The first Winter Olympics for the unified Korean women's ice hockey team ended without a win,... but was arguably a special team composed of players from North and South.
And already,... head coach Sarah Murray is looking ahead to the next Olympics, with the team.
Cha Sang-mi with more.
The possibility of the two Koreas fielding a joint women's hockey team was first raised by Olympic officials last June,... but the decision to actually do it didn't come until less than three weeks before the start of the PyeongChang Winter Games.
The team's 27-day journey has come to a winless end, but looking back at their awkward ice-breaking moments to Wednesday's team lunch of barbecue, the five games they played together were a symbolic triumph.
In the words of head coach Sarah Murray, the 23 South Koreans and 12 North Koreans played together "as a family."
At a press conference at Team Korea House, Murray described the experience as remarkable -- seeing the players from the two Koreas hug, laugh, and even cry together.
"As for our players, I can't say enough how proud we are with what they have done and how truly remarkable they are. And this whole situation wouldn't have worked if it weren't for our players and their character."
"As a player, I was a bit disconcerted in the very beginning when they said they were forming a joint team. But practicing together, I didn't feel that some of us are from the North and others from the South."
Looking back at the dramatic improvement of the South Korean team over the past four years, Murray revealed her ambitions to take the team further.
"We are going to win at the World's, then we are going to be one step closer to competing at Beijing at the Olympics."
As for the future of the combined team, Murray said it was still unclear, but she hopes to continue thr relationship for the development of hockey in both countries.
On Tuesday, the team lost 6-to-1 to Sweden, one of the best teams in the world, but some remarkable moments linger, such as the team's historic first goal scored by Randi Heesoo Griffin,... an adoptee who acquired citizenship in South Korea, her birth country, just last year.
Cha Sang-mi, Arirang News.
