Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

Curling - South Korean 'Garlic Girls' savour overnight fame

Published 21/02/2018, 15:17
Updated 21/02/2018, 15:20
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics

By Jane Chung

GANGNEUNG, South Korea (Reuters) - The South Korean women's curling team, nicknamed "Garlic Girls", have become overnight internet sensations following their stellar performance and cool-headedness at the Pyeongchang Games.

Kim Eun-jung's foursome became the first Korean rink to reach the Olympic semi-finals after Tuesday's 9-6 win over the United States. At the 2014 Sochi Olympics, South Korea's women team finished eighth.

Their fairytale run has been celebrated on social media by fans who posted memes and parody videos, with floor mops and robot vacuum cleaners, which went viral.

One of the best-known memes is a collage of South Korean curling skip Kim's never-changing facial expression, irrespective of the situation.

Team member Kim Yeong-mi said they had no clue about their newfound fame as they had turned off mobile phones to avoid distractions during the tournament.

"Even when we had a national competition, we played without any crowd because curling has been unpopular and not well known, we didn't expect many people would come and watch us," she told reporters on Wednesday.

"We're just grateful for that."

Several factors worked in their favour.

For starters, all five curlers - Kim Eun-jung, Kim Yeong-mi, Kim Kyeong-ae, Kim Seon-yeong and Kim Cho-hi - have the same last name.

No wonder fans also call them "Team Kim".

While Kim Yeong-mi and Kim Kyeong-ae are siblings, all five hail from the same hometown of Uiseong, a county famous for garlic. Understandably, they are called the "Garlic Girls."

Furthermore, they are linked to Kim Yeong-mi in one way or the other. They are either Yeong-mi's sister, or a friend of Yeong-mi's sister, or at least her close friend.

Reflecting South Koreans' newfound interest in curling and the players, the Gangneung Curling Centre was nearly packed with spectators for the games.

The home team beat Olympic Athletes from Russia 11-2 on Wednesday to continue their winning streak and they ended preliminary round play later in the day with a 9-3 win over Denmark to warm up for a semi-final against Japan on Friday.

"I wasn't interested in either curling or the Olympics but after watching curling games at home, I've started to like them, they're so cool," said Park Jin-ju, a 31-year-old housewife who came with her husband to watch the game.

Park and her husband bought the tickets at the last minute and left their house in Cheonan, about a three-hour drive from Gangneung, at 4 a.m. to watch the team's morning game.

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics

"We're getting a huge and warm support from our fans because they are cheering us so enthusiastically, and hope they can keep rooting for us," Kim Yeong-mi said.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.