By Yoon Chul
Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Chung Byoung-gug has emphasized that if PyeongChang wins the right to host the 2018 Winter Olympic Games, it would greatly help expand winter sports markets in Asia.
“The envisioned PyeongChang Winter Games will prompt Asians to pay more attention to winter sports and generate new markets,” Chung said in an interview. “PyeongChang is the most appropriate place for the Winter Games.”
“Citizens eagerly support the bid to host the Winter Games. I want to say PyeongChang is the city with the spirit of the Olympics and timely, geographically and economically it is the right place,” he added.
About one billion Asians can reach Korea in less than two hours by airplane. And according to the Asian Development Bank, Asians will likely be responsible for 43 percent of the world’s consumption total in 2030.
If the Winter Olympic Games open in PyeongChang, Gangwon Province, lots of infrastructure would be established at the site.
With the construction of new winter sports venues, including a bobsleigh track, many international winter sports could be held here, encouraging many Asians to take part, analysts say.
Chung plans to fly to Lausanne, Switzerland, for the Technical Briefing, scheduled for May 18 to 19, with about 50 days left before the IOC choose the host city on July 6 in Durban, South Africa.
PyeongChang officials say visitors to the region can head to the beach or go hiking. And they can go ice fishing or rail biking. They could also reach Seoul in about 50 minutes thanks to a planned bullet train connection.
The bid committee already announced that the bullet train will connect Incheon International Airport to the Olympic main cluster in PyeongChang via Seoul. From the airport to PyeongChang, it takes 68 minutes.
“In order to support better convenience, the bid committee signed a memorandum of understandings (MOU) with Korea’s best brands in a project called Best of Korea,” said Chung. “High-quality food, hotels, theaters, performances and facilities will be available in PyeongChang.”
“I personally believe that if PyeongChang hosts the 2018 Winter Games, the host is not only PyeongChang or Korea but also the whole of Asia,” Chung said.
The Winter Games were held twice in Japan in 1972 and 1998.
But Chung said the character of Japan’s Winter Olympics was different from PyeongChang’s challenge. When the Winter Games were held in Japan, only a few countries were interested in winter sports and just a handful of Asian countries were able to invest in them.
But now more countries in the area are interested and they can afford to participate.
“In order to get support from other Asian countries, we have been making efforts for a long time,” Chung said.
Despite the visible advantages some hesitate to show strong support for Korea, citing lingering concerns over security issues involving North Korea.
“While holding international events in Korea, the relationship between South and North Korea remained stable,” Chung said. “Hosting the Games will help create peace in Asia and it is in accordance with the spirit of the International Olympic Committee.”