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Don’t Call Them ‘Garlic Girls’: South Korean Curlers Come to be Olympic Rock Stars

GANGNEUNG, STH KOREA - Forget Lindsey Vonn and Adam Rippon. The real rock actors with the Pyeongchang Olympics can be a modest group connected with Korean curlers which include no idea they’ve turn out to be a global experience.

They will are known as often the “Garlic Girls, ” this Southern area Korean women’s styling staff with the fairy story story whoever name demonstrates the regionally popular garlic cloves grown in their hometown. Certainly not considered a new medal combatir coming into Pyeongchang, they have risen to No. 1 in the ratings, earning globally attention to get their fierce ability in addition to funny individuality.

Nevertheless the Garlic oil Girls have been virtually totally sheltered from the global frenzy both simply by personalized choice — they transferred off their phones throughout the games to block exterior focus — and by simply a defensive coach which is keenly aware that curling is as much a good intellectual game as a bodily one.
여자컬링 's .k Seonyeong, left, sweeps ice cubes with a teammate during their go with versus Russian athletes in the 2018 Winter Olympics around Gangneung, South Korea, Feb. 21 years of age, 2018.
? Famous and they don't know it

After some sort of recent match, the women of all ages were rapidly shuffled past waiting reporters, giving media apologetic delight and hola of “Anyonghaseyo! ” (hello) before vanishing. None of them, says coach Ellie Min-jung, are knowledgeable that they’ve become megastars.

“I’m sorry that I actually weren't able to bring the athletes right now, mainly because I’m worried presently there will be excessive tension and burden on them, ” Kim said. “Even typically the crowd is too enthusiastic about them. ”

That curiosity is understandable. The Garlic herb Girls seem tailor-made to get stardom.

The largely skilled underdogs came into the particular Olympics ranked eighth found in the world together with gone on to crush curling heavyweights including North america in addition to Sweden. They are pretty and comical, mentioning to themselves by quirky nicknames including “Pancake” and “Steak. ”

Two teammates are usually siblings and all are usually longtime pals, creating impressive chemistry around the ice. Often the team’s “skip, ” or maybe captain, contains a steely eyes and cool, owl-eyed drinking glasses that have turn into hitch for endless Internet memes.

Screaming fans

Several Koreans who have never noticed a curling match own traveled to remote Gangneung to peek at their very own nation’s new darlings within person.

“I’m very happy of them, ” claimed Lee Ji Sun, a new 26-year-old who had certainly not been inside a straightening world before Wednesday’s match up. “They are showing we can excel even inside new sport occasions. ”

Every match presenting typically the team is packed with screaming, flag-fluttering Koreans who leap to their foot to joy on typically the women’s stunningly accurate shots. One fan within the masses Wednesday waved just what came out to be a hand-drawn portrait of skip Kim Eun-jung with her figure spectacles.
South Korea's might curling workforce celebrate following beating Russian language athletes throughout their match at the 2018 Winter Olympics inside Gangneung, South Korea, February. twenty one, 2018.
? Late for the online game of curling

The fact that being different has gained virtually any visibility in Korea is definitely unexpected in itself. Korea did not even have a staff throughout Olympic curling right up until the 2014 Sochi Video games.

It took Koreans a little bit to wake up to curling, largely because this state lacked sufficient services right up until recent years, Ellie Young, some sort of curling tale who started this Korean language Curling Club in 1988, explained by email. Now, they says, Korea has 6-8 dedicated curling arenas, and several schools have curling teams.

In 2006, South Korea’s very first curling center had been built in the rural town of Uiseong. Four connected with the five affiliates attended Uiseong Women’s School, exactly where they were on the particular school’s curling team. Uiseong’s status as the nation’s default curling capital gradually grew, as well as the curling facility has published about 15 major national and global curling occasions.

Garlic together with those nicknames

Still, until the women’s team started out their surprise winning skills in Pyeongchang, Uiseong has been better known for its legendary garlic production.

Koreans think about garlic cloves a health food items that boosts stamina. Search engine optimization Eun Ha, a new 26-year-old Garlic oil Girls fan, is convinced garlic herb may experience contributed to the particular team’s success. (She likewise credits the women’s good team-work and strong human relationships. )

Like quite a few supporters from Gangneung, Seo is particularly fond of the curlers’ strange nicknames: Sunny, Steak, Pancake, Annie (a brand regarding yogurt) and ChoCho (a type of cookie).

“I believe his or her nicknames go good with their lively photographs, ” Seo stated. “I like ‘Steak’ probably the most. It sounds so funny and even unique. ”

The nicknames started as the gag over breakfast one day, claimed Kim, the discipline. The women were talking with regards to how complicated it was first for various other countries’ athletes to pronounce their own labels at international competitions. All of five team members and the coach also share the exact same surname — Kim, which is very common in Korea — making their names far more confounding for visitors.

Betty Seon-yeong, who has been eating a sunny-side-up toast egg, joked that the girl could use the name “Sunny. ” One other girls loved the idea. They each opted to nickname themselves after the English words and phrases with regard to their favorite breakfast food, foreseeing that would always be easier for others to understand.

Nevertheless the women’s staff is getting the almost all attention, Korean language fans possess been recently intending wild with regard to the men, very. After Wednesday’s men’s complement, a new participant from the Korean team began throwing T-shirts into the crowd, which will surged forward with outstretched arms.

Kim Heae Darm, a new fan who hopped upwards and managed to be able to snag a good shirt sailing overhead, shoved it for you to her face together with screamed with glee. She in that case turned to capturing the consideration of Korean combined doubles player Lee Ki-jeong, that scrawled his autograph in her notebook.

Since she struggled to get her breath, she revealed her excitement by noting that Lee was strong, sports and “very attractive. ”

As for typically the good results with the women’s crew, Kim, typically the founder connected with the curling pub, couldn’t be prouder. “They are heroes! ” he / she mentioned.

Yet the Garlic Girls do have one obtain: Probably someone could come up with a better ones team name for them all?


“We would prefer the particular name ‘Team Betty, ’” Kim, the instructor, mentioned with a laugh. “Because although our hometown will be Uiseong — which is definitely linked to garlic — all of us have simply no romantic relationship using garlic whatsoever. ”
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