PyeongChang Olympics blend sports with culture

PYEONGCHANG/GANGNEUNG, South Korea, Feb. 25 (Yonhap) -- Olympics have never been solely about athletic competition. It's one of the biggest global occasions to share culture, recognize differences and promote unity and harmony. For a host country, the Olympics is a golden opportunity to share its culture and tradition with global spectators and athletes. The 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, set to close on Sunday, has provided South Korea with the chance to prove its growing soft power and technical prowess. The opening ceremony, held on Feb. 9, showcased the past, present and future of Korea through artistic performances that combined historical, mythical, technological and culture elements. Child performers took the spectators on an adventurous virtual tour to colorful cultural aspects of Korea from ancient murals to media art to a spectacular drone show in the night sky. Four Korean pop singers sang "Imagine," by John Lennon to make the performance more relevant to global audiences unfamiliar with K-pop. Spectators, however, will get their K-pop fix at the closing ceremony slated for Sunday night (local time) when the leading K-pop boy band EXO will take the stage for a special performance. K-pop is at the forefront of Korean culture's global appeal. Sports stars, including Russian figure skater Evgenia Medvedeva, openly discussed their love for K-pop. Olympians marched to the tunes of K-pop songs during the opening ceremony. Throughout the events, K-pop concerts pumped up a party atmosphere. But K-pop was only part of a variety of cultural programs offered by the government and the PyeongChang Olympics organizing committee. The government and the committee ran an assortment of artistic events ranging from an art biennale and performances to plays and musicals in the capital city of Seoul and three Olympic cities -- PyeongChang, Ganeneung and Jeongseon -- since several months prior to the opening. The artistic ambience filled the Olympic Plaza in the main host city where many cultural events and performances were performed daily. The Olympics' surprising star "Inmyeonjo," an auspicious, imaginary bird with a human face, grabbed visitors' attention during its daily performance there. During the Olympics, the government ran some 150 cultural programs created based on the principles of practicality, participation and sustainability. Among the programs were art shows built on collaboration between Korean and foreign artists, a residency program with a few dozen artists who created artwork based on their experiences in Korea, banner art shows titled "All Connected." The 2018 Gangwon International Biennale cast light on the gap between Olympic spirits -- harmony, peace, equality and co-existence -- and reality by looking into the many tragedies in human history. On display were some 110 pieces of contemporary art, ranging from media art and paintings to sculpture and performance art created by 58 teams of artists from 23 countries under the theme of "The Dictionary of Evil." Music festivals also helped enhance the festive mood. The annual PyeongChang Winter Music Festival ran from Jan. 30 to Feb. 16 under the title of "A Musical Salute to PyeongChang," boasting a wide range of musical arts including dance, jazz, harmony, classical music and "pansori," Korean traditional musical storytelling. On the Gyeongpodae beach in Gangneung, a spectacular fire show took place as part of "Fire Art Festa 2018: Heonhwaga 'A Song Dedicated to Fire.'" Art installations were set ablaze and artists performed with fire against the backdrop of the blue ocean. "Successful Olympics are not only about holding various sports competitions without a hitch," the organizer said last August when it unveiled the Cultural Olympiad programs. "Culture should be another important pillar that supports the global event." jaeyeon.woo@yna.co.kr (END)