美国国家公共电台 NPR The 'Garlic Girls,' South Korea's Curlers, Are A Surprise Olympics Sensation

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ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

These Olympic Games have created a number of breakout stars, including the Garlic Girls. That's the nickname of the South Korean women's curling team whose members all come from the same garlic-producing hometown. NPR's Elise Hu has their story.

ELISE HU, BYLINE¹: This South Korean squad² is on such a hot streak³ that no seat went unfilled today when they faced off against the U.S. Fans stood along the back walls and jammed into passageways.

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UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: (Chanting in Korean).

RICK PATZKE: I think they've figured out that they can yell and stomp⁴ and cheer and have a good time, so that's great to see.

HU: That's Rick Patzke. He's the head of USA Curling. He has watched these curling crowds grow along with the popularity of the South Korean team.

PATZKE: And they play with a lot of passion. You know, they're not robotic by any means. They're very technically⁵ sound. And I believe that comes, you know, in with their coaching and their ability to full-time⁶ be curlers.

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UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN #1: Go. Go. Go. Go. Go. Go. Go. Go. Go. Go. Go.

(CHEERING)

HU: All four curlers are named Kim - no relation - and all but one Garlic Girl has a food-related individual nickname, too. They base them on their favorite breakfast selections. The captain is called Yogurt. The others are Steak, Pancake, Cho-Cho and Sunny, short for sunny side up.

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UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN #2: (Speaking Korean).

HU: The entire team comes from the same small city of 53,000, Uiseong in southern South Korea.

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HU: Today, inside the gym of the girls' old high school, extended family members, neighbors and former teachers crowded together to watch the game stream on a giant projection⁷ screen. Lee In-young is among them.

LEE IN-YOUNG: (Through interpreter) I saw the team taking their sticks for the first time when the curling team was first made in the school.

HU: As the principal of the high school a decade ago, she remembers today's Olympians staying late to practice after evening study hall.

LEE: (Through interpreter) And they were good-natured students, and they also studied very hard.

HU: Curling was unknown to most of the country until recently. South Korea didn't even have a team before the 2014 Olympics. But years ago, after the town of Uiseong opened a curling center, high school administrators⁸ saw an opportunity.

LEE: (Through interpreter) We canceled our basketball team that was here in the school, and we changed our school sports to curling.

HU: It paid off. The school produced the women's curling team that's now first-ranked at the Pyeongchang Olympics. The spotlight⁹ on the Garlic Girls is drawing in another generation of young curlers. Jeong Soobin is a student in Uiseong.

JEONG SOOBIN: (Speaking Korean).

HU: "I'm so proud of them," she says. "And since they're graduates of this high school, I feel like I have to follow in their footsteps." Their streak has continued.

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UNIDENTIFIED ANNOUNCER: The Republic of Korea, 9, United States of America, 6.

HU: They defeated the American women with some deft¹⁰ plays. It's still unclear how the winning streak will end. The South Korean curlers secured their place in the semifinals already, where the four best teams will compete for a medal. Their coach says instead of fixating on winning, they want to rewrite South Korea's curling history. With this Olympic run, their hometown will tell you these Garlic Girls already have. Elise Hu, NPR News, Gangneung, South Korea.

(SOUNDBITE OF DJ JAZZY JEFF SONG, "FOR DA LOVE OF DA GAME")