PyeongChang Revives
Olympic Dream

Makes a pitch for the causes pursuant of the Olympic Movement in its second bid to host 2014 Olympic Winter Games

PyeongChang, a winter sports mecca in Korea, is still keeping alive its dream of bringing Olympic Winter Games ― 2014 Olympic Winter Games for the second time ― with the causes pursuant of the Olympic Movement: the spread of winter sports across Asia and beyond and promoting peace on the Korean Peninsula, the last vestige of the Cold War.
The 2014 PyeongChang Olympic Bid Committee, armed with an updated rationale and implementation plans built on the lesson PyeongChang learned from their first bid, is making seamless preparations for an upcoming appraisal by the IOC Evaluation Committee. A delegation from the IOC Evaluation will inspect the Korean candidate city Feb. 14-17 and submit an evaluation report on the candidate city to the IOC Session slated for July 5 this year in Guatemala City, which will decide the host city of the 2014 Olympic Winter Games.
PyeongChang, then apparently an underdog
stunned the world by making an impressive showing in an initial vote by the IOC members at their July 2003 Annual Meeting in Prague to select the host of the 2010 Games. The Korean candidate city 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 play-off, PyeongChang lost to Vancouver by a razor-slim margin of 56-53. PyeongChang has thrown its hat in another race to gain the right to host the 2014 Olympic Winter Games. PyeongChang is vying with Salzburg and Sochi of Russia to become the host city of the 2014 Olympic Winter Games.
The Korean 2014 Olympic candidate city, basking in an overwhelming support base from the people from not only the candidate city, but also from across the nation, has been given a boost on Jan. 25 when Korean President Roh Moo-hyun renewed his government commitment of providing "all possible support"for PyeongChang's bid. Samsung Group Lee Kun-hee, one of the two Korean IOC members, attended a meeting of the 2014 PyeongCahng Olympic Bid Committee on Jan.
12 for the first time in recent years and pledged to give full support for PyeongChang's bid together with another Korean IOC member, Park Yong-sung and other business leaders. In particular, the "Dongsamo,"a supporters group of loving winter sports, is also active with members chanting such slogans as "Yes! PyeongChang"in every domestic and international sport events.
Why PyeongChang becomes the host city of the 2014 Olympic Winter Games, then's First of all, officials from the PyeongChang Olympic Bid Committee maintain that the 2014 PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games would bring about a remarkable development of winter sports and sports industry in Asia, which still remains a developing region in terms of winter sports expect Japan, but it would has a great potential for explosive growth. They theorize that all continents should be given an equal opportunity in hosting Olympic Winter Games for the spread of the Olympic Movement, even though holding the Olympics by continental rotation is not obligatory.
The officials said that the 2002 Olympic Winter Games went to North America (Salk Lake, the United States),; the 2006 Games, Europe (Torino, Italy),; 2010 Games, North America (Vancouver, Canada),; and which continent will become the host of the 2014 Games", citing the fact that out of 21 Olympic Winter Games held or to be held by 2010, Europe accounts for 13; North America, six,; and Asia, two.
PyeongChang has emerged as a magnet for attracting a huge population of winter sports, particularly from Southeast Asian countries. Korean Olympic bid committee officials believe that Korea's hosting Olympic Winter Games in Asia, which have been so far dominated by Japan, would bring a great boon to the development of winter sports and sports industry in the Korean candidate city.
True to its commitment of spreading winter sports through the "Dream Program,"made during the 2010 Winter Olympic bid, PyeongChang has been inviting youths from countries where winter sports are not available every year since 2004.

