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Regional secretary with the National Education Union
Yeong-mi craze is sweeping South Korea
Kim Chohi, Kim Yeong-mi, Kim Seonyeong, Kim Kyeongae and Kim Eun-jung of South Korea pose with their silver medals after their women's curling final

IN South Korea’s sudden craze for curling, it really is all in a name.

Free flights and baseball tickets are just some of the freebies South Korean companies are offering to anyone named Yeong-mi (yuhng-MEE), the first name of the lead sweeper for the women’s curling team that won an unexpected silver medal at the recently completed Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

The five-member team, from a remote province famous for its garlic, captured hearts in a country that hardly knew curling before. Dubbed the Garlic Girls, they have become sought-after models for commercials and inspired countless online memes and catchphrases.

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