-jung, Lee Eun-hye, Eom In-sook and Kim Seon-ja. “There are many cases of killing someone they loved with poison, so I titled it ‘Dokni,’” she said. Through a woman in her 70s who is released on parole after 29 years and one month, Kang said she examines, from a skeptical perspective, “whether humans can truly be rehabilitated.” A separate work centered on a traditional Catholic exorcism rite is set to be published around summer. Kang said writing it was so difficult that she suffered sleep paralysis throughout the process. Often labeled a “young writer” or a “storyteller,” Kang, who is approaching 50, said she no longer cares about such descriptions. “I sometimes describe my job as ‘someone who cleverly lies without getting caught,’” she said. “I keep making lies that feel real, on a razor-thin boundary. I don’t care what I’m called. It’s enough if readers fall for the world I created.”* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-23 00:03:28
  • Eileen Gu Wins Olympic Halfpipe Gold Again at Milan-Cortina Games
    Eileen Gu Wins Olympic Halfpipe Gold Again at Milan-Cortina Games Eileen Gu of China won the women’s freestyle ski halfpipe at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, securing her second straight Olympic title in the event. Gu scored 94.75 in the final on Feb. 22 (Korea time) at Livigno Snow Park in Italy. China’s Li Fanghui took silver with 93.00, and Britain’s Zoe Atkin won bronze with 92.50. The final, originally scheduled for Feb. 21, was postponed a day because of heavy snow. Gu advanced to the final in fifth place from qualifying. She opened with 30.00, then jumped into first with 94.00 on her second run and improved to 94.75 on her third to seal the win. Gu had already won silver in slopestyle and big air at these Games, finishing with one gold and two silvers. Including the 2022 Beijing Olympics, she now has three golds and three silvers for six Olympic medals. The total gives Gu the most Olympic gold medals in freestyle skiing, men or women. Her six medals also move her past Mikael Kingsbury of Canada and Xu Mengtao of China, who each had five, for the most in the sport. Despite major differences among freestyle disciplines, Gu has reached the podium in every event she entered across her two Olympics. Born to an American father and a Chinese mother and competing for China, Gu was also known as the highest-earning athlete at these Games, with Forbes estimating her income over the past year at $23 million (about 33.3 billion won). At a news conference on Feb. 18, asked about disappointment over her two silvers, Gu said she is the most decorated female freestyle skier in Olympic history and said it was hard to agree with the view that she had missed out on medals. South Korea’s Kim Da-eun (Kyung Hee University) and Lee So-young (Sangdong High School) were eliminated in qualifying in women’s freeski halfpipe. In women’s snowboard halfpipe, South Korea’s Choi Ga-on (Sehwa High School) earlier won gold, the country’s first in a snow sport event.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-22 23:39:00
  • Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics Close; South Korea Finishes 13th, Seoul Court Sets Up Insurrection Appeals Panels
    Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics Close; South Korea Finishes 13th, Seoul Court Sets Up Insurrection Appeals Panels First Olympics with 'two flames' heads into history The 2026 Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Olympics, staged for the first time with “two flames,” will close with a ceremony starting at 4:30 a.m. Korean time on the 23rd at the Verona Arena in Italy. It was the first Olympics in 20 years to be held in Italy, and the first to include two place names in a single official Games title. The opening ceremony featured athlete entries and torch events in both Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, with the cauldron lit simultaneously in two locations for the first time. With events spread out and some venues not completed until just before the opening, the Games began under concern. Once competition started, attention shifted to the athletes. Cross-country star Johannes Klaebo of Norway won six gold medals and collected his 11th career Winter Olympic gold, a record total, among other highlights. Verona, the site of the closing ceremony, is about 160 kilometers from Milan, which hosted the opening ceremony as well as skating and ice hockey events. The 80,000-seat Verona Arena is an amphitheater completed in A.D. 30 during the Roman Empire and once used for gladiator contests and hunts with wild animals. South Korea will have short track skaters Choi Min-jeong of Seongnam City Hall and Hwang Dae-heon of Gangwon Provincial Office serve as flag bearers. Choi won one gold and one silver at these Games, setting a South Korean Olympic record with seven career medals. Hwang won two silver medals, the best result among South Korea’s male athletes at the Games. South Korea ends 2026 Winter Olympics with 3 gold, 4 silver, 3 bronze; 13th overall South