컬링 , SOUTH KOREA - Forget Lindsey Vonn and Adam Rippon. The real rock superstars in the Pyeongchang Olympics will be a simple group associated with Korean curlers who also have got no idea they’ve become a global feeling.

Many people are known as typically the “Garlic Girls, ” the particular Southern region Korean women’s styling crew with the fairy story story whose name shows the in the area famous garlic clove grown in their hometown. Certainly not considered the medal challenger coming into Pyeongchang, these people have risen to Virtually no. a single in the search positions, earning worldwide attention for their fierce skill and funny individuality.

But the particular Garlic herb Girls are already pretty much totally sheltered through the foreign frenzy both by simply personal choice — that they made off their phones over the games to block outdoor consideration — and by a defensive coach which is acutely aware that being different is as much the psychological game as a real one.
South Korea's The reality star Seonyeong, left, sweeps snow with a teammate during their fit versus Russian athletes within the 2018 Winter Olympics throughout Gangneung, South Korea, February. twenty-one, 2018.
? Famous and they also no longer know it

After a recent match, the girls were immediately shuffled recent waiting reporters, giving journalists apologetic happiness and hello of “Anyonghaseyo! ” (hello) before disappearing. None involving them, says coach Betty Min-jung, are informed that will they’ve become megastars.

“I’m sorry that My spouse and i cannot bring the athletes nowadays, since I’m worried presently there will be a lot of tension and burden on them, ” Kim said. “Even the crowd is too interested in them. ”

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

The wildly skilled underdogs came into the Olympics ranked eighth inside the world and went on to crush curling heavyweights including North america and Sweden. They are sweet plus comical, mentioning to them selves by quirky nicknames like “Pancake” and “Steak. ”

Two teammates happen to be siblings and all are longtime pals, creating impressive chemistry for the ice. Often the team’s “skip, ” or captain, has a steely look and cool, owl-eyed cups that have turn into hitch for endless Online memes.

Screaming fans

A lot of Koreans who have never observed a curling match possess traveled to remote Gangneung in order to peek at their very own nation’s new darlings in person.

“I’m very pleased of them, ” stated Lee Ji Sunlight, the 26-year-old who had never been inside a styling market before Wednesday’s go with. “They are showing we can do well even in new sport activities. ”

Every match featuring often the team is packed with shouting, flag-fluttering Koreans who also leap to their foot to joy on typically the women’s stunningly exact images. One fan from the herd Wednesday waved precisely what seemed to be a hand-drawn symbol of skip Ellie Eun-jung with her signiture move spectacles.
Southwest Korea's ladies curling group celebrate after beating Ukrainian athletes while in their match within the 2018 Winter Olympics within Gangneung, South Korea, Feb. twenty-one, 2018.
? Late on the video game of curling

That will being different has gained just about any visibility in Korea can be astonishing in itself. Korea did not even have a workforce around Olympic curling until finally the 2014 Sochi Online games.

It took Koreans a short time to wake up to help curling, largely because typically the nation lacked sufficient facilities right up until recent years, Betty Young, a curling story who started the Korean Curling Club 23 years ago, mentioned by email. Now, he or she says, Korea has 6-8 dedicated curling domains, and a lot of schools have curling groups.

In 2006, South Korea’s first of all curling center seemed to be integrated the rural city of Uiseong. Four of the five business friends gone to Uiseong Women’s Secondary school, wherever they were on often the school’s curling team. Uiseong’s track record as the nation’s default being different capital slowly grew, plus the curling heart has hosted about twelve major national and worldwide curling occasions.

Garlic together with those nicknames

Nonetheless, right until the women’s team begun their surprise winning talent in Pyeongchang, Uiseong was initially better known for their prolific garlic oil production.

Koreans take into account garlic clove a overall health foodstuff that boosts strength. Search engine marketing Eun Ha, some sort of 26-year-old Garlic herb Girls admirer, states garlic oil may now have contributed to this team’s success. (She in addition breaks the women’s fine teamwork and strong human relationships. )

Like several followers in Gangneung, Seo is very fond of the curlers’ uncommon nicknames: Sunny, Steak, Pancake, Annie (a brand connected with yogurt) and ChoCho (a sort of cookie).

“I think their particular nicknames go in reality with their dynamic image samples, ” Seo claimed. “I like ‘Steak’ the most. This sounds so funny and even unique. ”

The nicknames started as the fun over breakfast one day, claimed Kim, the coach. The women have been talking regarding how tough it has been for various other countries’ sportsmen to pronounce their particular titles at international competitions. All five team members and the coach also share the same surname — Kim, that is very common in Korea — making their titles much more confounding for foreigners.

Betty Seon-yeong, who was initially eating a sunny-side-up toast egg, joked that the lady could pass by the identify “Sunny. ” Other girls loved the idea. They each opted to nickname on their own after the English phrases for favorite breakfast food, figuring that would end up being easier for others to know.

Nevertheless the women’s group is getting the almost all focus, Korean language fans possess been recently intending wild regarding the men, way too. After Wednesday’s men’s match, a player from the Korean language team began throwing Tshirts into the crowd, which often surged forward with outstretched forearms.

Kim Heae Darm, some sort of fan who hopped right up and managed to help snag the shirt sailing overhead, pressed it to her face together with cried with glee. Your woman next turned to capturing typically the awareness of Korean merged doubles player Lee Ki-jeong, who also scrawled his autograph in her notebook.

While she struggled to catch her breath, she revealed her excitement by writing that Lee was solid, sports and “very good looking. ”

As for often the achievements with the women’s workforce, Kim, this founder connected with the curling pub, could not be prouder. “They are usually heroes! ” he stated.

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

“We would prefer the particular name ‘Team The reality star, ’” Kim, the mentor, explained with a laugh. “Because although our hometown is definitely Uiseong — which is usually in connection with garlic — we have simply no partnership having garlic whatsoever. ”