Gangwon Province, which is strengthening efforts to establish itself as a global mecca for winter sports, is determined to achieve its once-frustrated dream to host a Winter Olympic Games.
Executive members of the Korean Olympic Committee selected PyeongChang, a town in southern Gangwon, as the country's candidate city for the 2014 Winter Olympics at their meeting in December.
PyeongChang will make a second Olympic bid after its attempt to host the 2010 Games failed in 2003.
Low international recognition was one of the biggest obstacles the small town of about 45,000 residents faced in its first pursuit for the Olympic Games.
But PyeongChang is no longer a "hidden treasure" as its previous campaign posters described itself.
It stunned the Olympic world by making a powerful showing in a vote by the International Olympic Committee members at their July 2003 conference in Prague to select the host of the 2010 Games.
Regarded as the underdog of the race, PyeongChang led the first round with 51 votes against 40 for Vancouver, Canada, and 16 for the Austrian city of Salzburg.
But in the second round, the majority of the votes for Salzburg seemingly swung to Vancouver, which edged PyeongChang 56-53.
"PyeongChang now is on the map," IOC President Jacques Rogge said after the vote.
After a brief period of disappointment, Gangwon officials and residents have become more determined to achieve their Olympic dream and develop their region into a mecca for winter sports not only in Korea but also in the world.
Its bid for the 2010 Olympics served to accelerate the province's efforts to enhance and expand winter sports infrastructure to meet international standards.
Gangwon officials believe that their province is now on the doorstep of realizing its goal to become an Olympic host with its world-class facilities and excellent natural conditions including altitude, climate and best-quality snow on slopes visited by more than 6 million skiers from both Korea and neighboring Asian countries every year.
IOC members will vote to choose the host city of the 2014 Games when they meet in Guatemala in July 2007.
In the months before the vote, an IOC evaluation team will visit candidate cities, which will have been chosen by June 2006.
So far, 12 cities have expressed their desire to host the event - nine in Europe, one in North America and two in Asia. All but two of the previous Winter Olympic Games have been held in Europe and North America. The only exceptions were the 1970 Olympics hosted by the northern Japanese city of Sapporo and the 1998 Games in Nagano, also in Japan.
Gangwon officials have pointed out the IOC is committed to diversifying the Olympic Movement and should give PyeongChang the opportunity to host this time.
They also believe PyeongChang will have an upper hand over the other Asian competitor in the race for the 2014 Games - Harbin in northeastern China - because Beijing is scheduled to host the 2008 Summer Olympics.
The 2014 Winter Olympics will be held for 16 days from Feb. 8 to Feb. 23.
About 5,000 athletes and officials from around 80 countries are expected to participate in the 22nd Winter Games, competing in 15 events divided into 84 disciplines.
Gangwon Province will soon form a bid committee and organize a support network encompassing all communities and resorts across the province in the eastern part of the country.
It has enhanced its status as a winter sports hub by hosting World Cup competitions, an Asian Winter Games and other international events.
Since 2003, the province has attracted 13 international winter sports events including the 2009 International Ski Federation (FIS) Snowboard World Championships and the 2009 Biathlon World Championships.
The snowboard championships, which is expected to draw about 1,500 athletes from over 40 countries, will be one of the largest winter sports events ever held in the country. It also marks the first time the biannual competition is held in Asia.
The 2009 biathlon championships, which is expected to draw some 600 athletes from about 40 nations, will also be the first occasion for the event to take place outside of Europe.
The province, which organized the 2005 ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships last week, will host the 2005 FIS Snowboard World Cup competition, which opens today for a two-day run. More than 300 athletes from 20 nations will participate in the event at the Sungwoo Resort in Hoengseong.
In preparation to host the Winter Games, Gangwon is continuing the project to build eight new venues and expand five others.
The 13 Olympic venues are located in the Winter Sports Belt, which encompasses superb ski slopes in PyeongChang and Jeongseon and skating rinks in Wonju and Gangneung. (khkim@heraldm.com) / By Kim Kyung-ho |
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