Indeed it would.

“So few tickets were sold for the non-Korean team games, they were busing in school kids to fill in the empty seats.”

Or local construction workers to paper the 1st Class section of Gwangju Stadium. Still 15 000 empty seats to watch Raul, Morientes, and the rest of the Spanish team…

The Hollywood that’s about two doors from the Hamilton?

Either they were staying at that hotel of walked into the first place they saw when the taxi dropped them off in front of the hotel (which they usually do if you ask to go to Itteawon).

Sorry to bombard you with links, but these are just some of the comparisons between Nagano, and Pyeongchang in terms of skiing conditions and nightlife. To sum up, the Korean slopes were not nearly as good, nor the nightlife or food options as Happo One or Hakuba,(where the Nagano Games were) according to people’s comments.

Lillehammer is probably still considered one of the best hosts of the Olympics, and there are more options of entertainment/nightlife in Lake Placid and Albertville. Not many sports bars or pubs in Pyeongchang that I know of.

Don’t get me wrong.. I fully support any initiative to get more entertainment and sporting activities in Korea. I just think they need to get more international experience to cater to what foreigners are used/accustomed too. It’s changing slowly.. which will make here much more tourist friendly.

god knows how long to buildup infrastructure for a small resort town

People in the region might be more comfortable in Korea than Austria but I doubt any of them would agree this is the “Soul of Asia” as municipal vehicles in Seoul proclaim

Agree with some of the above and Card’s article that filling seats for events Korea is not competing in would be tough.

I just find it amusing that THE place to be, at one of the biggest sport event on the planet happens to be one of the crappiest club / bar I’ve ever been to.

and that was in SEOUL, the capital and biggest city of the hub. now just imagine Pyeongchang…

Same as the Asian Games.. I can’t imagine the sports venues packed at most of the events, seeing as how most people don’t take time off work and kids are in hakwons all day… plus I wonder how expensive they would make those tickets.

So few tickets were sold for the non-Korean team games, they were busing in school kids to fill in the empty seats.

Not being sarcastic, but how do you think Pyeongchang could become more foreigner friendly, and become more diverse? A resort town it may be, but people want more entertainment venues than what they have to offer. I can’t see authentic Greek, Italian, Scandanavian, or French restaurants opening up there and surviving anytime soon, or even any type of western breakfast place. There will be more kimbap and dongass places popping up probably as it is more economically sensible for shop owners.

Well, I think the chances of Pyeongchang getting viable Greek, Italian, Scandanavian, or French restaurants are about the same as authentic Korean, Japanese, or Chinese restaurants opening up in Lake Placid, Sarajevo, Lillehammer, Albertville or some of the other places that have hosted the Winter Olympics. Ditto goes for the launguage/culture-friendly entertainment options. At any rate, I’m sure arrangements would have been made to take care of the special dietary needs of Western tourists, at least for the period of the Olympics.

One might also suspect that a large number of the visitors who would come to a Pyeongchang Olympics were from other Asian countries, especially Japan and China, who might be comfortable with Korea’s entertainment culture (dare I say, more comfortable than they’d be in a place like Salzburg). Isn’t that partially why you’d want to hold the games in an Asian country like Korea — to make it easier for people in the region to attend, heighten interest in the Winter Games and provide a cultural setting people in the region might be more comfortable with?

Let me ask (seriously) — how did Nagano prepare for the Games? I gather Nagano is a fairly big town (300,000+), but I also take it wasn’t known for being particularly cosmopolitan. How did it create the necessary culinary and entertainment infrastructure to successfully hold the Winter Games?