Most South Koreans unsure when the Pyeongchang Paralympics begin

SEOUL, March 5 (UPI) -- Two in three South Koreans don't know when the Pyeongchang Winter Paralympics will begin, a survey showed Monday.

A Realmeter poll last week conducted on 500 South Korean adults found that only 33.6 percent knew the Paralympics open on Friday in the eastern city of Pyeongchang.

14 percent believed the Games would open on Monday while 10 percent thought the sporting event begins the following Monday.

35 percent admitted they didn't know when the Games begin.

All age groups showed a general lack of awareness, with 61 percent of those in their thirties and 72 percent of those in their sixties unsure when the Paralympics start.

The survey was conducted on Friday with a confidence level of 95 percent and a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percent.

Meanwhile, organizers of the Paralympics said Monday that around 900 athletes and officials have already checked into the Paralympic village in Pyeongchang.

An additional 600 people are set to arrive this week, Yonhap reported.

The first of the welcoming ceremonies will take place in the village on Tuesday for South Korean and the Czech athletes.

North Korea, which will participate in a Winter Paralympics for the first time ever, will have its village welcoming ceremony on Thursday.

Around 1,500 people from 49 countries, including 570 athletes, are expected to attend the Paralympic Games which end on March 18.