President Moon attends launching of S. Korean Paralympic squad

문 대통령, 패럴림픽 선수단 출정식 참석 , "여러분은 진정한 챔피언"

The excitement and the spirit of the games lives on in Pyeongchang, with the Paralympics coming up soon.
The home team gathered for an inaugural ceremony, pledging to give it everything they've got.
President Moon Jae-in and First Lady Kim Jung-sook were also there to rally the athletes.
Hwang Hojun has the highlights from that event. The South Korean squad for the PyeongChang Winter Paralympics was launched Friday afternoon.
Its kick-off ceremony in downtown Seoul brought together the squad's delegation of 83 members, including 36 athletes,... and some 180 guests, including the culture minister and South Korea's First Couple.
During the ceremony, President Moon encouraged the athletes and stressed how much he admires their hard work in overcoming challenges to become a member of the national team.

"In preparing for this day, you all have fallen down time and again, but you always get back up again. In every moment, you are our heroes."

President Moon said the athletes are already champions to him and to the rest of the nation, and he said he hopes the PyeongChang Winter Paralympic Games will become an opportunity to break the prejudice... that people with disabilities need constant help.
Whether or not one has a physical disability, President Moon said there's no reason why anyone can't inspire and give hope to others.
He also pledged to cultivate and support the sporting environment in South Korea for people with disabilities.

"I want to make Korea a model country in terms of sports for the disabled, a country more active in that field than any other."
According to the Blue House, this was the first time a sitting South Korean President has attend the launching ceremony of the Paralympic squad.
South Korea is hosting the quadrennial event for the first time since the 1988 Seoul Paralympics 30 years ago.
The Games in Pyeongchang will be the largest Paralympics ever,.... with 570 athletes from 49 countries set to participate.
And South Korea is fielding its largest Paralympic squad to date, with the 36 athletes to compete in all six sports. Those sports are alpine skiing, biathlon, cross-country skiing, ice hockey, snowboarding, and wheelchair curling.
Their aim is to win at least one gold, one silver and two bronze medals and finish in the top 10.
The PyeongChang Paralympic Games will run from the 9th to the 18th of March.
Hwang Hojun, Arirang News.

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