Korea, which set a top-10 finish as its medal-table goal, ended the 2026 Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Olympics with what it called a partial success. As of the 22nd, South Korea had won three gold, four silver and three bronze medals to place 13th overall. Short track, expected to deliver at least two gold medals, met its target with two gold, three silver and two bronze. Snow events exceeded expectations with one gold, one silver and one bronze, after aiming for at least one medal. South Korea improved on its 2022 Beijing results of two gold, five silver and two bronze medals, when it finished 14th, but it did not reach the top 10. The team also earned its first Olympic medal in ski and snowboard events. Choi Ga-on of Sehwa Girls’ High School scored 90.25 points in the women’s snowboard halfpipe final, beating Chloe Kim of the United States, who scored 88.00 points while seeking a third straight title. Choi’s victory delivered South Korea’s first gold medal of the Games. In men’s snowboard alpine, Kim Sang-gyeom of High1 won silver, and Yoo Seung-eun of Seongbok High School took bronze in women’s snowboard big air, helping drive South Korea’s early medal push. The short track team outperformed a bleak outlook and piled up medals. Kim Gil-li, the youngest member of the women’s team and born in 2004, won two gold medals and one bronze, becoming South Korea’s only double gold medalist at these Games. South Korea gained momentum with a bronze by Lim Jong-eon of Goyang City Hall in the men’s 1,000 meters, a silver by Hwang in the men’s 1,500, and a bronze by Kim Gil-li in the women’s 1,000. The women’s 3,000 relay produced a dramatic comeback to win gold. On the final day of the sport, South Korea won silver in the men’s 5,000 relay, and Kim Gil-li and Choi Min-jeong took gold and silver in the women’s 1,500. Speed skating, which had been South Korea’s next-most successful Winter Olympic sport after short track, ended these Games without a medal. Vice minister Kim Dae-hyun vows push for snow-sport training facilities, new military winter team Kim Dae-hyun, second vice minister at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, visited the 2026 Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Olympics and pledged to work to improve conditions for South Korea’s athletes. Speaking on the 22nd at a South Korean team disbandment ceremony at Korea House set up at Villa Necchi Campiglio in Milan, Kim said, “As the vice minister in charge of sports, I have two policy takeaways.” He said he was grateful to athletes for strong performances in events such as snowboard halfpipe and big air, where there had been doubts about South Korea’s medal chances. But he added that he felt sorry after hearing athletes had trained abroad because there were no domestic facilities. “Once we return, I will consult with the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee, including President Yoo Seung-min, and also coordinate within the government to do our utmost to ensure training venues can be 마련ed,” he said. Kim also said discussions are underway to expand opportunities for winter-sport athletes to join the Korea Armed Forces Athletic Corps, known as Sangmu. “There are many summer sports in Sangmu, but for winter there is only biathlon. We are consulting with the Ministry of National Defense, and I am also requesting support from the minister and working hard,” he said. “I hope we can join forces so a winter team can be newly established in Sangmu.” Seoul High Court’s insurrection appeals panels to begin work on Yoon case Specialized panels at the Seoul High Court assigned to handle appeals for key figures involved in the Dec. 3 martial law incident will begin full operations, including the case of former President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was sentenced to life imprisonment on charges of leading an insurrection, according to legal officials. According to the legal community on the 22nd, the Seoul High Court’s Criminal Division 1 (Presiding Judge Yoon Seong-sik, with Judges Min Seong-cheol and Lee Dong-hyeon) and Criminal Division 12 (Judges Lee Seung-cheol, Jo Jin-gu and Kim Min-a) were designated as the specialized insurrection panels and will start related work from the 23rd. The panels were established under the “Special Act on Criminal Procedures for Crimes Such as Insurrection, Foreign Aggression and Rebellion” (the law creating the specialized insurrection panels). They will handle Yoon’s case as well as appeals for major Cabinet members whose first-trial verdicts have been issued, including former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun and former Interior and Safety Minister Lee Sang-min, who face charges such as participating in important duties. On the same day, two new panels will also be created at the Seoul Central District Court to exclusively handle first trials in insurrection cases. One panel will be led by Presiding Judges Jang Seong-hoon (Judicial Research and Training Institute class 30), Oh Chang-seop (class 32) and Ryu Chang-seong (class 33). The other will be led by Presiding Judges Jang Seong-jin (class 31), Jung Su-young (class 32) and Choi Young-gak (class 34). * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-22 22:03:00