In the program of nurturing future winter sports athletes, 108 youths from 22 countries participated in 2004,; 109 from 16 countries in 2005,; and 111 from 30 countries in 2006.
The Dream Program, initiated by Gangwon Province, offers participants with systematic training opportunities in skiing and skating together with the "Peace Tour," "Green Tour,"and "Culture Tour" all designed to help Korea raise its international profile and the province improve its clean and clear image around the world.
The program turned out to yield a few tangible results with the province taking the initiative in spreading the Olympic Movement, as Bria Ilie, then 17, of Modova, who was on the 2005 Dram Program, made it to the 2006 Torino Olympic Games, while Manggyal Stanzin of India and Lin Jia-Jung, of Taiwan, showed up at the 2005 World Cup I and II, held in Guangzhou, China and Seoul, respectively. PyeongChang said it plans to continuously expand and develop the program as an important opportunity for promoting the Olympic Movement and the development and spread of winter sports.
PEACE AND HARMONY IN A DIVIDED NATION. The rationale of PyeongChang's hosting the 2014 Olympic Winter Games is to promote peace and harmony through participation of South and North Korea, should the Games be awarded to PyeongChang, as the citizens of the Korean candidate city, located in the divided Korean province of Gangwon on the divided Korean Peninsula, the last vestige of the Cold War, aspires to remove the barbed wire separating the two Koreas, thus making the Games the starting point for reunification. The largest number of families estranged between South and North Korea. Live in the province.
PyeongChang bid committee officials believe that the 2014 Olympic Winter Games will be a historical landmark that will help the region transform itself from a symbol of division to the one of peace, thus contributing to the harmonious cooperation of the two Koreas while promoting world peace.
ALL VENUES LOCATED WITHIN A 30-MINUTE DRIVE.
The 2014 PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games will be the most perfectly athletes- and games-oriented s with a concept of gaining an access to all venues within 30 minutes.
The Korean candidate city has already launched the massive Olympic complex called "Alpensia Resort in October 2006. The Alpensia Resort, to be established in PyeongChang, a resort complex of a new concept which will raise the standard of the Korean resort industry to up to the level of excellence, is one of the important infrastructure needed for the 2014 Olympic Winter Games. It will serve as the Olympic Operation Headquarters both in name and substance as the Winter Olympic Zone within the resort. This will be the main stadium to host the Opening and Closing Ceremonies and house the MPC/IBC and the Media Village.
The Alpensia Resort, which will be built on the land of 4.91 sq. km (about 1.49 million pyeong), will be divided largely into two main areas, the Winter Olympic Zone and the Resort Zone, based on their characteristics.
The Winter Olympic Zone will accommodate ski jumping, biathlon, cross country venues and a variety of other sports venues as well as guest houses against the backdrop of PyeongChang's stunning natural scenery. The Resort Zone will comprise of the Resort Village Zone, Ski Zone and Golf Zone, providing a four-season leisure environment for visitors. The Resort Village Zone will offer hotel accommodation (450 rooms) and condominiums (1,600 units), as well as other amenities such as an outdoor theater, a water park, a 500-seating auditorium and a conference center equipped with the state-of-the-art conference rooms. The Ski Zone will offer eight ski slopes and a golf zone with a 27-hole golf course.
The US$1.12 billion budget for the Alpensia Resort project is financed by the national and provincial governments and the private sector. Financing plan and feasibility evaluation for the project have all been completed, and then the Olympic Area is scheduled to be completed by October 2007 with the Resort Zone by August 2008. The grand opening of the Alpensia Resort is scheduled for September 2008.
WORLD-CLASS FACILITIES CERTIFIED BY IFS. PyeongChang already has the required sports venues, having bid for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, which were built with economic pragmatism. PyeongChang's excellent facilities were qualified by the International Federations (IFs) during its bid process to host the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. The excellence of these facilities has been proven through various international competitions and their affiliated organizations.
Six of the thirteen venues are existing facilities that will undergo renovation, while the remaining seven will be newly built based on the recommendation of the IFs and with consideration for post-Games use. One of PyeongChang's strengths is the concept of the "all within 30 minutes"zone which underlines that the bid's commitment to attaching priority to consideration of athletes.
PYEONGCHANG's PROVEN TRACK RECORD. PyeongChang has an ample experience of having hosted 49 international winter sporting events during the period between 1997 and 2006, including the 1999 Asian Winter Games, the Alpine Skiing World Cup and the Short Track Speed Skating Team World Championships In addition, PyeongChang has been selected to host six more winter competitions, including the 2009 FIS Snowboard World Championships and the 2009 Biathlon World Championships.
Korea has been already recognized internationally for having successfully hosted the 1988 Seoul Summer Olympics and 2002 Korea-Japan FIFA World Cup. Capitalizing on the experiences and expertise Korea has so far accumulated, PyeongChang is striving to make the 2014 Olympic Winter Games a success.
PyeongChang is ready for the environmentally-friendly Olympics, with the "New Green Plan"ensuring the construction of venues and infrastructure is mindful of the environment.
