Pyeongchang County
Encyclopedia
Pyeongchang is a county
in Gangwon
province
, South Korea
located in the Taebaek Mountains
region. It is also home to several Buddhist temples, including Woljeongsa
. It is located approximately 180 km (111.8 mi) east of Seoul
, the capital of South Korea. Pyeongchang will host the 2018 Winter Olympics
.
Its best known place, the township of Daegwallyeong-myeon
, averages between 700 to 800 m (2,296.6 to 2,624.7 ft) above sea level, with some areas over 1000 m (3,280.8 ft) high. Daegwallyeong-myeon has a humid continental climate
(Köppen climate classification
Dfb/Dfw) with warm, humid summers and long, cold winters (see climate).
.
Alpensia ski
resort
is a tourist attraction and has 6 slopes for skiing and snowboarding
, with runs
up to 1.4 km (0.869921831309729 mi) long, for beginners and advanced skiers, and an area reserved for snowboarders. The resort is open year-round.
Alpensia will be the focus of the 2018 Cultural Olympiad, with a new, purpose-built concert hall within the resort.
A 250 km per hour KTX line will be built between Seoul and Wonju via Pyeongchang for the 2018 Winter Olympics and will put Pyeongchang within 50 minutes of travel time from Seoul.
. The other candidate cities were Annecy, France
and Munich, Germany
. It will be the first Winter Games in Asia
since the 1998 games
in Nagano, Japan
. Pyeongchang's bid for 2018 was accepted after two previous failed attempts for 2010 and 2014, in which it lost to Vancouver
, Canada
, and Sochi
, Russia
respectively. (Sochi is also in Asia.)
From a formal standpoint, given the Olympic Charter
, which stipulates that the Games are awarded to a city, and the administrative organization of Korea, it is unclear whether the host city for the 2018 Games is the county of Pyeongchang or the county seat Pyeongchang-eup
.
The name of the county is Pyeongchang, but the local authorities, the PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Olympic & Paralympic Winter Games (POCOG) and the International Olympic Committee
are generally using the camelCase
PyeongChang.
The region is implementing its so-called 2008 “Dream Program”, a legacy of the 2010 bid. It has mounted its fifth sports and cultural program, involving 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.
), Pyeongchang-eup (평창읍) and seven townships (myeon
) :
Administrative divisions of South Korea
||South Korea is divided into 8 provinces , 1 special autonomous province , 6 metropolitan cities , and 1 special city...
in Gangwon
Gangwon-do (South Korea)
Gangwon-do is a province of South Korea, with its capital at Chuncheon. Before the division of Korea in 1945, Gangwon and its North Korean neighbour Kangwŏn formed a single province.-History:...
province
Province
A province is a territorial unit, almost always an administrative division, within a country or state.-Etymology:The English word "province" is attested since about 1330 and derives from the 13th-century Old French "province," which itself comes from the Latin word "provincia," which referred to...
, South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
located in the Taebaek Mountains
Taebaek Mountains
The Taebaek Mountains are a mountain range in both North Korea and South Korea. They form the main ridge of the Korean peninsula.-Geography:...
region. It is also home to several Buddhist temples, including Woljeongsa
Woljeongsa
Woljeongsa is a head temple of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, located on the eastern slopes of Odaesan in Pyeongchang County, Gangwon Province, South Korea...
. It is located approximately 180 km (111.8 mi) east of Seoul
Seoul
Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...
, the capital of South Korea. Pyeongchang will host the 2018 Winter Olympics
2018 Winter Olympics
The 2018 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXIII Olympic Winter Games, is a winter multi-sport event scheduled to take place in Pyeongchang, South Korea, between 9 and 25 February 2018. The elected host city was announced on 6 July 2011 by the International Olympic Committee , after the...
.
Geography
The altitude of Pyeongchang is wide-ranging with 84% of its territory comprised of mountains with average elevations of 750 m (2,460.6 ft).Its best known place, the township of Daegwallyeong-myeon
Daegwallyeong-myeon
Daegwallyeong-myeon is a myeon in Pyeongchang county of Gangwon-do South Korea. The myeon is located in northeastern part of the county. The total area of Daegwallyeong-myeon is 221.63 square kilometers, and, as of 2008, the population was 6,162 people. The myeon was named Doam-myeon until 2007...
, averages between 700 to 800 m (2,296.6 to 2,624.7 ft) above sea level, with some areas over 1000 m (3,280.8 ft) high. Daegwallyeong-myeon has a humid continental climate
Humid continental climate
A humid continental climate is a climatic region typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot summers and cold winters....
(Köppen climate classification
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...
Dfb/Dfw) with warm, humid summers and long, cold winters (see climate).
Tourism
The area is popular with mountain hikers, especially at the southern part of Mount SeoraksanSeoraksan
Seoraksan is the highest mountain in the Taebaek mountain range in the Gangwon province in eastern South Korea. It is located in a national park near the city of Sokcho. After the Hallasan volcano on Jeju Island and Jirisan in the south, Seoraksan is the third highest mountain in South Korea. The...
