[Olympics] Fever for PyeongChang grows as opening nears

Workers put finishing touches on a snow sculpture at PyeongChang near the venues ahead of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics that starts Feb. 9. / Yonhap

By Kim Ji-soo

With the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games less than a week away, a mixed level of excitement is swaying across the country. Workers deep in their daily grind in big cities such as Seoul and Daegu say they find it hard to raise expectations about Korea's first Winter Olympics. The inter-Korean cooperation for the Olympics — after sharp tension last year — is stealing its portion of the limelight. As Feb.9 approaches, enthusiasm is broadly graspable at the grassroots.

PyeongChang

As a long-time skier, driving through Daegwallyeong-myeon is always accompanied by a quickening heartbeat in anticipation of being on the slopes of Yongpyeong Resort. The Yongpyeong Ski Center, which will host the slalom events, makes up the PyeongChang Mountain Cluster comprising the Alpensia Sports Complex, Phoenix Snow Park, Jeongseon Alpine and the Olympic Sliding Center.

The seemingly sleepy resort town had an undercurrent of tension Thursday as last minute preparations were taking place around the Olympic Stadium. With the athlete villages opened Thursday here (and also at Gangneung that is hosting the ice events), the hope is that athletes may well feel the thrill that the hills and slopes of the PyeongChang mountain cluster quietly, but surely offer.

Residents could be seen strolling to look at the wrapping up of the Olympics preparations. One was Chung Han-mo, 73, a farmer who has lived in PyeongChang for more than 40 years.

"It looks good. I can say the residents feel good about the Winter Games taking place here," Chung said in front of the main Olympic Stadium where the opening ceremony will take place.

A 48-year-old woman surnamed as Kim and working at a farmers' mart in Daegwallyeong-meon said the residents are feeling proud to host the Winter Games."But at the moment, the number of visitors has declined. It's just all preparatory people and staff here. Maybe we will have more visitors when the Games open, but then again, traffic will be highly regulated and with shuttle buses running, I wonder if any tourists would venture out here," Kim said.

Security was tight and preparatory staff just as tight-lipped when asked at random about the Olympic fever. Yet, there was no denying the undercurrent of anticipation.

Hwang Seong-hyun, 86, says the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics will be his last volunteer service for his country. / Korea Times photo by Kim Ji-soo

In Seoul, Hwang Seong-hyun was gearing up to take part in his last volunteer service at the Games. In a snow-blanketed Seoul, Wednesday, Hwang was returning from his daily morning badminton game. The 86-year-old's volunteer experience stretches through the 1988 Seoul Olympics, the 2002 World Cup Games and the 2012 Yeosu Expo — and this is to name only a few — but he will soon head to PyeongChang, Feb.5, to do his last volunteer service.

"I have a sense to serve my country through volunteer activities, to talk and engage with people from over the world to help them understand more about Korea. I have seen how far our country has come, from the days when we had no jobs .....(to where we are now)," he said, showing photos, plaques and memorabilia he has accrued during his past decades of volunteering.

"It is also rewarding that I am able to help out a multitude of people," Kim said.

It's what has kept him thriving, aside from the daily badminton. Kim said he is not worried about his health. He still takes cold-water baths from time to time, and nobody can beat him at his badminton games, he claimed.

"I feel the country is doing more in its preparations for the 2018 Winter Games. Back in 1988, people did not really know. But everyone seems to know and they are excited," he said. Hwang is one of 20,000 volunteers who were already in PyeongChang or preparing to travel there to greet athletes, staff and visitors.

At major gateways

At the perennially busy Seoul Station — where one can catch the KTX train that transports passengers in about two hours to PyeongChang, a sales stand selling official 2018 PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games products is busy, with visitors both foreign and Koreans purchasing official Olympic products featuring diverse designs including the mascots Soohorang or Bandabi.

Chung Chan-seok, an employee with the KORAIL based in Daegu, grabbed a keychain holder featuring a puffy Soohorang for his high-school daughter.

"This is my first purchase, but the PyeongChang Games is just around the corner," he said, as he paid out 10,000 won.

The sales stand, which opened last July, has been getting busier, its employee Kim Jun-hyoung, 20, said. "I think we've been busy since the start of the year. I don't know if it's a fever for the PyeongChang Winter Games growing more heated, but we are definitely busier," he said, adding he is seeing "a lot more" tourists stopping by his sales counter.

Other sites at major ports of entry including Gimpo and Incheon international airports also have promotional and help stands for the Winter Games.