Olympic Themes

[Anchor Lead]

The PyeongChang Winter Games are just 16 days away. On Tuesday, the Olympic opening and closing ceremony themes were unveiled to the public. Let’s take a look.

[Pkg]

The opening ceremony of the 1988 Seoul Olympics stunned the world with the Korean traditional folk play called "Gulleongsoe." The key words of the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang are "passion" and "peace." The special meaning of "peace" viewed through the eyes of people in Korea, a divided nation, will be portrayed by five children from Gangwon-do Province who travel back in time.

[Soundbite] Song Seung-hwan(Supervising Director of PyeongChang Olympics Opening & Closing ceremonies) : "Because Koreans have experienced the pain of national division, they yearn for peace. We want to convey the message of peace through the Winter Olympics."

The closing ceremony of the Games will be about harmony transcending time and generations. The superiority of Korean culture will be publicized to the world through diverse technologies, including music, video, art and state-of-the-art techniques.

[Soundbite] Lee Hee-beom(Head of PyeongChang Winter Olympics Organizing Committee) : "The opening and closing ceremonies will publicize Korea as a cultural superpower based on the popularity of the Korean Wave, Hallyu."

Authorities have also come up with measures to protect some 43,000 spectators from the cold weather so that they can enjoy the extravagant performances in the roofless stadium. Wind shields will be installed to block the icy winds of the Daegwallyeong area, and six items including raincoats and hats will be provided to each of the spectators. The opening and closing ceremonies of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics are drawing more and more attention from around the world.