JP/12/K05
JP/12/K05
Silat makes debut at Busan Asiad
BUSAN, South Korea: Pencak silat martial arts, native to Southeast Asian countries, made its debut at the Busan 2002 Asian Games, although the medals will not be counted in the final medal tally.
In a bid to be included in the Doha 2006 Asiad, the International Pencak Silat Federation (Persilat) is holding a two-day Pencak Silat Sport Cultural Event at the Pusan University of Foreign Studies gymnasium.
Opened by organizing committee chairman Kim Soo-il on Saturday, the event featured pesilat from eight countries: Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam.--JP
South Korea: A nation of readers
BUSAN, South Korea: South Korea is known as one of the most advanced nations in the world with its leading information technology and manufacturing industries.
This may be attributed to the fact that the South Koreans like to spend their spare time reading books. It is not surprising to see Koreans reading books during their journey on the subway.
The Busan subway company provides shelves of books at each subway station to give its passengers something to read on the way.
More surprisingly, at least for Indonesians, none of the books have a single page missing. This is contrary to the books in Indonesia's libraries where quite often one or more pages are missing from every book.--JP
Changchun to host 2007 Winter Asiad
BUSAN, South Korea: The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) has named the Chinese city of Changchun as the host for the sixth Winter Asian Games in 2007.
Meanwhile, the seventh Winter Asiad will be held in the Lebanese capital of Beirut in 2009.
The decisions were made during the OCA's executive meeting on Thursday here.
The Japanese town of Aomori will host the fifth Winter Asiad next February.
In other developments, the OCA agreed to grant the newly independent country of East Timor full membership once all the necessary documents were submitted to the OCA.--JP
Athletes partying, not missing: Officials
BUSAN, South Korea: Eight Nepalese Asian Games athletes who had been reported missing have been found - partying at a popular Busan beach.
The Nepalese team had reported them missing Thursday, but South Korean police found them Friday at Haeundae beach, site of the beach volleyball competition, said Ramesh Khanal, a team official.
"We are hoping they will come back and apologize," Khanal said Saturday. "We are keeping our fingers crossed."
The athletes, originally scheduled to return home Friday, had asked for an extended stay. But they left the Games Village without waiting for a decision from team officials, Khanal said.
Khanal said police cannot force a return to the team by the athletes, who are accredited for the games until the end of the month. The games end Oct. 14.--AP