Nice to see the school system is keeping the mantra alive:
“What did South Korea not have that the other place did?” asked sixth-grader Lee Da-hae as she chatted with friends on their way to school.
“This is all because they looked down on us for being a small country. Why else would we lose?”
[CNN, HT to Japundit]
In the Asia Times, James Card attempts to explain to Da-hae’s friends “why else PyeongChang would lose.” Which includes this:
One of the hallmarks of a great mountain town is an apres-ski scene and the surrounding amenities of good restaurants, bars and entertainment. At PyeongChang’s two resorts the apres-ski scene involves a K-pop discotheque, karaoke sing-a-longs and poorly rendered versions of overpriced Western cuisine. The architecture and ambience is as if Joseph Stalin designed the resort with a Hello Kitty motif.
So instead, we get to hold the Winter Olympics in “the most northern subtropical climate on earth” where the architecture really was designed by Joseph Stalin.
BTW, has anyone noticed how closely Stalin resembled Borat when he [Stalin] was younger?
[HT to Hugh]
51 Comments
hahaha! hats off to the stalin picture! Made my day!
*Sigh*
Come on, Korea, don’t take it so personally. You’ve been chosen for so many other events. I doubt that there is a vast conspiracy within the IOC to slight Korea on the basis of it being a “small country” or for any other reason. Remember that little event in 1988, in Seoul?
On the other hand, it is a bit daft to hold the Winter Olympics in a tropical area!
To borrow a George Tenet-ism, that AT Online piece is a slam-dunk argument as to why Pyeongchang shouldn’t host the Winter games.
>On the other hand, it is a bit daft to hold the Winter >Olympics in a tropical area!
I agree. But they(Russians or Puchin and his friends) have huge amounts of oil money…
That was really good writing. I’ll look for more of his stuff.
Thanks for linking that.
Card really nailed the mercenary drive behind the Pyongchang bid and saw through the “peace on the peninsula” bullshit:
“The bid presenters worked on the theme that if the Winter Olympics were held in PyeongChang, it would somehow create better relations between the North and South. There was no explanation of exactly how or why that would happen or why it is pertinent to the rest of the world.
Yet through a huge amount of aid, South Korea continues to keep one of the world’s worst tyrants in power. North Korean defectors continue to be turned away; South Korea abstained five times on United Nations North Korean human-rights resolution votes and uses the Gaeseong factory in North Korea as a source of cheap labor for South Korean manufacturers under the guise of progression towards peace.”
I grant that there is some resemblance between Stalin and Borat. But, the pic of Stalin is so grainy…
Show us a pic of Stalin in an oversized thong bathing suit, and then and only then, can we make a proper comparison.
Come to think of it, Photoshoppers out there, your mission, should you choose to accept it…
Sore losers and poor winners. Quite a reputation. Just because South Korea could invest billions to transform itself into a barely passable, third-rate Winter Olympic site, does not equal justification that it should. In fact, Koreans should be relieved that they lost, as in the long term it probably equals a net positive.
Card’s article covers the realities quite well, and he could have been even more harsh without exaggerating. The fact that Pyeongchang almost beat Vancouver for 2010 is a testament to just how much being a “new” and “disadvantaged” (read: Asian) site is worth in the minds of the IOC’s affirmative action selection process, because on merits alone, that matchup is a fucking blowout. Vancouver has some of the best skiing in the world, large hockey arenas, loads of large hotels, and the transportation infrastructure to deal with the crowds, media, and athletes. Not to mention more heroin junkies and strung-out hookers than any…oh wait, that’s not required. Point being, that site selection has become more about “rewarding” certain regions and countries for their previous exclusions than it is about selecting the actual best city with the best qualifications and facilities. Without that built-in advantage, Pyeongchang is not even close to being a serious contender by any stretch of the imagination.
