PYEONGCHANG, Gangwon Province -- South Korean figure skating icon Kim Yu-na said Saturday it was a huge honor for her to light the Olympic cauldron at the opening ceremony for the 23rd Winter Games.

   Kim, as many would have expected, was the cauldron lighter for the PyeongChang Winter Olympics. To cap off the opening ceremony at the Olympic Stadium in PyeongChang, 180 kilometers east of Seoul, on Friday, Kim, the 2010 Olympic champion in the ladies' singles figure skating, carried the sacred flame up to the cauldron and lit it to thunderous roars from the crowd of more than 30,000 people.

   "As a former athlete, it was such an honor for me to serve as the last torchbearer and the cauldron lighter for this Olympics," Kim said at a press conference in PyeongChang. "It's been years since I retired from skating, but it was an unforgettable moment, since I was able to show my skating and lit the cauldron."

   Before she received the Olympic torch from two players of the joint women's hockey team -- Park Jong-ah from the South and Jong Su-hyon from the North -- Kim, who hung up her boots after the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics skated on the ice below the cauldron, which is installed on the top of the open-air arena.

   "I skated on ice for about 10 years, but it was my first time performing at such a high spot," she said. "But because many people supported me, I think I was able to finish it without a mistake."

   Choosing Kim for the honor was a no-brainer. She's the first South Korean to win an Olympic figure skating gold -- she also added a silver in 2014 -- and the first to win a figure skating world championship.

   Kim, who has been working for PyeongChang 2018 since its bid process, said she was told by the local organizers that she would be the cauldron lighter at the opening ceremony.

   "I was told few months ago, but I didn't know about the concept, whether I should skate or not, and also the size of the ice," she said. "After the size of the ice and the music were confirmed, I thought about the moves and costumes. I just rehearsed it about two days from Monday."

   The 27-year-old said when she received the Olympic torch, she felt very emotional and realized that the Olympics were finally here.

   "Even at the rehearsal, I really didn't feel something special," she said. "But yesterday, not only myself, I believe all people there felt emotional when the Olympic flame arrived." (Yonhap)