By Xu Aiying, Cho A-la and Kim Young Shin
Photos = Kim Sunjoo
Gangneung | Oct. 30, 2017

The Olympic Village in Gangneung-si City, Gangwon-do Province, where athletes will make themselves comfortable during the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, invited press for the first time on Oct. 30 to view its completed facilities.

The Gangneung Olympic Village, built in the neighborhood of Gyo-dong in Gangneung, began construction in July 2015 and was complete in September 2017. The nine buildings, ranging from 22- to 25-stories and with one or two basements, have 922 housing units.



The Olympic Village is divided into an operational section and the residential section.

In the operational section are the welcome center, where athlete receptions will be offered, a main entry for visitors, a main dining hall where meals for the athletes will be served, and a transport mall, the gateway to the game venues.

The residential section has two types of units, one sized 75 square meters (807 square feet) and one sized 85 square meters (915 square feet). A total of 2,717 people can stay at the Olympic Village.

“Now we only have to bring in furniture and do some landscaping, which will all be done by Dec. 20,” said Choi Seung-yeong, the Olympic Village facility team manager.

“We tried to build the Olympic Village as near as possible to both downtown and to the Gangneung expressway interchange. It takes about 10 minutes by car from the village to the venues. Because this is where the athletes will sleep, we tried to make it a quiet and relaxing place. Athletes are scheduled to move in starting Jan. 26 next year,” Choi said.



xuaiy@korea.kr