As usual, Korea was interested only in the prestige and bragging rights in their common shortsighted outlook, without considering the reality that the billions they would pour into constructing a cut-rate Olympics site would be a long-term financial albatross with absolutely zero chance of returning any of that investment. Being able to boast that you’re one of six countries to host 3 major events doesn’t pay any bills, and ego-stroking on that scale can be an expensive lesson. Just ask Montreal or Athens.
Post-Olympics, the mountains would still blow, and would only continue attracting Korean skiiers as they do now. Every other facility built (outside of short-track ovals) would sit dormant and unused for decades on end, sucking up maintenance dollars while they were collecting dust. An Olympics would not transform Pyeongchang into an international winter mecca destination (or as Koreans know the terminology, HUB). There would be short term publicity and possibly small profit, but given the very limited accomodations, restaurants, nightlife, etc., and difficulty of navigating the Korean countryside, I’m guessing that the publicity had as good a chance at being negative as it did at being positive. Small-town charm only goes so far, and athletes and journalists who cover the event want to party, not go to fucking noraebang or a shitty pojang macha.
Korea is soccer mad and has a real passion for the sport (at least when they’re winning), and that alone made hosting the World Cup worth the cost of numerous empty soccer stadiums that now dot the country. Not to mention the fact that it was a shared hosting, which cut the potential liabilities and allowed only major cities to bear the burden of hosting. Koreans don’t know shit, and don’t care about 99% of the Winter Olympic sports, with the other 1% being short-track speed skating. So similar to the World Cup, when non-Korean matches drew small crowds, I’m sure the attendance at non-short-track events would be whitey only and Koreans would pack the house for speed skating. Good news for whitey that wants hockey tickets, but bad news for the bottom line, and embarrassing to international TV audiences looking at loads of empty seats.
And for those that will inevitably accuse me of Korea-bashing, I’d say the same thing if the US were trying to host the Cricket World Cup.
“Point being, that site selection has become more about “rewarding” certain regions and countries for their previous exclusions than it is about selecting the actual best city with the best qualifications and facilities.”
So it doesn’t matter that Vancouver has “has some of the best skiing in the world, large hockey arenas, loads of large hotels, and the transportation infrastructure to deal with the crowds, media, and athletes”?
when i read that article at the atimes, i wondered if one of you wrote the piece. it’s obvious mr card is angry at korea. why else would he bring up dog eating, love hotels, and the truthfulness of the korean press? why else would he use japan as a model instead of using the cities that pyongchang actually competed with? why?
yeah, i know why.
the atimes IS becoming the rag many of you accuse it of being.
It’s called reading comprehension, look into it sometime. Did you miss the part where I said that on merits alone, it was a fucking blowout? The entire point was that affirmative action points are an increasing factor, not the ONLY factor. Vancouver obviously had the site qualifications and merits end of the equation, and Pyeongchang had nothing but credit for being in a region of the world that has only hosted two Winter Olympics. It shouldn’t have been a close vote, but it was simply because some IOC voters think rewarding regions with minimal hosting experience is good policy. That mindset is also why South Africa is getting the 2010 World Cup despite significant concerns about capability and infrastructure.
By merit alone, Vancouver wins hands down. So yes, the skiing and arenas and hotels and cheap supply of junkie hookers did matter, just like anyone that can read would have deducted from my original post.
You, of course, not belonging to that exclusive group of the literate.
“The entire point was that affirmative action points are an increasing factor, not the ONLY factor”
–iheartblueballs
“site is worth in the minds of the IOC’s affirmative action selection process, because on merits alone, that matchup is a fucking blowout”
–iheartblueballs
Wow. Someone’s got the whiteman’s burden!
Dude, relax. Stop whining. Slough off your victim mentality. Not to sound racist, but hearing white guys whine about how hard they have it is, quite frankly, nauseating.
I suggest you take the same reading comprehension class that Someguy is taking. I’m not whining about shit, just pointing out the obvious, which is that Pyeongchang is a joke when compared to cities with actual facilities and infrastructure. If a city with the exact profile of Pyeongchang were in Europe or North America, it would never even be considered. Period.