.
Alpensia ski
Ski
A ski is a long, flat device worn on the foot, usually attached through a boot, designed to help the wearer slide smoothly over snow. Originally intended as an aid to travel in snowy regions, they are now mainly used for recreational and sporting purposes...
resort
Resort
A resort is a place used for relaxation or recreation, attracting visitors for holidays or vacations. Resorts are places, towns or sometimes commercial establishment operated by a single company....
is a tourist attraction and has 6 slopes for skiing and snowboarding
Snowboarding
Snowboarding is a sport that involves descending a slope that is covered with snow on a snowboard attached to a rider's feet using a special boot set onto mounted binding. The development of snowboarding was inspired by skateboarding, sledding, surfing and skiing. It was developed in the U.S.A...
, with runs
Piste
A piste is a marked ski run or path down a mountain for snow skiing, snowboarding, or other mountain sports. The term is European, from the French for trail or track, synonymous with trail, slope, or groomed run in North America....
up to 1.4 km (0.869921831309729 mi) long, for beginners and advanced skiers, and an area reserved for snowboarders. The resort is open year-round.
Alpensia will be the focus of the 2018 Cultural Olympiad, with a new, purpose-built concert hall within the resort.
A 250 km per hour KTX line will be built between Seoul and Wonju via Pyeongchang for the 2018 Winter Olympics and will put Pyeongchang within 50 minutes of travel time from Seoul.
2018 Winter Olympic Games
On 6 July 2011, Pyeongchang was announced as the host city for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games2018 Winter Olympics
The 2018 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXIII Olympic Winter Games, is a winter multi-sport event scheduled to take place in Pyeongchang, South Korea, between 9 and 25 February 2018. The elected host city was announced on 6 July 2011 by the International Olympic Committee , after the...
. The other candidate cities were Annecy, France
Annecy
Annecy is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.It lies on the northern tip of Lake Annecy , 35 kilometres south of Geneva.-Administration:...
and Munich, Germany
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
. It will be the first Winter Games in Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
since the 1998 games
1998 Winter Olympics
The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially the XVIII Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 7 to 22 February 1998 in Nagano, Japan. Seventy-two nations and 2,176 participans contested in seven sports and 72 events at 15 venues. The games saw the introduction of Women's ice...
in Nagano, Japan
Nagano, Nagano
, the capital city of Nagano Prefecture, is located in the northern part of the prefecture near the confluence of the Chikuma and the Sai rivers, on the main Japanese island of Honshū.As of April 1, 2011 the city has a population of 387,146...
. Pyeongchang's bid for 2018 was accepted after two previous failed attempts for 2010 and 2014, in which it lost to Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and Sochi
Sochi
Sochi is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, situated just north of Russia's border with the de facto independent republic of Abkhazia, on the Black Sea coast. Greater Sochi sprawls for along the shores of the Black Sea near the Caucasus Mountains...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
respectively. (Sochi is also in Asia.)
From a formal standpoint, given the Olympic Charter
Olympic Charter
The Olympic Charter, last updated March 21, 1992, is a set of rules and guidelines for the organization of the Olympic Games, and for governing the Olympic Movement. Adopted by International Olympic Committee , it is the codification of the Fundamental Principles, Rules and By-laws. French and...
, which stipulates that the Games are awarded to a city, and the administrative organization of Korea, it is unclear whether the host city for the 2018 Games is the county of Pyeongchang or the county seat Pyeongchang-eup
Pyeongchang-eup
Pyeongchang-eup is a small city in South Korea and the county seat of the county of Pyeongchang. The town has a surface area of and a population of...
.
The name of the county is Pyeongchang, but the local authorities, the PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Olympic & Paralympic Winter Games (POCOG) and the International Olympic Committee
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president...
are generally using the camelCase
CamelCase
CamelCase , also known as medial capitals, is the practice of writing compound words or phrases in which the elements are joined without spaces, with each element's initial letter capitalized within the compound and the first letter either upper or lower case—as in "LaBelle", "BackColor",...
PyeongChang.
Olympic venues and Dream Program
In preparation for the 2018 Olympics, the region will build facilities including hotels and a world-class ski resort, named Alpensia, which is currently under construction. As of June 2011, a ski jump tower has already been built to its full height, although not fully completed. At the bottom of the hill, an Olympic Stadium is in its early stages of construction. A test event for the IBU World Cup biathlon was staged in Pyeongchang in February 2008.The region is implementing its so-called 2008 “Dream Program”, a legacy of the 2010 bid. It has mounted its fifth sports and cultural program, involving 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.
Administrative divisions
The district includes one small city (eupEup (administrative division)
An eup or ŭp is an administrative unit in both North Korea and South Korea similar to the unit of town.-In South Korea:Along with "myeon", an "eup" is one of the divisions of a county , and of some cities with a population of less than 500,000...
), Pyeongchang-eup (평창읍) and seven townships (myeon
Myeon (administrative division)
A myeon, myŏn or myon is an administrative unit in both North Korea and South Korea similar to the unit of town.-In South Korea:...
) :
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