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WINTER GAMES
Tour of town hosting 2018 Winter Olympic Games
Feb 9, 2018, 12:10 PM | Updated: Apr 17, 2023, 4:02 pm
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Visitors pose in front of the Olympic rings at the 2014 Winter Olympics Saturday, Jan. 25, 2014, in Sochi, Russia. The Olympics begin Feb. 7th. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
PYEONGCHANG – A small south Korean ski resort town has attracted the eyes of millions as it hosts the 2018 Winter Olympics.
The town, of around 40,000 people, is anticipating about 2 million visitors during the Olympics.
The Korean hosts have been preparing for years. PyeongChang may not be big, but it’s offering extra activities on the sidelines of the games to entertain visitors from around the world.
Unlike previous winter Olympic host cities, Vancouver and Sochi, warm temperatures are not going be a problem in PyeongChang. It’s well below freezing day and night. Surprisingly, snow is an issue because there’s very little precipitation right now. Even the organizers of an annual snow festival have to rely on man-made snow, and surrounding hills look pretty brown.
In the coastal city of Gangneung, where the venues are for figure skating and ice hockey, the weather should be a bit warmer.
The venues are also more concentrated and located within walking distance of each other. Sightseers looking for something different may visit the city’s Coastal Unification Park, where visitors will find a unique submarine to tour.
Olympic volunteer Park Sin-woo said, “This submarine is from North Korea. And it invaded South Korea, Gangneung 1996, September 23.”
Along the coast, barbed wire and military fortifications separate South Korea from it’s northern neighbor. South Korea is calling these the Peace Games, but the fact is the Olympic venues are in close proximity to the Demilitarized Zone and to North Korea. Both of these countries are still technically at war. A reality that makes up part of the backdrop of these Winter Olympics.
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