Qualla: 2018 Winter Olympics

2018 Winter Olympics: Introduction

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Trainholic, CC BY-SA 3.0. When the unified Korean team entered PyeongChang Olympic Stadium on February 9, 2018, carrying a flag showing an undivided Korean Peninsula, the cheers masked a geopolitical improbability. Less than 80 kilometers to the north lay the most heavily armed border on Earth. The two Koreas had fielded a joint women's ice hockey team -- the first combined team at an Olympics since 1936 Germany. Whatever happened on the ice (they lost all five games), the symbolism mattered. The XXIII Olympic Winter Games were about sport, but in PyeongChang, sport could not be separated from the peninsula's unfinished war.

Read more: 2018 Winter Olympics on Qualla

Image: Trainholic | CC BY-SA 3.0

2018 Winter Olympics: Three Tries to Get Here

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Republic of Korea from Seoul, Republic of Korea, CC BY-SA 2.0. PyeongChang's Olympic moment was hard-won. The county had bid for the 2010 and 2014 Winter Games, losing narrowly both times -- by just three votes to Vancouver in 2007. On its third attempt, at the 123rd IOC Session in Durban, South Africa on July 6, 2011, PyeongChang won decisi...

Read more: 2018 Winter Olympics on Qualla

Image: Republic of Korea from Seoul, Republic of Korea | CC BY-SA 2.0

2018 Winter Olympics: Records in the Mountain Cold

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Dittwjfsdgkvkdjg, CC BY-SA 4.0. The Games featured 102 medal events across 15 disciplines -- the first Winter Olympics to exceed 100 events. Four sports made their Olympic debut: big air snowboarding, mass start speed skating, mixed doubles curling, and mixed team alpine skiing. A total of 2,833 athletes from 9...

Read more: 2018 Winter Olympics on Qualla

Image: Dittwjfsdgkvkdjg | CC BY-SA 4.0

2018 Winter Olympics: Two Koreas, One Flag

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Tommy.In, CC BY-SA 3.0. The most watched story at PyeongChang had little to do with times or scores. North Korea sent 22 athletes to compete in five sports, and the two Koreas marched together under a unification flag at the opening ceremony. The joint women's ice hockey team, assembled just weeks befor...

Read more: 2018 Winter Olympics on Qualla

Image: Tommy.In | CC BY-SA 3.0

2018 Winter Olympics: Mountains Built for This

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit 663highland, CC BY 2.5. PyeongChang County sits in the Taebaek Mountains of Gangwon Province at elevations between 700 and 800 meters, with reliable snowfall and cold temperatures that had long made it a domestic ski destination. The Games used two main venue clusters: the PyeongChang Mountain Cluster f...

Read more: 2018 Winter Olympics on Qualla

Image: 663highland | CC BY 2.5