Rarely Call Them ‘Garlic Girls’: South Korean Curlers Grow to be Olympic Rock Stars

GANGNEUNG, SOUTHERLY KOREA - Forget Lindsey Vonn and Adam Rippon. The real rock stars from the Pyeongchang Olympics happen to be a humble group of Korean curlers who else own no idea they’ve come to be a international sensation.

These people are known as this “Garlic Girls, ” typically the South Korean women’s straightening group with the fairy story story whoever moniker shows the locally popular garlic herb grown inside their hometown. Never ever considered some sort of medal combatir coming into Pyeongchang, they have risen to Simply no. 1 in the search positions, earning around the world attention for their fierce talent together with funny people.

Nevertheless the particular Garlic clove Girls have been practically totally sheltered from the worldwide frenzy both by private choice — that they changed off their phones through the games to block exterior focus — and by a safety coach that is acutely aware that being different is as much the intellectual game as some sort of real one.
South Korea's The reality star Seonyeong, left, sweeps ice-cubes with a teammate during their match towards Russian athletes with the 2018 Winter Olympics around Gangneung, South Korea, Feb. twenty-one, 2018.
? Famous and they also may know it

After a good modern match, the women were instantly shuffled prior waiting reporters, giving journalists apologetic smiles and hey there of “Anyonghaseyo! ” (hello) before vanishing. None involving them, says coach .k Min-jung, are knowledgeable of which they’ve become superstars.

“I’m sorry that My partner and i cannot bring the athletes right now, because I’m worried there will be a lot pressure and burden about them, ” Kim said. “Even this crowd is too interested in them. ”

That attention is understandable. The Garlic Girls seem tailor-made with regard to stardom.

The significantly competent underdogs came into typically the Olympics ranked eighth found in the world and gone on to crush curling heavyweights including Nova scotia together with Sweden. They are cute in addition to comical, mentioning to be able to on their own by quirky nicknames for example “Pancake” and “Steak. ”

Two teammates are sisters and all are longtime pals, creating remarkable chemistry within the ice. The team’s “skip, ” or perhaps captain, has a steely look and odd, owl-eyed glasses that have turn out to be fodder for endless World wide web memes.

Screaming fans

Numerous Koreans who have never seen a curling match include traveled to remote Gangneung to peek at their nation’s new darlings inside person.

“I’m very proud of them, ” claimed Lee Ji Sunlight, a 26-year-old who had in no way been inside a curling world before Wednesday’s go with. “They are showing we all can flourish even at new sport occasions. ”

Every match offering the particular team is packed with shouting, flag-fluttering Koreans that jump to their legs to brighten on the particular women’s stunningly exact photographs. 컬링 in the market Wednesday waved what exactly shown up to be a hand-drawn face of skip Kim Eun-jung with her brand spectacles.
Sth Korea's could curling group celebrate following beating Ukrainian athletes throughout their match within the 2018 Winter Olympics in Gangneung, South Korea, Feb. 21, 2018.
? Late into the sport of curling

That being different has gained almost any dominance in Korea will be amazing in itself. Korea didn’t even have a team within Olympic curling until finally the 2014 Sochi Games.

It took Koreans a little bit to wake up for you to curling, largely because the particular country lacked sufficient services right up until recent years, Ellie Young, the curling fable who started often the Korean language Curling Club 23 years ago, explained by email. Today, he or she says, Korea has 6-8 dedicated curling circles, and a lot of schools have curling clubs.

In 2006, South Korea’s first curling center has been constructed in the rural town of Uiseong. Four connected with the five team members joined in Uiseong Women’s High school graduation, exactly where they were on typically the school’s curling team. Uiseong’s track record as the nation’s default curling capital slowly but surely grew, and the curling center has published about 18 major local and international curling activities.

Garlic and those nicknames

However, till the women’s team started their surprise winning streak in Pyeongchang, Uiseong had been better known for its legendary garlic production.

Koreans think of garlic herb a well being food that boosts stamina levels. Search engine marketing Eun Ha, some sort of 26-year-old Garlic herb Girls lover, believes garlic herb may have contributed to the team’s success. (She also credit the women’s great team-work and strong interactions. )

Like quite a few supporters with Gangneung, Seo is particularly fond of the curlers’ abnormal nicknames: Sunny, Steak, Hot cake, Annie (a brand associated with yogurt) and ChoCho (a style of cookie).

“I think his or her nicknames go good with their dynamic pictures, ” Seo said. “I like ‘Steak’ the best. The idea sounds so funny and even unique. ”

The nicknames started as a good gag over breakfast one working day, mentioned Kim, the coach. The ladies were talking concerning how tough it has been for additional countries’ runners to pronounce their very own companies at international tournaments. Most five team members and the coach also share a similar surname — Kim, and that is very common in Korea — making their labels even more confounding for visitors.

.k Seon-yeong, who was eating a new sunny-side-up stir fried egg, joked that the girl could go by the brand “Sunny. ” Other females loved the idea. They each opted to nickname on their own after the English phrases with regard to their favorite breakfast foods, figuring that would always be easier for others to seize.

Nevertheless the women’s workforce is getting the most attention, Korean fans currently have already been proceeding wild to get the men, way too. After Wednesday’s men’s go with, some sort of gamer from the Korean language team began throwing Tshirts into the crowd, which usually surged forward with outstretched hands.

Kim Heae Darm, the fan who leaped upwards and managed in order to snag a new shirt cruising overhead, forced it to help her face and even cried with glee. She then turned to capturing this interest of Korean merged doubles player Lee Ki-jeong, that scrawled his autograph in her notebook.

Because she struggled to capture her breath, she explained her excitement by noting that Lee was tough, athletic and “very attractive. ”

As for the particular accomplishment with the women’s group, Kim, often the founder regarding the curling team, could not be prouder. “They usually are heroes! ” he stated.

Yet the Garlic Females do have one ask: It could be someone could come up with a better ones team name for them all?


“We would prefer the particular name ‘Team Ellie, ’” Kim, the trainer, explained with a laugh. “Because although our hometown can be Uiseong — which is usually associated with garlic — most of us have not any connection along with garlic in anyway. ”