LCK to hold summer playoffs in empty stadium

The 2021 League of Legends Champions Korea summer season finals will take place in an empty CJ ENM Studio in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, Aug. 28, LCK said in a press release Wednesday. In compliance with the social distancing guidelines, all playoff games will be held without spectators. With one week remaining in the LCK summer season, all six of the teams that will advance to the playoffs starting Aug. 18 have yet to be determined. While Liiv Sandbox is currently in the No. 1 spot, the rank

Aug. 12, 2021

Teen swimming sensation Hwang Sun-woo eyes Olympic medals in 2024

Having had his first taste of the Olympics at age 18, South Korean swimmer Hwang Sun-woo is turning his focus to the 2024 Summer Games in Paris. Hwang competed in two finals at the recently concluded Tokyo Olympics. He set an Asian record with 47.56 seconds in the semifinals of the 100-meter freestyle and finished in fifth place in the final. He became the first Asian swimmer in 65 years to even race in an Olympic final for the 100m freestyle. In the 200m freestyle earlier in Tokyo, Hwang set

Aug. 11, 2021

Inseparable friends in badminton happy to be reunited in quest for medal in Tokyo

They have been friends for 14 years and have won world junior titles together. And finally, South Korean badminton stars Lee So-hee and Shin Seung-chan will team up in the women's doubles at the Olympics this summer in Tokyo. Lee and Shin each competed at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics with different, older doubles partners. Lee and Chang Ye-na were knocked out of the quarterfinals, but Shin and Jung Kyung-eun grabbed bronze. Lee and Shin won the women's doubles titles at the world junior ch

July 7, 2021

S. Korean Kwon Soon-woo eliminated in 2nd round at Wimbledon

South Korea's Kwon Soon-woo has been knocked out in the second round of Wimbledon. Kwon, ranked 71st, lost a five-set, four-hour battle against Dominik Koepfer at the All England Club in London on Wednesday (local time). The 62nd-ranked German prevailed 6-3, 6-7 (8-10), 7-6 (7-2), 5-7, 6-3. Kwon earned his first career victory at Wimbledon on Tuesday with a four-set victory against Daniel Masur, also from Germany. Kwon walked away with 45 ranking points and should crack the top 70 after the c

July 1, 2021

S. Korea falls to Venezuela to open Olympic men's basketball qualifying event

South Korea is off to a losing start in its bid to qualify for the Olympic men's basketball tournament for the first time in a quarter century. South Korea fell to Venezuela 94-80 in its first game of the FIBA Olympic qualifying tournament at Zalgirio Arena in Kaunas, Lithuania, on Wednesday (local time), as its spirited second-half comeback attempt fell short. Davidson forward Lee Hyun-jung led South Korea with a game-high 18 points on a 7-of-14 shooting, and naturalized starting center Ra Gu

July 1, 2021

S. Korean Kwon Soon-woo wins 1st round men's singles match at Wimbledon

It took him two days, but South Korea's Kwon Soon-woo finally has his first victory in the men's singles at Wimbledon. The 71st-ranked Kwon defeated Daniel Masur of Germany 3-1 (6-7 (2-7), 6-3, 6-4, 6-4) in the opening round match of the Grand Slam tournament in London on Tuesday (local time). Their match began Monday after more than three hours of rain delay and was suspended due to darkness after Masur took the first set in 51 minutes. When the match resumed the following day, Kwon quickly

June 30, 2021

Serena Williams says she will not play at the Tokyo Olympics

WIMBLEDON (AP) -- Serena Williams said she will not go to the Tokyo Olympics, but did not want to say why during her pre-Wimbledon video conference with reporters Sunday. "I'm actually not on the Olympic list. ... Not that I'm aware of. If so, then I shouldn't be on it," Williams said. The 39-year-old Williams has won four gold medals at past Summer Games for the United States: in both singles and doubles at the 2012 London Olympics -- which held the tennis competition at the All Eng

June 27, 2021

A member of BTS Army, teen table tennis star wants to be 'dope' at Olympics

MUNGYEONG -- Watch the South Korean teen phenom Shin Yu-bin play table tennis, and you can imagine that she must listen to music with beats as dynamic as her strokes. Shin, two weeks from her 17th birthday and the youngest member of the national team for the Tokyo Olympics, is a proud member of BTS Army, the global fan base for the K-pop sensation. With the Olympics about a month away, Shin, who carries photos of BTS members in her backpack, said she already has set her BTS playlist for Tokyo.

June 21, 2021

Kwon Soon-woo ousted in 3rd round at French Open

South Korean player Kwon Soon-woo couldn't get past the third round of the French Open against a top-10 opponent. Kwon, world No. 91, dropped a straight-set decision against the ninth-ranked Matteo Berrettini, 7-6 (8-6), 6-3, 6-4, in their men's singles match at Court Simonne-Mathieu inside Roland-Garros in Paris on Saturday (local time). This was Kwon's first appearance at the third round of a Grand Slam tournament. The 23-year-old is expected to crack the top 80 in the next world rankings.