  • South Korea’s Four-Man Bobsled Team Finishes Eighth as Olympic Schedule Ends
    South Korea’s Four-Man Bobsled Team Finishes Eighth as Olympic Schedule Ends South Korea’s national bobsleigh team wrapped up the country’s final event of the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics with an eighth-place finish in the men’s four-man race. The South Korean sled piloted by Kim Jin-su, with Kim Hyeong-geun, Kim Seon-uk and Lee Geon-woo, placed eighth on Saturday (Korea time) at the Cortina Sliding Center in Italy, based on combined times from four heats. Kim’s crew posted a total of 2 minutes, 44.25 seconds over the first three heats, advancing to the fourth and final run reserved for the top 20 teams among 27 countries. Kim competed as a brakeman at the 2022 Beijing Games and reached the top 10 in his first Olympics as a pilot. A second South Korean sled, piloted by Seok Young-jin, finished 23rd after three heats and did not qualify for the final run. The race marked the last competition for the South Korean delegation at these Olympics. Germany swept the medals. Johannes Lochner’s team, which won gold in the two-man event, also took four-man gold to claim a second title at the Games. Francesco Friedrich’s team earned silver again after taking silver in the two-man race. Switzerland’s Michael Vogt won bronze. Germany finished the Games with six gold medals across sliding events — bobsleigh, luge and skeleton.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-22 21:51:00
  • Korea Meets Gold Target at Milan-Cortina Olympics, Calls for Better Facilities and Funding
    Korea Meets Gold Target at Milan-Cortina Olympics, Calls for Better Facilities and Funding South Korea’s Olympic team held a wrap-up news conference to review its results at the 2026 Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics and outline sport-by-sport priorities. Yoo Seung-min, president of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee, and head of delegation Lee Soo-kyung attended the news conference Feb. 22 (Korea time) at Korea House in Milan. South Korea won three gold, four silver and three bronze medals, improving on its Beijing results of two gold, five silver and two bronze. Yoo cited meeting the team’s goal of three gold medals and said a full set of medals in snowboarding — one gold, one silver and one bronze — helped reduce the team’s heavy reliance on ice sports. He also pointed to poor training conditions as a key task going forward. Yoo said South Korea’s first Olympic gold in snowboarding was achieved through overseas training despite lacking basic facilities at home, such as a dedicated air mat, and called for policy-level support for facilities and budgets beyond what individual federations can provide. He also pledged a more detailed support system for speed skating, biathlon and cross-country skiing. Lee, who is also president of the Korea Skating Union, reviewed the performance of the national ice teams and said training methods and infrastructure need to be strengthened. Lee said the short track team showed signs of declining stamina as the competition went on despite strong technical ability, and said she plans to discuss training options with the athletes’ village within a framework that respects athletes’ rights. On speed skating, she cited limits of individualized training and problems caused by not reflecting European training conditions, and called for improving the poor domestic environment — including having only one speed skating rink — and for broader talks on systematic athlete development. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-22 21:45:45
  • Hyundai Motor Group Invests Millions in U.S. Robotics Software Startup FieldAI
    Hyundai Motor Group Invests Millions in U.S. Robotics Software Startup FieldAI Hyundai Motor Group has invested millions of dollars in a U.S. robotics startup, industry sources said. According to the robotics industry on Feb. 22, Hyundai Motor Group recently made a multimillion-dollar investment in FieldAI, a U.S. robotics software startup. FieldAI develops AI software for robot control, with strengths in physical AI that helps robots move autonomously and carry out tasks. Its “Field Foundation Model” (FFM) is designed to help robots detect and assess risks in real time and complete autonomous missions in complex, unpredictable environments. FieldAI drew attention last year after raising more than $400 million from investors including Bezos Expeditions, Intel Capital and Nventures. Hyundai Motor Group has a broad robotics lineup, including the Atlas humanoid, the four-legged robot Spot and the mobility platform MobED. Analysts say combining Hyundai’s hardware with FieldAI’s software could create significant synergy. FieldAI has also maintained a partnership with Hyundai Motor Group robotics affiliate Boston Dynamics. FieldAI’s FFM has been installed on Boston Dynamics’ robot dog Spot and is being used at construction sites across Asia, Europe and North America. Hyundai Motor Group plans to deploy Atlas at its HMGMA plant in Georgia around 2028 and expand its duties to parts assembly starting in 2030.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-22 21:45:15
