Pyeongchang Preview

[Anchor Lead]

While much of the world’s international sports coverage is looking ahead to Rio de Janeiro in anticipation of the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, the city of Pyeongchang is busy preparing for the 2018 Winter Olympics. We’ll take you there.

[Pkg]

A new building has been constructed for the organizing committee of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang-gun, Gangwon-do Province. With its gross floor area measuring more than 10,000 square meters, the three-story building cost over 13 million U.S. dollars to build. It features offices and situation rooms that can accommodate 700 workers. Now that the organizing committee's Seoul office has moved to Pyeongchang, all the preparations for the Olympic games will take place in the host city. The relocation of the organizing committee means that all the procedures for the games will be handled in Pyeongchang, Gangneung and Jeongseon. So far, preparations of the games have been proceeding smoothly. The Jeongseon Alpine Center, which will be a venue of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, is more than 63 percent complete and is slated for completion in late 2017. The remaining 12 stadiums are also about 60 percent complete. The construction of a high-speed rail line connecting Wonju and Gangneung that will transport athletes and tourists is also proceeding smoothly. The organizing committee has chosen a white tiger named Soohorang and an Asiatic black bear named Bandabi as the mascots of the games. In August the committee plans to start actively promoting the games worldwide during the Rio Olympics. The head of the organizing committee, Lee Hee-beom, said that the committee is poised to prepare for the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics with extra care to ensure its success.