WATCH: The focus of sports fans is shifting halfway across the world to South Korea where Olympic athletes will battle for gold. Ceilidh Millar reports.
It’s a non-stop race in the kitchen at Korean Gardens Restaurant in Saanich, where staff are busy serving up dishes during the lunch rush.
Besides the usual take-out calls, the phone has been ringing off the hook this week for another reason.
“We’ve been advertising on Instagram and Facebook for people to come and see the Olympics games,” explained restaurant owner Minjae Lee. “We’ll be showing it on the TV.”
Lee, who was born in South Korea, says despite the 17-hour time difference they plan to show the games at the restaurant for the next weeks.
While he and his staff will be rooting for Canada, Lee says he’s immensely proud of his home country.
“I’m very proud of Korea,” Lee said with a smile.
While many Islanders will be spending hours watching Olympic coverage on TV, others are passing on Pyeongchang altogether.
“I don’t watch,” said one man we spoke with. “I’m just not interested.”
“I don’t have cable at home,” said one woman. “It’s not something I have anymore.”
While figure skating, ski jumping, freestyle skiing and curling kicked off on Thursday, the formal opening ceremony is on Friday.
Compared to previous Winter Olympics, the hype may be slightly dampened by the start time of tomorrow’s opening ceremonies which begin at 3:00 a.m. PT.
“That’s too early,” said another woman. “That’s a bit of a stretch.”
Once the games are underway, Islanders will surely sport that Canadian pride as they cheer on their favourite athletes to a gold medal win.
Full Winter Olympic coverage can be found on CBC.
Ceilidh Millar
