Hyolyn performed an arrangement of South Korea’s national anthem at the 2018 Winter Olympics.
The performance took place during the opening ceremony of the PyeongChang Games in South Korea. Hyolyn, whose real name is Kim Hyo-jung, is a singer best known internationally as the former leader and main vocalist of the K-pop group Sistar. Her solo performance presented “Aegukga,” the South Korean national anthem, in a specially arranged form.
The ceremony emphasized both Korean identity and the possibility of cooperation between North and South Korea. Athletes from the two Koreas marched together under a unified Korean flag, and the countries also entered a joint women’s ice hockey team. Those symbolic moments sometimes cause viewers to confuse the anthem performance with other musical performances from the ceremony.
The 2018 Winter Olympics were held in Pyeongchang from February 9 through February 25. Hyolyn’s appearance was part of the opening ceremony’s sequence of Korean cultural performances, which included traditional elements alongside contemporary K-pop. The anthem itself is commonly known as “Aegukga,” meaning “The Patriotic Song.”