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    World Cup work still remains for Korea

    On Thursday morning in Korea, millions will tune in to see what transpires in the Mexican city of Monterey as Korea faces South Africa. A win or a draw will ensure second place in Group A, but defeat would mean a third-place finish — though that could still mean a place in the Round of 32 — or fourth, which would mean elimination and humiliation. Which version of the Taeguk Warriors will turn up? Will it be the team that looked full of energy, speed and imagination as they beat the Czech Republic 2-1? Or will it be the passive pack that lost 1-0 to Mexico? If they had won or tied the game, then the final group game could have been about resting a few players and getting ready for the Round of 32. Instead, there is work still to do. South Africa, ranked 38 places below Korea at 61st in the world, have yet to impress. Their opening games were a 2-0 defeat against Mexico and a 1-1 draw with the Czechs. Bafana Bafana’s Belgian boss Hugo Broos is expecting a tough test. "I'm very sorry to say this, but they are like Duracells: You plug them in, and they start running, and they run for

    2 MIN READBy John Duerden
    World Cup work still remains for Korea
  • Sports

    Defender Kim Min-jae wary of skilled, speedy South African players

    2 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Defender Kim Min-jae wary of skilled, speedy South African players
  • Sports

    Korea coach says team won't settle for draw in final group match

    2 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Korea coach says team won't settle for draw in final group match
  • Sports

    S. Korea chasing knockout berth in final Group A match vs. South Africa

    3 MIN READBy Yonhap
    S. Korea chasing knockout berth in final Group A match vs. South Africa
  • Sports

    S. Korean defender ready to shut down South Africa

    2 MIN READBy Yonhap
    S. Korean defender ready to shut down South Africa
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CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.

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Sports

Hong recounts rollercoaster reputation

Hong Myung-boBy Kang Hyun-kyung      In Korea, it’s a matter of time for those who lead the national football team to become the target of a witch hunt.If the team fails to garner the “desirable outcomes” that football fans set in crucial international games such as in the World Cup, the manager soon falls into the victim of the expectation game. He is considered the source of all the problems team Korea has.The manager-bashing follows. And some are forced to resign in the face of worsening public opinion, although their contracts are still valid.        Former Korean national team manager Hong Myung-bo, 47, says he is all too familiar with the rollercoaster reputation facing national team managers because he experienced it after Korea failed to enter the Round of 16 during the 2014 Brazil World Cup.“As a manager, I did my best to pull together the best team possible, and achieve the best possible results during the 2014 Brazil World Cup. But for some reason, our team underperformed,” he recalled in

Oct 7, 2016
Hong recounts rollercoaster reputation
Sports

Twins stomp Giants to seal 4th spot of KBO League

Players for the LG Twins celebrate their win after their Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) League game against the Samsung Lions at Daegu Samsung Lions Park, Oct. 3. The fourth-place Twins will have a wildcard round, the first round of the playoff, with fifth-place Kia Tigers at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul, Monday. / YonhapBy Baek Byung-yeul The LG Twins held on to fourth spot in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) after defeating the Lotte Giants 4-1, Thursday. With the win, the Seoul-based team will host the league’s wildcard game against the fifth-placed Kia Tigers next week, regardless of a win or loss in the remaining game.In the KBO’s step-ladder postseason system, the fourth and the fifth teams have a two-game wildcard round after the season ends. To give an advantage to the fourth-ranked team, it needs to win only one game to advance while the No. 5 team must win both.At Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan, the Twins started their Dominican right-hander Henry Sosa in their last game against the Giants. While throwing five and 1/3 innings, Sosa threw h

Oct 7, 2016
Twins stomp Giants to seal 4th spot of KBO League
Sports

Korean golfer Pak Se-ri to officially retire next week

A retirement ceremony has been scheduled for the South Korean golf legend Pak Se-ri during an LPGA Tour event on her native soil next week, organizers said Friday.Pak, a World Golf Hall of Famer, will play her final competitive tournament at the LPGA KEB Hana Bank Championship starting next Thursday at Sky 72 Golf & Resort's Ocean Course, adjacent to Incheon International Airport. And the event's local organizers said a ceremony commemorating Pak's accomplishments will take place by the 18th green after the completion of Pak's first round.Pak, who counts five majors among her 25 LPGA victories, put together a trailblazing career as one of the first South Korean stars on the U.S. tour. She captured two majors as a rookie in 1998, and her playoff victory at the U.S. Women's Open that year is credited with inspiring a whole generation of youngsters -- referred to as "Se-ri's Kids" -- to pick up golf. The group includes reigning Olympic champion Park In-bee, an LPGA Hall of Famer, and former world No. 1 Shin Ji-yai.Pak was the South Korean team coach when Park won the gold medal at t

Oct 7, 2016
Korean golfer Pak Se-ri to officially retire next week
Sports

Super Son saves Korea in 3-2 win over Qatar

South Korea’s Son Heung-min celebrates after scoring the decisive goal against Qatar at the 2018 World Cup qualifier football match at Suwon World Cup Stadium, Thursday. South Korea defeated Qatar 3-2. / YonhapBy John DuerdenSon Heung-min did it again and this time in Korea when it mattered. The attacker has been one of the stars of the English Premier League season and scored his sixth goal in six games on Thursday to give Korea a vital 3-2 win over Qatar in the final round of qualifications for the 2018 World Cup.The win gives Korea seven points from three games and looking good to finish in one of the top two positions in Group A that will grant automatic qualification to Russia in 2018.Before the game, the home team had been talking of the importance of scoring first. This is always important of course but against some nations from West Asia, it can nip any blatant acts of time-wasting in the bud. Yet the early goal came but then so did Qatar.Ki Sung-yeung’s low shot from outside the area after 11 minutes was the perfect start. It was crisp and accurate, rolling into

