After more than two weeks of sporting action featuring the best athletes from across the continent,... the curtain came down on the 18th Asian Games on Sunday with a glittering closing ceremony.<br />South Korea finished with 49 golds to rank third in medal table behind China and Japan.<br />That's 16 short of the country's target, but there were still plenty of reasons to celebrate. <br />Won Jung-hwan reports.<br /> <br /> For the past 16 days,.... Jakarta and Palembang, the co-host cities of the 2018 Asian Games, hosted more than eleven-thousand athletes from 45 nations competing for 465 gold medals in 40 sports.<br />On Sunday,... the Games came to a triumphant close in Jakarta.<br /><br /> If the opening ceremony wowed the audience for the richness of Indonesia's heritage,… the closing ceremony was more modest in scale, but extravagant in its liveliness.<br />It was a celebration of athletes from different countries that highlighted the culture of not just Indonesia but other Asian nations as well. <br /><br /> Bonding the nations together was the power of music.<br />K-pop superstars iKON and Super Junior took to the stage, turning the evening into a spectacular concert that was well received by the crowd.<br /><br /> But before the singers stole the show, some of the athletes came out to say goodbye to fans in Indonesia and thank them for their support.<br />While there wasn't a formal parade of athletes at the closing ceremony,… the two Koreas marched in together just like they did at the opening ceremony. <br />The two flag bearers, South Korean Suh Hyo-won and North Korean Choe Il of the North, came in hand-in-hand to big cheers. <br /><br /> South and North Korea competed as one in three sports -- canoeing, rowing and women's basketball. <br />And they far outstripped expectations,... winning four medals, including a gold in women's dragon boat racing and a silver in women's basketball.<br />Sending a congratulatory message to Indonesia for successfully hosting the Asian Games,… South Korean President Moon Jae-in highlighted the performances by the joint Korean teams. <br />He said he believes the deep sound of Arirang, Korea's most popular folk song, will bring the two together again. <br /><br /> As the curtain came down in Jakarta,... athletes will start preparing for the next Asian Games in Hangzhou in 2022.<br />It will be the third Chinese city to host the competition, after Beijing in 1990 and Guangzhou in 2010.<br />Won Jung-hwan, Arirang News. <br />
