As the host country for the 2018 Winter Olympics, South Korea’s national ice hockey team was automatically given a spot in the Olympic hockey tournament. The team would play at the highest level for the first time, facing the top countries in the sport. The skill gap between them and their opponents was huge, as South Korea had just 180 professional hockey players. Failure and defeat weren’t acceptable results, as losing face is considered the worst thing that could happen in Korean culture. But how to avoid humiliation, when defeat seems certain?
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