GANGNEUNG, South Korea — It may not have been the most obvious choice for Yura Min and Alexander Gamelin, the American-born ice dancing pair representing South Korea at the Olympics, to skate on Tuesday to “Arirang,” a Korean folk song whose roots go back hundreds of years.
There was concern in their camp that the international judges at the Winter Games would not respond to a tune unfamiliar to them. But for Ms. Min — and for any Korean watching — the significance of the choice was clear.
“Even though it could be difficult to get high scores from foreign judges, I wanted to perform with ‘Arirang’ at the first Winter Olympics in Korea, and I did,” Ms.