Photo exhibition charting PyeongChang's journey to 2018 host city opens in Gangneung

2018-02-13 6

With the PyeongChang Winter Olympics in full swing,... most of us are busy enjoying the sports... so it's easy to forget the effort that's required to win the hosting rights to such a prestigious event.
The 2018 Games are the triumphant conclusion of a tireless campaign stretching back almost 15 years.
Fortunately for us,... that journey of numbing lows and dizzying highs was captured along the way.
Our Won Jung-hwan reports from a special photo exhibition in Gangneung.



The opening ceremony of a sports photo exhibition has held at Gangneung City Hall on Monday to commemorate the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics.
The exhibition -- jointly hosted by the Korea Sports Press Union and the International Sports Press Association -- is being held under the theme of 'The Best Moments of the IOC, ANOC and Korea Sports History'.
The president of the International Sports Press Association explained why he thinks the exhibition is important.

"Especially in the moment of digital life, photo are very important,… and through this photo there is the history,… history of how PyeongChang became a capital of sports for a while, after the experience you have added in 1988 in Seoul."

The exhibition documents South Korea's remarkable journey to host PyeongChang 2018 since its very first bid... all the way back in 2004.
While PyeongChang lost in the final rounds of voting to Vancouver and Sochi for the 2010 and 2014 Games,… it was third time lucky for PyeongChang in Durban in 2011.
Chang Ung, the North Korean representative to the IOC, expressed his appreciation for a fascinating look back at time.

"The exhibition portrays photographer Kim Min-jae's lifelong work. It's a touching catalogue of an important period of Korea's history. I hope you take care of it well."

Chang also said he was touched by the joint march of Koreas' athletes at the opening ceremony of the Olympics.
The Gangneung exhibition tops off what has been a remarkable 14-year-long journey of determination for PyeongChang, which picked itself up despite two setbacks and is now showing the world why it was the right choice for the 2018 Olympics.

"People say 'third time's a charm',… PyeongChang won the right to host the Winter Olympics on its third attempt.
Although the 57 photos in this exhibition can't show the whole of PyeongChang's remarkable Olympic journey, it can give visitors a glimpse of effort and dedication needed to bring the Winter Olympics to this corner of Korea.
Won Jung-hwan, Arirang News. Gangneung."