June 6, 2021

Chungcheong area hopes to jointly host World University Games in 2027

The Chungcheong region has officially launched a promotion team in hopes of hosting the 2027 World University Games. 　 Daejeon, Sejong, and North and South Chungcheong provinces founded an organization to bid for the games in 2027, and North Chungcheong Gov. Lee Si-jong has been tapped as its leader. Experts who were part of the 2015 Gwangju Summer Universiade Organizing Committee will also be on the 2027 World University Games promotion team, Lee said in a press release. The four communities

May 28, 2021

Natl. women's hockey team player tests positive for COVID-19

One member of the South Korean national women's hockey team tested positive for the new coronavirus Tuesday, a local government said. The athlete, in her 20s, received the positive result while training in Jecheon, about 170 kilometers southeast of Seoul, according to the city government. On Monday, she got tested for the virus after being notified that she had come into contact with a COVID-19 patient living in Goyang, just north of Seoul. The national team has been training at a hockey stad

May 18, 2021

Badminton star Lee Yong-dae diagnosed with COVID-19

Badminton star Lee Yong-dae has been confirmed to be infected with COVID-19, his team said Monday. The 32-year-old player tested positive for the new coronavirus on April 23 and entered a quarantine facility, according to the Yonex badminton team. Lee was discharged Monday because he showed no symptoms. He is self-isolating at home and will take a test again this week, Yonex said. He took a test on April 22 after a person who he ate together with tested positive, team officials said. The le

May 3, 2021

Go competition brings professionals and amateurs together

Hoping for the growth of the game of Go, or “Baduk” in Korean, next-generation big data platform company DataStreams and South Korea’s leading English daily The Korea Herald co-hosted the 2021 Pro-am Baduk Competition on Friday. “We put together today’s event to let the world know of Korean Baduk’s high position,” said DataStreams CEO Lee Young-sang. “DataStreams will continue to help expand the Korean Baduk’s status in the world of sports.

April 30, 2021

Natl. wrestling team's COVID-19 cases rise to 22: federation

The number of new coronavirus cases among athletes and the training staff of the South Korean national wrestling team rose to 22, the sport's governing body said Wednesday. The national team traveled to Almaty, Kazakhstan, to participate in the 2021 Asian Wrestling Olympic Qualification Tournament from April 8-11 and the 2021 Asian Wrestling Championships from April 12-18. Twenty-four returned to Korea on April 19, and seven tested positive for the novel coronavirus, according to the Korea Wre

April 28, 2021

MSI preview: 11 teams heading to Iceland; VCS unable to attend once again

With paiN Gaming winning the Brazil league finals Monday, all 12 teams heading to the League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational have been locked in. However, Riot Games announced Tuesday that the Vietnamese Championship Series will not be participating due to COVID-19 restrictions. “We explored numerous solutions that would allow the VCS team to compete in Iceland, but we were unable to find a way to make this happen. We are deeply disappointed to have to continue without one of our most

April 20, 2021

DWG Kia stomps Gen.G to win LCK Spring, heads to MSI

Defending champion DWG Kia swept Gen.G Esports 3-0 in the League of Legends Champions Korea Finals on Saturday to secure a ticket to the Mid-Season Invitational in May and win prize money of 200 million won ($178,000). Although DWG Kia was the clear favorite leading up to the finals, the fact that Gen.G Esports and DWG Kia both swept their quarterfinals opponents 3-0 had raised expectations for a closely contested final. However, the 2020 LCK Summer champion and world champion dominated the ga

April 12, 2021

DWG Kia and Gen.G Esports to battle for LCK Spring title

All eyes are on DWG Kia and Gen.G Esports as the two head to the 2021 LCK Spring Finals on Saturday to play for the spring title and a chance to play at the Mid-Season Invitational in May. During the online press conference Tuesday for the LCK Spring Finals, both coach Kim “kkOma” Jeong-gyun of DWG Kia and Ju “oDin” Young-dal of Gen.G Esports expressed immense respect for their opponents, but each had confidence in coming out victorious. “Facing DWG Kia, who are

April 7, 2021

Esports experts discuss the future of esports in Korea

Esports has now become a mainstream cultural activity for the younger generations, a development that was discussed during “The Game Changer,” an online esports conference organized by global esports company Gen.G Esports and Yonsei University last week.　 Discussing the past, present and future of the esports scene in Korea were leading industry figures and experts, including Gen.G Esports Chief Operating Officer Arnold Hur, professor of media studies at Simon Fraser University Jin

April 6, 2021

11 members of SK handball team test positive for coronavirus

Eleven members of the SK Hawks men's handball team have been confirmed to be infected with the coronavirus, a local government said Wednesday. Thirteen players and coaches of the team, based in Cheongju, 150 kilometers south of Seoul, underwent COVID-19 tests Tuesday, after nine people showed signs of fever and cough in the afternoon. Eleven of them tested positive while two tested negative, the city government said. Health authorities are conducting an epidemiological survey to determine the

March 24, 2021

Road to the LCK Spring Playoffs

With one week remaining in the League of Legends Champions Korea Spring regular season, all but one of the six teams advancing to the playoffs starting March 31 have been decided. 2020 LoL World Championship winner DWG KIA continued their dominance in the second round to capture the No. 1 spot in the regular season and are heading directly to the second round of playoffs. The playoff format newly introduced this year places the regular season first and second place teams in the second round

March 23, 2021