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I thought I should make a separate thread about this, considering its starting to gain a lot of momentum at the moment as a great majority of South Koreans are looking with contempt this decision which might marry the reputation of these games. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-olympics-2018-northkorea-icehockey/plan-for-joint-olympics-team-with-north-gets-icy-reception-in-south-korea-idUSKBN1F50E8 To add more insult to injury, it seems they even forced SK coach and the team players to not even talk to journalists anymore. http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/northkorea/2018/01/16/0401000000AEN20180116010500315.html?sns=tw Many players of the Hockey team are also reported to be displeased with the whole sudden decision, working for many years with the hopes of winning gold only for being most likely placed in the bench because of a political statement. The most insulting thing was the PM saying "They weren't going to win anyway" as a justification. Even if that was the case, you just don't say that. It's a big shame the opportunities of many female athletes went into the trash due to this. I initially didn't understood why some conservatives in SK kept accusing Moon and his friends of being closeted North Korea sympathizers, but after this I think i'm starting to understand. This has also affected Moon Jae In reputation. His support has dropped 20 points since November after the whole drama with the Hockey team happened. What's the opinion of the rest of GB about this new drama happening around these games?

Epidemics have ruined lots of good plans. But this time it relates Olympic Games planned in South Korea and this is a catastrophe imo. https://www.reddit.com/r/korea/comments/7r8hd4/south_korea_is_hit_by_dangerous_bird_flu_virus/ Lots of financial and human resources have been already spent in the run-up to the Games. But the risks are too high to ignore this challenge called H5N6.

PyeongChang 2018 volunteer application process ends with huge participation 4 October 2016 PyeongChang, October 4 – The PyeongChang 2018 volunteer application process came to a close amid huge participation on September 30. The PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (POCOG) began the volunteer recruitment process on July 1st and received applications worldwide for three months. With POCOG receiving 91,656 applications from 145 countries, up to 22,400 people will be chosen to become volunteers at the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Volunteers will take on a variety of roles across 7 areas (i.e., Games information, operational support, media, sport, protocol and languages, medical services, technology) in 17 categories. The most popular category was the language services (interpretation) where 8,131 people applied for 490 positions. Delegation services received the second most applicants with 14,978 for 1,030 positions. Female candidates outnumbered male applicants accounting for 78% of all candidates. In addition, 12,547 foreign applicants account for 14% with 2,890 from Russia, 1,345 from China, and 1,158 from the United States. The organizing committee will review all applications and conduct interviews in person at regional volunteer centers throughout the nation from October, 2016 to February, 2017. Language tests will be conducted for positions which require foreign language fluency - i.e., interpretation, protocol services. Successful candidates will go through a series of training sessions which include Games introduction and teamwork building (Mar. – Aug. 2017), leadership education (Sep. – Dec 2017), job specific education (Sep. – Mar. 2018), and on-the-job training (Jan. – Feb. 2018). POCOG President LEE Hee-beom said, “Volunteers will carry out a range of essential tasks, from medical care to language services. Therefore, PyeongChang 2018 depends on the volunteers to help make the Games a success. In order to select applicants who meet the requirements and who will bring passion and enthusiasm to the Games, the recruitment process will be transparent, open, and fair.”

South Korea has proposed that North Korea host some of the skiing events at next year’s Winter Olympics, in a move it hopes will ease cross-border political tensions. The South Korean sports minister, Do Jong-hwan, has also suggested forming an inter-Korean women’s ice hockey team to compete at the Games, which open in February in the South Korean town of Pyeongchang. Do cited North Korea’s “top-class” Masikryong ski resort as a potential venue and said he would discuss co-hosting with Jang Woong, North Korea’s delegate to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), according to South Korean media. His overture reflects a desire by South Korea’s new president, Moon Jae-in, for cautious engagement with Pyongyang, despite anger over the its recent missile launches and the death this week of the US university student Otto Warmbier after nearly 17 months in a North Korean prison. Moon suggested earlier this month that the two countries lead a north-east Asian bid to host the 2030 World Cup. North Korean involvement in the tournament would require huge investment in infrastructure, but Moon said: “If the neighbouring countries in north-east Asia, including North and South Korea, can host the World Cup together, it would help to create peace.” Do will raise the idea of moving some of the skiing events north of the border when he meets the International Olympic Committee president, Thomas Bach, later this month, South Korean media said. North Korea’s footballers have made two appearances in the World Cup finals – notably in 1966, when they beat Italy 1-0 to reach the quarterfinal stage. The country’s athletes won seven medals, including two golds, at last summer’s Rio Olympics. But it has a poor track record in the Winter Olympics, having won just a silver and bronze medal in eight appearances. It did not take part at the Sochi Games in 2014. North Korean athletes have failed to qualify for any events at Pyeongchang, with the pairs figure-skating competition their only hope of representation if Do’s plans for a joint ice hockey team idea fall through. Do said he hoped North Korea’s participation in the Winter Olympics would make Pyeongchang a “peace Olympics”. “Hopefully, we’ll be able to thaw lingering tensions as we try to bring North Korea on board,” the Korea Herald quoted him as saying. The two Koreas have taken part in several sporting exchanges this year. Their women’s football teams played each other in Pyongyang in April, and their women’s hockey teams competed in South Korea. A North Korean taekwondo team will join South Korean athletes this weekend in a demonstration at the opening ceremony of the sport’s world championships in Muju, South Korea. Pyongyang boycotted the 1986 Asian Games and the 1988 Olympics, which were both held in Seoul, but has since taken part in international sports competitions south of the border, most recently the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon. source: https://www.theguardian.com

Its going to start on 8 days so I decided to open a thread dedicated to the upcoming event. Logo and Mascot of the games (they reused the wing idea of Incheon though now forming the U for Universiade) Poster The Medals Athletes Village Torch relay undergoing, the relay began at Mudeung National Park on a ceremony Some sneak peaks of the stage. Sadly, it seems the ceremony will go back to the small, simplistic style of the ceremonies before Shenzhen 2011 (no offense but koreans seem to be very stingy when doing ceremonies. All of them except for the 2002 WC and the Seoul olympics felt halfassed. I seriously hope they don't do this in Pyeongchang) http://www.gwangju2015.com/gwangju-universiade-opening-ceremony-where-korean-tradition-meets-pop-culture-3/?c_page=1&brd_sbox_type=&brd_sbox_txt=&brd_cat=news

Again Thanks for the Image made by Woo Hoo last day of the group stage I expect many people to be be on here. Will US and Germany battle it out or both play for a draw or will Portugal or Ghana make a miraculous comeback. And who will be The Group G winners opponents. It's going to be a great last day the end of the Group Stage under 2 and a half weeks to the Final!