Snow slopes
July 7, 2011
The ski resort in Pyeongchang, about 180 kilometers east of Seoul, triumphed over bids from well established winter sports venues Munich and Annecy. Now many South Koreans hope that having the games will put them on the map as well.
Ahn Kyoing An was one of a few hundred spectators who came out to Seoul Plaza to watch the IOC's decision being announced on a big TV screen. The 23-year-old said she was really happy that Pyeongchang had finally got its chance to host the Olympics.
"We're also all stunned," she said. "Because we failed so many times before."
Ahn added that now the Olympics were on their way her nation had a chance to show the world how great Korea's slopes are for skiers.
Good intentions
The officials behind Pyeongchang's successful campaign want to turn the resort into a world-class hub for winter sports.
"That sounds a little over ambitious," said Jason Lee, a long time sportscaster with Korea's Arirang TV but he noted that the ski resorts in Korea had already done a good job at luring some foreign skiers.
"They're bringing people from countries that don't have snow, from Southeast Asia, from Africa - they've got good intentions."
International expectations
Pyeongchang still has a long way to go before it is actually ready to host the games. Athletes accustomed to European-style chalets or vibrant après-ski venues might be disappointed to find that such a culture does not exist yet in South Korea.
There are plans to build a multi-billion dollar high-speed train line that would make the trip out to the resort a little less of a trek. For the moment, it takes three hours by car from Seoul.
Jason Lee agreed that Pyeongchang needed to do a lot of work to build facilities, on and off the slopes, which would meet international expectations.
But he said he was confident the Koreans would have it all ready by 2018. "There are a lot of things that need to be built but we will do it. The fact is they have the support of the Olympic committee and the nation is fully behind it."
Lee also pointed out that if history was any proof, then South Korea would pull off a great Winter Olympics in seven years from now. In 1988, Seoul hosted the summer games and in 2002 co-hosted the FIFA World Cup. Both events brought investment into the nation and raised South Korea’s profile on the world stage.
Korea will only be the second Asian nation, after Japan, to host the Winter Olympics.
Author: Jason Strother
Editor: Anne Thomas