Oct 6, 2016
Super Son saves Korea in 3-2 win over Qatar
Sports

TWF Demonstration Team at the Vatican

The World Taekwondo Federation Demonstration Team performs its trademark high-flying routine at the 1st Global Conference on Faith & Sports at the Paul VI Audience Hall of the Vatican in Rome, Wednesday. / Courtesy of TWF

Oct 6, 2016
Sports

Turtle Marathon set for Oct. 9

The Korea Times invites readers to enjoy the crisp mountain air and early morning sunshine at the 460th Turtle Marathon this Sunday.The event, organized by the Hankook Ilbo, the sister paper of The Korea Times, and the Seoul Metropolitan Government, and supervised by the Seoul Metropolitan Government Mental Health Center and Seoul National University Hospital, will take place at Namsan. The starting point will be Baekbeom Square, in Namsan Park's Hoehyeon area.Founded in 2005, the Seoul Metropolitan Government Mental Health Center offers services to help patients with severe mental illnesses. “Bluetouch” is the symbol for the campaign to promote the mental wellbeing of citizens.  The six-kilometer course will lead from Baekbeom Square towards the National Theater of Korea, and then back to the square by way of the Namsan walking trail.All participants will be offered drinks provided by Nongshim Co. and a prize drawing will be held at the end of the event. Prizes include a Seiko Alba watch, duck meat gift sets and concert tickets. A special performance by Sullae and N

Oct 6, 2016
Turtle Marathon set for Oct. 9
Sports

Former national swimming chief elected as KOC president

Lee Ki-heungBy Kang Hyun-kyung Lee Ki-heung, the former president of the Korea Swimming Federation (KSF), was elected as new president of the Korea Olympic Committee (KOC), Wednesday.During the election at the Olympic Park in southern Seoul, Lee, 61, won 294 out of 892 votes cast, ahead of runner-up Chang Ho-sung, president of Dankook University, by 81 votes.The total number of eligible voters was 1,405 people, a 63.5 percent voter turnout.“I feel the immense sense of responsibility after being elected as new KOC leader,” Lee said during an acceptance speech after winning the race.He called for unity inside the KOC, proposing an inclusive organization that can provide equal opportunities for all its members. “What I’d like to achieve is an inclusive KOC that can embrace all its members, not a divisive or discriminative one,” he said. “Some are allowed to do something, but some aren’t. This is not the organization that I am seeking to achieve.”Lee pledged to be a leader of action, not rhetoric.He is the first KOC president since the

Oct 5, 2016
Former national swimming chief elected as KOC president
Sports

Let your subconscious be your guide

By T.J. TomasiResearchers at the renowned Max Planck Institute discovered that subconscious commitment to a plan of action is made as long as seven seconds before we actually act. This lead time is important in athletic competitions such as baseball, where a great hitter makes an unconscious decision to swing by reading the pitcher's hand position from 60 feet away as he releases the ball. If the hitter waits until the pitch is thrown, it's too late.So your subconscious has things all figured out, if you'll just let it be. But plans get compromised because humans have what I call a "bias toward conscious action." Interference in plan execution is often based on a perceived need to "do something." For example, unless you've had special training, you'll flail about in quicksand, a conscious reaction that sinks you like a stone.In golf, the bias toward conscious action holds sway when players abandon commitment and intervene in their swing at the last second, which is why finding ways of staying committed to your subconscious plan is key. Remember that your subconscious contains all you

Oct 5, 2016
Let your subconscious be your guide
Sports

Hitting your ball longer and straighter

By Kim Jeong-kyooGolf instructors are arguing endlessly about the different ways to hit your ball as far and straight as you want. But two ways here will help you achieve your goal with ease. The first is keeping your hands passive during the entire swing. To this end, you’d better let your body play a dominant role in swinging your club. You can also hit your ball successfully by creating an “L” shape on the backswing and during the follow-through. You just focus on forming the “L” with your arms and club throughout your swing. You don’t need to think about complicated swing mechanics. 1. Let your chest and left hip dominate your swing, not your hands and armsSet up comfortably like a goalie in soccer. Then waggle your club several times so you can hit your ball toward the target.For a good backswing, you need to stop swinging your arms once your body stops turning. Letting your arms finish your backswing, you’ll swing your club down too steeply from outside to inside the target line. Swinging your arms upward at the last moment to comp

Oct 5, 2016
Hitting your ball longer and straighter
Sports

Web backlash after Koreans criticize Lamela over Son penalty rift

Tottenham Hotspur's Korea striker Son Heung-Min, left, and Argentinian midfielder Erik Lamela clash before Lamela takes a penalty during the English Premier League football match between Hotspur and Manchester City at White Hart Lane in London on Oct. 2. / AFP-YonhapBy Ko Dong-hwanSome Korean netizens have become targets of criticism after they cyberbullied Tottenham Hotspurs’ Erik Lamela for blocking Korean Son Heung-min’s chance to score from a penalty kick in an English Premier League match on Sunday.Tottenham was leading Manchester City 2-0 in the second half at White Hart Lane in London when the Spurs were awarded a penalty kick.Lamela and Son briefly argued over who was to take the shot. Son eventually yielded the ball but the Argentine player’s shot was stopped by Manchester City goalkeeper Claudio Bravo.Korean netizens berated Lamela on his SNS pages, including Instagram, in Korean and English. Their harsh language dominated the 2,800 comments on the web pages, about 10 times the usual number.Some netizens apologized to Lamela on behalf of the Koreans for th

Oct 5, 2016
Web backlash after Koreans criticize Lamela over Son penalty rift
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