The Olympic torch relay for the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games goes past Seoul's Gwanghwamun Square on Jan. 13. Pictured, the flame is carried by a torch bearer dressed as King Sejong the Great on a royal carriage, accompanied by 300 escorts. (Jeon Han)
By Min Yea-Ji and Lee Hana
It all started on July 6, 2011, in Durban, South Africa.
When Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), uttered the word "Pyeongchang!" at the announcement ceremony, the Korean team erupted into cheers.
As the good news flew from Durban, the entire nation of Korea shared in the excitement. For the very first time, Korea's small alpine city of Pyeongchang—a little known locale most IOC officials often confused with the North Korean capital of Pyongyang—stood tall on the international stage.
Pyeongchang's bid for the 2018 Winter Olympics was not easily earned. After successfully hosting the 1999 Asian Winter Games, Pyeongchang announced it had its eye on the 2010 Winter Olympics. Pyeongchang received the largest number of votes in the first round, but the second and final round saw it losing the bid to Vancouver by a mere three votes.
In spite of the setback, Korea held tight to its dream of hosting the Winter Games. With the Seoul 1988 Summer Olympics safe in its memory, Korea once again tried to win the 2014 Winter Olympics. Once more, Pyeongchang secured the number one place in the first voting round, but it lost in the second round, this time to Sochi, Russia, by four votes. Limitations to Korea's diplomatic reach in the international sporting world, as well as a lack of information about Pyeongchang and a weak winter sports scene, were cited as reasons for the loss.
Crowds rejoice when it's announced that Pyeongchang has been selected to host the next Winter Games, at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) meeting in Durban, South Africa, on July 6, 2011. (Yonhap News)
After two losses, Pyeongchang took the feedback it received from the IOC and began improving its infrastructure.
It built a cluster of stadiums, all no more than 30 minutes away from each other, and it made sure that 90 percent of the athletes, housed in dormitories, could reach the race venues within 10 minutes. From 2004 through to 2010, students from countries that don't get much snow were invited to Pyeongchang to give them a chance to experience winter sports. It completed seven of the 13 stadiums required by the IOC. All of these changes, accompanied by the support of over 90 percent of Korean voters, were enough to convince the IOC that, this time, Pyeongchang was ready.
As they say, the third time’s a charm. When Pyeongchang entered a bid for the 2018 Winter Olympics, with the ambition of transforming Northeast Asia into a new destination for winter sports, the dream was finally realized.
A ski jumper flies through the air in the FIS Nordic Combined World Cup at the Alpensia Ski Jumping Center in Pyeongchang, Gangwon-do Province, on Feb. 4, 2017. (Jeon Han)
Thanks to the many years spent in preparation, Pyeongchang was off to a good start.
Major venues like the Alpensia Ski Jumping Center, the Cross-Country Center and the Sliding Center in Pyeongchang, as well as the Gangneung Ice Arena, had already hosted several international qualifying events in 2017, garnering favorable reviews from the athletes.
In addition to the sporting venues, the Olympic Villages for the athletes in both Pyeongchang and Gangneung were completed; as are the highways and railroads connecting the three host cities to Seoul. Two of the highways have brought down travel time from the regions to Seoul within half a day. The KTX Gyeonggang Line, a high-speed train that takes just an hour and 54 minutes to connect Seoul and Gangneung, saw its maiden voyage on Dec. 22. Incheon International Airport's second passenger terminal has also officially opened ahead of the PyeongChang Games.
Over 30 years since the Seoul 1988 Summer Olympics, the Olympic torch arrived in Korea last Nov. 1 and has since been making its way across the peninsula. On Jan. 21, it will finally arrive in Gangwon-do Province, and it will illuminate the city of Pyeongchang on Feb. 9.
The joint South and North Korean women’s ice hockey team shouts, ‘We are one!’ after the North Korean members arrive at the Jincheon National Training Center in Chungcheongbuk-do Province on Jan. 25. (Korean Sport & Olympic Committee)
As the Korean peninsula eagerly anticipated the PyeongChang Games, there have been some obstacles that dampened the mood.
Beyond the northern border, North Korea's missile and nuclear weapons provocations raised global concerns about the safety of participants in the Olympics in Korea.
However, with the inauguration of President Moon Jae-in last May 2017, the new administration found its footing once more, and preparations for the PyeongChang Winter Olympics were finally back on track.
Further improving matters have been the recently held high-level talks last January 9 among the two Koreas. The event ushered in encouraging developments, the most positive of which has been the announcement that North Korea will be sending a delegation to the PyeongChang Olympics, thus realizing the possibility of an "Olympics of Peace" taking place in the Korean Peninsula.
Just as 30 years ago the 1988 Seoul Olympics were the "Peace Olympics" that signaled the end of the Cold War, so, too, for both the two Koreas and for the world, the PyeongChang Winter Olympics lie before us as a symbol of peace.
jesimin@korea.kr
