"Yeong-mi!" S. Korea's curling 'girl group' creates sensation during the Olympics
- 6 years ago
With the screams "Yeong-mi" echoeing through the stadium becoming increasingly familiar, the Korean women's curling team was arguably the biggest fan favorite in this Olympics.
Other than being virtually unbeatable, their unique style, characteristics, team chemistry and contagious enthusiasm clearly set the ladies apart from their competitors.
Lee Jeong-yeon gets us better acquainted with the curlers that rose from relative obscurity... to coming close to winning gold while elevating the popularity of the once obscure sport.
Korean women's curling team garnered a lot of international attention at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, with the foreign press coming up with nicknames such as 'Team Kim,' as all the members' last names are 'Kim,'.... and the better-known 'Garlic Girls,'... referring to their garlic-producing home county of Uiseong. According to local media however, the members did not take such a liking to these nicknames and decided to come up with their own.
They each took a name from their breakfast menu: Kim Yeong-mi came up with 'Pancake,' Kim Seon-yeong was 'Sunny' after sunny-side-up eggs, Kim Eun-jung was known as 'Annie,' a brand of yogurt, Kim Kyeong-ae was 'Steak,' and Kim Cho-hi, a.k.a. 'Cho cho,' after chocolate.
Another name that's going down in history is 'Yeong-mi,' one of the member's names. 'Yeong-mi,' 'Yeong-mi,' 'Yeong-mi ' The public has come with their own interpretations for the different ways in which Kim Eun-jung yelled out this name.
'Yeong-mi' refers to 'start sweeping according to the direction of the stone's movement,' 'Yeong-mi ya~' refers to 'stop sweeping and wait,' a frantic 'Yeong-mi ya ' means 'sweep as fast as you can,' and a repeated 'Yeong-mi, Yeong-mi, Yeong-mi' is 'you can stop sweeping now.'
Korea saw many firsts at this year's PyeongChang Winter Olympics,... including Korea's recently discovered prowess in curling after the women's team took the world by storm and bringing home the silver, an unprecedented feat for an Asian team.
The team helped curling turn from what was one of the most unfamiliar games for Koreans at the beginning of the Olympics,... into a head-turner for the nation.
Now with peaked interest in the discipline thanks to the astonishing performance of Annie, Pancake, Sunny, Steak and Cho Cho, the world is already expecting to see more milestones set by this incredible team four years down the road.
Lee Jeong-yeon, Arirang News
Other than being virtually unbeatable, their unique style, characteristics, team chemistry and contagious enthusiasm clearly set the ladies apart from their competitors.
Lee Jeong-yeon gets us better acquainted with the curlers that rose from relative obscurity... to coming close to winning gold while elevating the popularity of the once obscure sport.
Korean women's curling team garnered a lot of international attention at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, with the foreign press coming up with nicknames such as 'Team Kim,' as all the members' last names are 'Kim,'.... and the better-known 'Garlic Girls,'... referring to their garlic-producing home county of Uiseong. According to local media however, the members did not take such a liking to these nicknames and decided to come up with their own.
They each took a name from their breakfast menu: Kim Yeong-mi came up with 'Pancake,' Kim Seon-yeong was 'Sunny' after sunny-side-up eggs, Kim Eun-jung was known as 'Annie,' a brand of yogurt, Kim Kyeong-ae was 'Steak,' and Kim Cho-hi, a.k.a. 'Cho cho,' after chocolate.
Another name that's going down in history is 'Yeong-mi,' one of the member's names. 'Yeong-mi,' 'Yeong-mi,' 'Yeong-mi ' The public has come with their own interpretations for the different ways in which Kim Eun-jung yelled out this name.
'Yeong-mi' refers to 'start sweeping according to the direction of the stone's movement,' 'Yeong-mi ya~' refers to 'stop sweeping and wait,' a frantic 'Yeong-mi ya ' means 'sweep as fast as you can,' and a repeated 'Yeong-mi, Yeong-mi, Yeong-mi' is 'you can stop sweeping now.'
Korea saw many firsts at this year's PyeongChang Winter Olympics,... including Korea's recently discovered prowess in curling after the women's team took the world by storm and bringing home the silver, an unprecedented feat for an Asian team.
The team helped curling turn from what was one of the most unfamiliar games for Koreans at the beginning of the Olympics,... into a head-turner for the nation.
Now with peaked interest in the discipline thanks to the astonishing performance of Annie, Pancake, Sunny, Steak and Cho Cho, the world is already expecting to see more milestones set by this incredible team four years down the road.
Lee Jeong-yeon, Arirang News