  • Vice Culture Minister Kim Dae-hyeon Pledges Better Winter Training Facilities, New Military Sports Teams
    Vice Culture Minister Kim Dae-hyeon Pledges Better Winter Training Facilities, New Military Sports Teams Kim Dae-hyeon, second vice minister of culture, sports and tourism, visited the 2026 Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Olympics and promised to work to improve conditions for South Korea’s athletes. Speaking at the South Korean team’s disbandment ceremony on Feb. 22 at Korea House at Villa Necchi Campiglio in Milan, Kim said he had “two policy takeaways” as the vice minister in charge of sports. He said he was grateful to athletes for strong performances in events such as snowboard halfpipe and big air, where South Korea had long questioned whether it could win gold. But he said he felt sorry after hearing athletes had to move from country to country to train because they lacked facilities at home. “When I return, I will consult with the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee, including President Yoo Seung-min, and work within the government to do everything possible to ensure training venues can be provided,” Kim said. Kim also said the government is discussing ways to expand access for winter sports athletes to the Armed Forces Athletic Corps, known as Sangmu. “There are many summer sports teams in Sangmu, but for winter sports there is only biathlon,” he said, adding that he is consulting with the Defense Ministry and has also asked the minister for support. “I hope we can join forces so winter teams can be newly established in Sangmu,” he said. Kim, who has been in Italy since Feb. 19 to support the team during the final stretch of the Games, will also attend the closing ceremony at Verona Arena. He said he has attended the Olympics multiple times as an administrator, including working to win hosting rights for the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics and serving on the organizing committee. “Each time I come, I think the Olympics are more dramatic and moving than any drama,” he said. Kim thanked athletes for fighting to the end “on foreign ice and snow,” and also expressed gratitude to coaches, the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee and officials from each sport. He pledged to back athletes so they can train more safely and compete under better conditions. 2026-02-22 20:24:00
  • Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics to close Feb. 23 after first Games with two flames
    Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics to close Feb. 23 after first Games with two flames The 2026 Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics, staged for the first time with “two flames,” will end on Feb. 23. The closing ceremony is scheduled to begin at 4:30 a.m. Feb. 23 in South Korea at the Verona Arena in Italy. The Games marked the Olympics’ return to Italy for the first time in 20 years and were the first to include two place names in a single official title. The opening ceremony featured athlete entries and torch events in both Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, with the flame lit simultaneously in two locations for the first time. With events spread across venues and some facilities not completed until just before the opening, the Games began amid concerns. Once competition started, attention shifted to athletes’ performances, including Norwegian cross-country star Johannes Klaebo winning six gold medals and claiming his 11th career Winter Olympic gold, a record total. South Korea, which sent a delegation of 130 including 71 athletes, had won three gold, four silver and three bronze medals as of local time Feb. 21. That surpassed its Beijing 2022 totals of two gold, five silver and two bronze medals in both golds and overall medals. A top-10 finish appears out of reach, but South Korea stood 13th overall, up one place from 14th in Beijing. Verona, where the closing ceremony will be held, is about 160 kilometers from Milan, which hosted the opening ceremony as well as skating and ice hockey. No competitions will be held in Verona, which will host only the closing ceremony. The 80,000-seat Verona Arena is an amphitheater completed in A.D. 30 during the Roman Empire and once used for gladiator contests and hunts involving wild animals. South Korea will be led in the closing ceremony by short track skaters Choi Min-jeong (Seongnam City Hall) and Hwang Dae-heon (Gangwon Provincial Office) as flag bearers. Choi won one gold and one silver at these Games, setting a South Korean record with seven career Olympic medals. Hwang won two silver medals, the best result among South Korea’s male athletes. 2026-02-22 20:21:00
