Olympic torch relay begins
You Young, center, the first torch carrier in the Olympic torch relay, carries the torch along Incheon Bridge, Incheon, Wednesday. The Olympic flame arrived in Korea Wednesday as it kicks off a 100-day tour throughout the country to arrive at the opening ceremony of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics in PyeongChang Feb. 9, next year. / Korea Times photo by Hong In-ki
By Baek Byung-yeul
The Olympic flame for Korea’s first-ever Winter Games arrived in the host country, Wednesday, 100 days ahead of the opening ceremony for the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.
The Olympic flame was first lit Oct. 24 at the birthplace of the Olympic Games, the Temple of Hera in Olympia, Greece, and was handed over to a 16-member Korean delegation.
The delegation arrived at Incheon International Airport, bringing the Olympic torch here, 30 years after the 1988 Seoul Summer Olympics.
“Today is a very significant moment in history for us,” said Lee Hee-beom, head of the PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Games (POCOG).
“The wait is over for Korea. The Olympic Games and the Olympic flame are symbols of hope and peace. The 2018 PyeongChang Olympics will be an Olympics of peace and harmony. We will ensure that all athletes and everyone coming to PyeongChang will have the time of their lives.”
Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon and former figure skating champion Kim Yuna then lit the Olympic torch from a mini-cauldron.
After the welcoming ceremony, the Olympic flame was moved to Incheon Bridge, the starting point for the torch relay.
The first torchbearer was figure skater You Young, who became the youngest national ladies’ singles figure skating champion at age 11 last year. Along with You, TV personality Yoo Jae-seok and other co-hosts of the popular variety show “Infinite Challenge,” actress-singer Suzy and two-time Olympic champion speed skater Lee Sang-wha joined the relay.
The torch relay will travel 2,018 kilometers throughout 18 cities and counties in Gangwon Province and 17 more cities nationwide. The relay will feature 7,500 torchbearers representing 75 million people on the Korean Peninsula.
“The Olympic torch relay will showcase Korea’s unique culture and travel destinations to the world,” Lee said. “The relay allows everyone to engage and be a part of the Games.”
The torch relay will arrive at the Winter Games opening ceremony on Feb. 9 next year. The 2018 Winter Olympics will take place in the resort town of PyeongChang and neighboring locations from Feb. 9 to 25. Over 5,000 athletes from about 100 countries will compete for 102 gold medals in 15 disciplines at 12 venues, under the slogan "Passion. Connected."