South Korea will face Kuwait, Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates in Asian qualifying for the 2014 World Cup.Korea, which is aiming for its eighth consecutive World Cup finals, is in the B group alongside the Middle Eastern countries after the draw in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday. The Korean national team, which made it into the last 16 at the 2010 World Cup finals, will be a strong favorite in Gro

Korean actor and singer Kim Hyun-joong will hold a concert tour across Japan, his agency Keyeast announced on Saturday.The rising hallyu star successfully hosted his first solo album showcase in Tokyo on Friday, attracting more than 2,000 fans and reporters at the Tokyo International Forum.  Actor and singer Kim Hyun-joong poses before his album showcase in Tokyo on Friday. (Yonhap News)Speaking a

South Korean pop group Wonder Girls will become honorary ambassadors for the 2013 Special Olympics, the organizer announced on Wednesday.The girl group accepted an invitation from the Special Olympic governing body to help promote the 2013 Games after performing at the closing ceremony of the 2011 Games in Athens, according to the local organizer.PyeongChang, the host city of 2018 Winter Games, wi

In 30 days, Daegu, about 300 kilometers south of Seoul, will play host to the world’s fastest and strongest athletes as well as hundreds of international sports officials. Daegu is preparing for the 2011 IAAF World Championships in Athletics which is slated for Aug. 27-Sept. 4. The biannual event is one of the world’s top three sporting events along with the Olympics and the FIFA World Cup. In fac

 Becoming champions in as prestigious a competition as the 13th World Championships in Athletics is any sprinter’s dream.But for Korean athletes to even qualify for the competition will be a huge achievement given the country’s current level of competitiveness.The last World Championships in Berlin ended in disappointment, as all 19 Korean athletes were knocked out in preliminary rounds.This year,

 With just 30 days to go until the opening of the IAAF World Championships, local organizers are busy making final preparations. Jerry Ling, 34, from Singapore, is among the officials who have been working day and night trying to deliver the best ever athletics competition in Daegu.“I joined the Local Organizing Committee in 2009 and have been busy preparing for the Championships ever since,” Ling

Bolt, Isinbayeva, world’s big names sure to attract international attentionSouth Korea has already staged the 1988 Olympics and the 2002 World Cup, and now the world’s eyes will be on the country once again. More than 2,400 athletes from 207 members national of the IAAF will compete at the Daegu World Championships in Athletics next month, which make it the largest-ever tournament of its kind. The

South Korean swimming star Park Tae-hwan failed to win his second gold medal at the World Championships in Shanghai on Tuesday after finishing fourth in the 200-meter freestyle with 1 minute 44:92 seconds. American swimmer Ryan Lochte clocked 1:44.44 to snatch the gold medal of the event, ahead of his countryman Michael Phelps, who finished second with a 1:44:79, while world record holder Paul Bie

South Korean swimming star Park Tae-hwan successfully retained his 400-meter freestyle crown following a fine swim at the World Championships in Shanghai on Sunday.The 22-year-old clocked 3 minutes 42.04 seconds to win the gold medal of the event, beating Chinese rivals Sun Yang who finished second in 3:43:24.(Yonhap News)His time was 2.03 seconds behind the world record of 3:40:07 set by Germany’

Last week in Durban, South Africa, a group of Korean delegates were leaping and hugging each other with joy when the International Olympic Committee finally declared PyeongChang as the host of the 2018 Winter Olympics.Ermanno Gardella was there too, joining the festive crowd and enjoying the success of PyeongChang’s bid. “I supported PyeongChang,” said the secretary general of the International Bo

 NBA star Kobe Bryant arrived in Seoul on Thursday as part of an Asian tour organized by his sponsor Nike to promote basketball here.  The LA Lakers guard arrived in Gimpo Airport on his private jet around 11 a.m. Thursday. After a brief news conference, he went directly to Korea University in Seoul to host a mini clinic for local high school and university students.  NBA basketball star Kobe Brya

It has been an unusually quiet year for Korean women’s golf. In recent years, the leader board at LPGA golf events has been dominated by Korean women: they combined for 22 wins from 2009-2010. But this year has been disappointing with no title yet for the Koreans until last week. The deadlock was finally broken when Ryu So-yeon claimed the U.S. Women’s Open title on Monday by beating her fellow co

South Korea is basking in the triumph of PyeongChang’s 2018 bid. Thousands people in Pyeong-Chang, Gangwon Province, chanted, danced and cried tears of joy when the International Olympic Committee declared Wednesday the Korean city as the host of 2018 Winter Games. It was the moment that PyeongChang had waited for a decade after its two previous failures. And it was also the moment that Korea had

Korea’s U23 head coach Hong Myung-bo (Yonhap News)South Korea is grouped with Saudi Arabia in the final Asian qualifying round for the London 2012 Olympics. In a draw held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Thursday, Korea was picked to face the Middle Eastern side along with Qatar and Oman in Group A.Twelve teams have qualified for the third round where they have been divided into three groups of four

New horizons, compact game plan and strong public support convince IOC voters Residents of Gangwon Province cheer with excitement as the IOC announces PyeongChang as the host city of the 2018 Winter Games at the Alpensia Resort in PyeongChang, Gangwon Province, Wednesday. (Yonhap News)He was silent, and did not know what to say. Finally, Kim Man-ki, the communication director of PyeongChang 2018 b

Stroll among traditional houses, soak in hot springs and drink sakeTAKAYAMA ― It was 8 a.m. on Saturday, and the Incheon International Airport was packed with people heading out for a weekend getaway or an early summer vacation. But our queue ― we were headed to Takayama in Gifu Prefecture, Japan ― was noticeably short, and it took only 10 minutes to complete check in. The tour guide said the numb

Korea’s Kim Mi-kyung (right) competes against Farida Azizova of Azerbaijan in the women’s under-67 kg final of the WTF World Qualification Tournament for the 2012 London Olympics in Baku, Azerbaijan on Thursday.  (WTF)South Korea secured two spots in taekwondo for the 2012 London Olympics on the opening day of the World Taekwondo Federation qualification tournament in Baku, Azerbaijan, Thursday.In

Top golfers from Korea and Japan will face each other at the Korea-Japan Million Yard Cup, which tees off on Friday at Jeongsan Golf Club, in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province.The three-day competition is the third occasion in which Korea’s top male golfers team up to play against Japan. In its inaugural competition in 2004, Korea beat Japan, but in their last clash in 2010, they lost to the Japan

The plan to launch a new professional baseball team in South Korea has been boosted after the Changwon City Council passed a bill Tuesday to build a new baseball stadium in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province.NCsoft, an online game developer, signed a memorandum of understanding with Changwon City at the end of 2010 to set up a new professional baseball team in Changwon, some 400 kilometers southe

Just one week before the International Olympic Committee’s selection of the host of the 2018 Winter Games, PyeongChang successfully held its final presentation on Tuesday before African officials in Togo, according to the PyeongChang 2018 Bid Committee. During a 20-minute presentation, PyeongChang, led by bid committee chairman Cho Yang-ho, highlighted how its bid would help National Olympic Commi