  • Short Track’s Kim Gil-li Named South Korea Team MVP at Milan 2026; Korea Finishes With 10 Medals
    Short Track’s Kim Gil-li Named South Korea Team MVP at Milan 2026; Korea Finishes With 10 Medals South Korean short track speed skater Kim Gil-li (Seongnam City Hall) was selected as the national team’s most valuable player at the 2026 Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics. The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee announced the honor at the team’s wrap-up ceremony held Feb. 22 (Korea time) at Korea House in Milan. Kim received more than 80% support in a vote by reporters covering the Games, beating snowboard halfpipe gold medalist Choi Ga-on (Sehwa Girls’ High School). Kim won gold in the women’s 3,000-meter relay and the 1,500 meters, and added bronze in the 1,000, finishing with three medals (two gold, one bronze). “I just tried my best in every race, and the results followed,” Kim said. “It still doesn’t feel real that it’s over, but I’ll set my next goal and keep growing as an athlete.” About 40 people attended the ceremony, including KSOC President Yoo Seung-min, head of delegation Lee Soo-kyung and Culture, Sports and Tourism Vice Minister Kim Dae-hyun. Yoo said the athletes’ focus and fighting spirit “moved us beyond the results.” National Training Center director Kim Taek-soo, in a performance report, cited maintaining South Korea’s strength in ice sports while making major progress in snow events. South Korea sent 71 athletes across six sports and finished with 10 medals: three gold, four silver and three bronze. The main delegation is scheduled to return to South Korea on Feb. 24 via Incheon International Airport. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-22 20:12:00
  • South Korea finishes 13th at 2026 Winter Olympics with 3 gold, 10 total medals
    South Korea finishes 13th at 2026 Winter Olympics with 3 gold, 10 total medals South Korea’s delegation ended the 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics outside its stated goal of a top-10 finish, closing a 17-day run with 3 gold, 4 silver and 3 bronze medals for 13th place overall. Short track, where the team had hoped for at least two gold medals, delivered 2 gold, 3 silver and 2 bronze. Snow events exceeded expectations with 1 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze after the team had targeted at least one medal. South Korea improved on its 2022 Beijing results (2 gold, 5 silver, 2 bronze; 14th) but did not crack the top 10. The team was led largely by teenagers and athletes in their early 20s. In a breakthrough for Korean skiing and snowboarding, Choi Ga-on of Sehwa High School won the women’s snowboard halfpipe with 90.25 points, beating American Chloe Kim (88.00), who was seeking a third straight Olympic title. It was South Korea’s first gold medal of the Games and its first Olympic medal in a ski-snowboard event. Choi, 17 years and 3 months old, also lowered the event’s youngest Olympic gold-medalist mark set by Kim at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games (17 years, 10 months). Kim Sang-gyeom of High1 took silver in men’s snowboard alpine, and Yoo Seung-eun of Seongbok High School won bronze in women’s snowboard big air. It marked the first time South Korea’s ski and snowboard team won two or more medals at a single Olympics. The short track team rebounded after a shaky start. In the mixed 2,000-meter relay semifinal — the first medal event for the team — Kim Gil-li of Seongnam City Hall fell after being tripped by American Corinne Stoddard, and South Korea missed the podium. South Korea then turned momentum with a bronze by Lim Jong-eon of Goyang City Hall in the men’s 1,000 meters, a silver by Hwang Dae-heon of Gangwon Provincial Office in the men’s 1,500, and a bronze by Kim Gil-li in the women’s 1,000. The team later won gold in the women’s 3,000-meter relay after a dramatic comeback. On the final day of short track, South Korea won silver in the men’s 5,000-meter relay, and Kim Gil-li and Choi Min-jeong took gold and silver, respectively, in the women’s 1,500. Kim Gil-li, born in 2004, finished with two gold medals and one bronze, becoming the only South Korean athlete to win two golds at these Games. Choi, who had won three golds and two silvers across the previous two Olympics, added one gold and one silver to bring her career total to seven Olympic medals. That set a South Korean record across the Summer and Winter Games, surpassing Jin Jong-oh (shooting), Kim Soo-nyung (archery) and Lee Seung-hoon (speed skating), who each had six. Choi also tied short track skater Jeon I-kyung’s national record of four Winter Olympic gold medals. After the race, Choi announced her retirement from the Olympics. Speed skating, long a major medal source for South Korea after short track, ended the Games without a medal. In curling, the women’s team missed the semifinals by one spot, finishing fifth in the 10-team round-robin after losing to Canada in its final preliminary game.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-22 19:39:00