By Sohn JiAe

Construction has completed on the stadium that will host the Opening and Closing ceremonies for next year’s PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

The final work was completed on Sept. 30 after one year and 10 months since ground was broken on the site in December 2015.

The seven-story structure, with a total floor area of 58,790 square meters and a capacity of 35,000 spectators, is located in the Pyeongchang Olympic Plaza in Hoenggye-ri, Daegwallyeong-meon, Pyeongchang-gun County, Gangwon-do Province. The circular stage is 72 meters in diameter.

In particular, the venue is a pentagon, symbolizing the PyeongChang Winter Games’ five goals: the economy, the environment, IT, the arts and peace.

Alongside the stadium, the Culture & ICT Pavilion and the Medal Plaza have been constructed as temporary buildings in the Pyeongchang Olympic Plaza, too.

The two-story Culture & ICT Pavilion will have exhibitions on the first floor featuring works by media artist Nam June Paik and other contemporary artists like Lee Jung Seob and Park Su-geun. On the second floor there’s an ICT zone where visitors can experience advanced Olympic technologies.

The one-floor Medal Plaza, 1,267 square meters in size, will be used as a venue for awarding the Olympic medals.

“The building for the Opening and Closing ceremonies has been finished, but we will have to keep working on the stage and other facilities during the remaining time,” said an official from the PyeongChang Organizing Committee. “After the Olympic Games come to an end, the 35,000 seats in the stadium and permanent buildings will all be demolished and used as a venue for performances, exhibition art and sports.”

jiae5853@korea.kr