PyeongChang Facts |
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| Country | South Korea |
| Province | Gangwon |
| Coordinates | 37.3667° N, 128.4000° E |
| Area | 565.12 sq mi |
| Population | 44,500 |
| Time zone | Korea Standard Time (UTC+9) |
| Area codes | 33 |
| Country calling code | 82 |
PyeongChang which is the host to the 2018 Winter Olympics, is a county in Gangwon province and is located approximately 112 miles east of Seoul, the capital of South Korea. Pyeongchang-eup, a small city in South Korea, is the county seat of Pyeongchang. The town has a surface area of about 45 sq miles . Its population is 9,940 and is situated on the left bank of the river Pyeongchanggang. The city is known for its production of tobacco, silk, and honey.
South Korea has started with its project of constructing a high-speed railway to reduce the distance between its main airport and the venue of the 2018 Winter Olympics. The travel time between Incheon International Airport in the west and PyeongChang will get reduce to one hour. The new railway is constructed in order to connect Wonju in the west of Gangwon Province and Gangneug in the east which includes a stop in Pyeongchang.
On 6th July 2011, PyeongChang was proclaimed as the elected host city by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Thus in 2018, it will be the first Winter Olympic games and second Olympic games in South Korea. Having failed in the 2010 and 2014 bid for the Winter Olympics to Vancouver, Canada, and Sochi, Russia, it finally won their 2018 bid. “Now we have finally achieved our dream,” South Korean Olympic champion, Kim Yu-na has stated.
Locales for all sports are within 30 minutes reach to each other and the alpine venues are hardly 20 miles from the Sea of Japan, known as the East Sea in South Korea. Kim Yu-na has expressed his desire for new venues for Winter Olympics in order to perform better in future. And out of the 13 sport venues, seven have been built including the ski resort of Alpensia.
Major attractions in PyeongChang are Daegwallyeong-myeon, located in North Eastern part of the county and has a humid continental climate. Another is the Alpensia Ski resort which has six slopes for skiing and snowboarding. It is considered to be one of the major centers for tourists’ attraction. Alpensia will be the center for the Culture Olympiad of 2018; with a new concert hall built within the resort. Woljeongsa located on the eastern slopes of Odaesan is an exquisite temple and symbolizes the deep past of South Korea. Odaesan National Park, Bergisel Ski Jump Tower Stadium, Yongpyong Ski Resort are the other major places.