Pyeongchang County
Pyeongchang
평창 | |
|---|---|
| Korean transcription(s) | |
| • Hangul | 평창군 |
| • Hanja | 平昌郡 |
| • Revised Romanization | Pyeongchang-gun |
| • McCune-Reischauer | P'yŏngch'ang-gun |
|
Official logo of Pyeongchang Emblem of Pyeongchang | |
 | |
| Country |  South Korea |
| Region | Gwandong |
| Administrative divisions | 1 eup, 7 myeon |
| Area | |
| • Total | 1,463.65 km2 (565.12 sq mi) |
| Population (2004) | |
| • Total | 46,531 |
| • Density | 21/km2 (50/sq mi) |
| • Dialect | Gangwon |
Pyeongchang County (Pyeongchang-gun) is a county in Gangwon province, South Korea and the third largest county in the country. It is located in the Taebaek Mountains region, and is home to a number of Buddhist temples, including Woljeongsa. The county is around 180 km to the east of Seoul, the capital of South Korea.
Geography
The altitude of Pyeongchang is wide range. Its best known place, Daegwallyeong-myeon has 700 m to 800 m above sea level, with some areas over 1,000 m high.[1] Daegwallyeong-myeon has a humid continental climate climate (Koppen climate classification Dfb) with warm, humid summers and long, cold winters.
Olympic Games aspirations
Pyeongchang was the candidate city of South Korea for the organization of the XXII Olympic Winter Games, the 2014 Winter Olympics. This was the second attempt of this city (after 2010).
On October 15, 2009 Pyeongchang was announced as an applicant city in the bidding process for the 2018 Winter Olympics. Annecy, France and Munich, Germany also are applicant cities. Pyeongchang's bid is "considered to be the one to beat." This is their third consecutive bid and would the first time the Winter Games would be held in Asia since the 1998 games in Nagano, Japan and the first time in another Asian country. Additionally, Munich and Annecy's bids may be hampered by having the previous Olympic games (2014 Olympics) held in Sochi, Russia, Europe.
On June 22, 2006, the number of candidates was narrowed to three; Pyeongchang competed against Salzburg, Austria and Sochi, Russia.[2] In the final round of voting on July 4, 2007, Salzburg was eliminated first, with Sochi ultimately selected over Pyeongchang as host city of the 2014 Olympic Winter Games by just 4 votes.
Previously Pyeongchang bid to be the host of the 2010 Winter Olympics. It won the first round of votes with 51 against Vancouver's 40 and Salzburg's 16, but lost out 53 to 56 in the final ballot to Vancouver. It was the closest vote by the IOC since Sydney, Australia beat Beijing by 2 votes to host the 2000 Summer Olympics.
Olympic venues and Dream Program
Despite PyeongChang's losses, the region is going ahead with plans to build venues for a future Olympics; officials have all but confirmed that they will bid for 2018.[3] Hotels, a world-class ski resort named Alpensia is currently under construction, and a ski jump tower (though not yet finished) has been raised to its full height and has already become an iconic structure in PyeongChang, giving it a feel of a Winter Olympic town. An Olympic Stadium lies at the bottom of the hill in the early stages of construction. For the first time in Asia, a test event for the IBU World Cup biathlon was staged in PyeongChang in February 2008.[4]
The region has also followed through with its 2008 “Dream Program”, a legacy of its 2010 bid. It has mounted its fifth edition of the sports and cultural program which involved 123 participants from 31 countries who were invited because they live where there is no snowfall and have no opportunity to participate in winter sports.[4]
Administrative Divisions
- Pyeongchang-eup : County seat
- Bangnim-myeon
- Bongpyeong-myeon
- Daegwallyeong-myeon : The center of winter sports that hosted the 2009 Biathlon World Championships
- Daehwa-myeon
- Jinbu-myeon
- Mitan-myeon
- Yongpyeong-myeon
Gallery
-
Provincial Highway 456
See also
- YongPyong Ski Resort : A ski resort in Daegwallyeong-myeon
