Dreaming New
Dreams Come True

The year 2007 is a significant year as Korea's three cities ― PyeongChang, Daegu and Incheon ― are vying for the right to host the 2014 Olympic Winter Games, 2011 World Championships in Athletics and 2014 Asian Games, respectively.
Based on an overwhelming support from both local residents and people across the nation, PyeongChang, a winter sports mecca in Korea, has rolled out the red carpet for the IOC's Evaluation Committee which visited the Korean 2014 Olympic candidate city on Feb. 14-17 on the first leg of an inspection tour to three cities vying for the venue of the 2014 Olympic Winter Games.
PyeongChang, which lost in a razor-thin margin in the 2003 bid for the 2010 Games, has been in another bidding competition with the Austrian city of Salzburg and the Russian city of Sochi to keep alive its Olympic dream. The host city of the 2014 Olympic Winter Games will be decided in a vote by IOC members during the IOC session slated for July 5 this year in Guatemala City.
Incheon takes on Delhi of India in a bidding competition for becoming the host city of the 2014 Asian Games, which will be decided during the General Assembly of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), to be held in Kuwait on April 17.
Even though Incheon was given higher points than its rival by the OCA's evaluation committee, which made a first-hand observation tour of Korea last December, it remains to be seen whether the Korean Asian Games candidate city is granted the right to host the 2014 Games.
Daegu is also vying with the Australian city of Brisbane for the right to host the 2011 World Championships in Athletics. The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) will announce the winning candidate at the IAAF Council Meeting in Mombasa on March 27, 2007.
Five cities and provinces in Korea has agreed to fully back Daegu's bid for the 2011 World Championships in Athletics on Feb. 20 in a run-up to the arrival of the IAAF's evaluation committee, which makes an inspection tour of the Korean city from Feb. 22-23. In the agreement, if Daegu becomes the host city of the 2011 Championships in Athletics, the Korean cities and provinces will encourage 13.2 million residents to attend the event. They will also fully support Daegu to ensure the successful 2011 world championships.
Korea has gained a global reputation for having successfully hosted the 1988 Seoul Olympic Summer Games and the 2002 Korea-Japan FIFA World Cup. As the two sporting extravaganzas have contributed to enhancing the nation's profile to the world, if the three Korean cities become a successful bidder, they will be given a golden opportunity to publicize each city's image to the world and enhance global recognition abroad. nw

Publisher-President
Elizabeth M. Oh