Making the most of its cutting-edge information technology, Korea will strive to make the Olympic Games a 'Ubiquitous Olympics,'the first-ever in the Olympic Games history. The 'Ubiquitous'system will allow the Olympic Family to communicate and exchange a variety of Games-related information first hand. The city will use the merits of Korea, a technologically advanced country, and the Olympics experience, to ensure smooth progress at the games. The latest information will be provided to sportsmen and spectators by constructing ITS, GIS, wireless broadband communication network and light N/W in the PyeongChang (Hoenggae) region.
Every considerations have been made to ensure that transport runs smoothly. Road transportation and parking management will make commuting to venues safe and convenient. The development of the Production Information Control System (PICS) will ensure safety for the disabled. The operation of efficient and appropriate air conditioning, heating and light reduces the consumption of energy, pollution production and observing the water system through the Telemetrics system will ensure an environmentally friendly Games.
Media areas will be protected using quick and secure security provisions, underlining the IOC concept of promoting a safe Olympic Games. All results will be provided to the media in a quick and efficient manner.
SUPERB NATURAL CONDITIONS AND SLEEK TRANSPORT LINKS. In a clear air from the snow-covered mountains of the ski resort, you can see the ocean and lakes. An ideal setting for hosting winter sports, the compact stadium has a superb road and rail network to ensure swift and smooth transportation between venues.
The most important factors for holding the Winter Olympics are natural conditions such as weather and geographical features. PyeongChang has already been recognized for its weather conditions required to host the Winter Olympics by the IOC.
With the average February temperatures of three degrees below zero and average snowfall of 38.2㎝ during the winter months, PyeongChang was appraised for its ideal natural conditions for winter sports. Gangwon Province has the best snowfall in the country and maintains dry snow during the ski season from November to early April, which is optimal snow for skiing.
PyeongChang is already easily accessible through expressway networks, with a capacity large enough to manage major international sporting events. The existing four-lane Yeongdong Expressway that connects Seoul with Gangneung, passes through all of the venues. National roads No. 6, No 42 and provincial road No.456 will serve as alternative routes to the Yeongdong Expressway to further ease traffic problems.
In addition to that, PyeongChang will have a super-speed transportation network by 2010. The construction plan of double-tracked railroad between Wonju and Gangneung has been under the design. After completion, it will pass through all the competition venues will be completed by 2014. Furthermore, major road improvement and extension projects will be completed, including an additional interchange on the Yeongdong Expressway, new or renovated access roads for each venue, and the expansion of some roads to four lanes.
PyeongChang is a transport hub with a well-established network of airports, railways, expressways, and national roads that ensure fast and convenient access. PyeongChang is only a two hour drive from Seoul and Incheon International Airport . The Yangyang International Airport is a mere 50 minutes away.
All 13 competition venues and non-competition venues are located within a five to 10-minute drive from expressways and connected to national and provincial roads and all venues and facilities are located within thirty minutes of each other. With Korea's national railways, one major highway already in place and another highway currently under construction, athletes and Olympic Family members will be assured of safe and punctual arrival to all destinations during the Games.
Since the project plans are independent of the planning for the 2014 Olympic Winter Games, they will be jointly carried out by national and provincial government bodies. In particular, the city of PyeongChang will establish a special transportation plan to ensure fast and safe transfer for the Games. The plan will include a temporary interchange on the Yeongdong Expressway, ensuring improved accessibility to the main Olympic Village and the IOC Hotel; extended or new inner connecting roads; special lanes for the Olympic Family; and large car parks for transferring passengers onto public transportation.
For an increased number of visitors to enjoy skiing in PyeongChang , the introduction of cable-cars and monorails are under consideration.
SUPPORT FOR THE BID. The entire Korean population fully supports the 2014 Winter Olympics bid. An opinion poll conducted by the PyeongChang bid committee showed that the approval rating from PyeongCahng stood at 96 percent, the nationwide figure was at 91.6 percent. A questionnaire survey conducted by IOC for a mini-bid showed that 96 percent of the residents in PyeongChang and its neighborhoods were supportive of the bid.
The Korean government and the National Assembly have also confirmed that the 2014 bid is a top-priority national agenda and will provide full support in all aspects of the bid, including construction of a high-speed railroad, competition venues and an additional expressway. nw

Kim Jin-sun, governor of Gangwon Province and executive president of the 2014 PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games Bid Committee

An artist conception of the projected Alpensia Resort, designed for the main venue of the 2014 PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games.

The "Dongsamo"and other volunteers groups supporting PyeongChang's bid for the 2014 Olympics participate in activities designed to publicize the 2014 Olympics candidate city.

PyeongChang boasts of skiing facilities certified by IFs and a wide range of accommodations. The breathtaking landscape of Mt. Balwang with the Yongpyong Resort.

(left photo)Ahn Hyun-soo of South Korea became a double gold medal winner in men's 1,000 meter short track speed skating and men's 5,000 meter relay during the 6th Asian Games. PyeongChang has been recognized for having hosting international winter sports extravaganzas.