The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced on July 29 that it would join forces with the Gangwon-do provincial government and the PyeongChang 2018 Legacy Foundation to support bobsled and skeleton competitors from Southeast Asia at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. The photo above is of the Korean national men's bobsled team on Feb. 24, 2018, doing its first run at the sliding center in Pyeongchang-gun County, Gangwon-do Province, during the PyeongChang Winter Olympics that year. (Yonhap News)

By Kim Hyelin and Lee Jihae

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on July 29 announced a project to foster sled event athletes from Southeast Asian countries including Vietnam and Thailand to help them compete in bobsledding and skeleton at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

The ministry will jointly run the project with Gangwon-do Province and the PyeongChang 2018 Legacy Foundation under a pledge Korea made to expand winter sports on the Asian continent. The promise was made to global sports circles including the International Olympic Committee when Korea was bidding to host the Winter Olympics.

The foundation held talks with Southeast Asian countries that do not compete in the Winter Games but have winter sports federations on their willingness to take part in the project, and selected athletes from Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia and Thailand.

A combined 12 athletes were selected from Vietnam, Cambodia and Malaysia. Another two will be chosen early next month from Thailand.

The selected players will start training from September at the sliding center in Pyeongchang-gun County, Gangwon-do Province, and compete in international events to build experience and skills.

A ministry official for policy said that through this project, "we will strengthen general exchanges in culture and sports, pass on the legacy of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics and continue keeping our pledge to open new horizons."

kimhyelin211@korea.kr