And calling me the one with victim mentality, that’s rich. Why don’t you re-read the quote at the beginning of this post:
because certain facts (no snow, no facilities, lack of diversity) are pertinent, unlike the the ad hominem psychobabble to which you constantly revert because the facts don’t support your prejudices
The James Card article was really good. He really calls Korea on their “it”ll be good for unification” bullshit. I loved how he said that the South doesn’t explain how that will help unification, or why it would even matter to the rest of the world.
Funny!
I also liked the part about Gaesong.
iheart, I don’t think you are very familiar with the 2014 race or how the IOC makes its decisions.
Although the AT article is negative in it’s view of Pyeongchang, the official IOC Evaluation Report called Pyeongchang’s bid excellent and praised it for its compact venue planning and sound budgeting. In the weeks running up to the vote, Pyeongchang was considered the frontrunner in the race by the media - not because of “affirmative action”, but rather because of the perception that its bid had formulated a plan that would of gaurantee a smooth Olympic games. Pyeongchang may indeed lack the charm of European ski resorts, but that does not mean it does not have the capability to host the Olympic games. The IOC Evaluation Report CLEARLY found Pyeongchang capable. You can rip Pyeongchang about it not having the glamour or charm or other ski resorts, but please don’t claim Pyeongchang only got so close to getting the games because of “affirmative action” IOC policies. That is an insult to Pyeongchang’s bid committee.
If anybody benefited from “affirmative action”, it’s the Russians. Sochi is so undeveloped that it’s budget for the games came out to be 12 billion dollars, dwarfing the budgets of Pyeongchang and Salzburg by a wide margin. Sochi does not have many existing facilities - most of them need to be built by scratch.
The 2014 race, although “boring” because it didn’t involve large glamour cities like the 2012 race, was incredibly intense in its lobbying efforts. Russia and Korea are reported to have spent 40 million dollars each on their campaigns, leading Salzburg to complain about how the Olympics may only go to “larger countries like Russia and South Korea”. When it comes to bidding for sporting events, South Korea is a large country. This would be my response to Lee Da Hae.
Judging strictly by the quality of skiing and snow, altitude of the mountains, vertical drop, etc, I’m surprised that Pyongchang actually made it to second place. Does Pyonchang even have enough verticle drop to allow for the downhill competition? These mountains are nice for hiking, but are just hills compared to N America and Europe, or S America for that matter. It’s pretty incredible they made that far, there must be some very skilled Korean lobbyists working on the project.
So the Korean media was “angry at Korea” when it wrote stories about shutting down some dog-meat markets during the World Cup?
And the Korean media was again “angry at Korea” when it covered the conversion and usage of love hotels for World Cup attendees?
The fake story he described was actually posted to the Korea Times website and it’s relevant to story, that’s why.
Maybe because in every story in the Korean media written about Pyeongchang, they bring up the fact that Nagano and Sapporo are the only Asian cities to host Winter Olympics.
It’s typical chickenshit to paint legitimate criticism as “anger” at the subject. If you need some textbook examples of that chickenshittery, see all the dimwit wingers who claimed for years that anyone who criticized Bush was a deranged Bush-basher.
And calling me the one with victim mentality, that’s rich. Why don’t you re-read the quote at the beginning of this post:
“This is all because they looked down on us for being a small country. Why else would we lose?”
–blueballs
Yeah, but the main difference is that the person you’re quoting is a child, while you…well, you I guess you’re a child too.
Okay, so congratulations. You’ve proven that you and a child have a victim mentality.
Picking on a kid, blueballs?
Have you no self respect?
Why didn’t Pyeongchang win the bid?
**** “It’s the snow, stupid.” ****
Everything else can be fixed, but you can’t make it snow.
I visted Yongpyong for the first time this past winter. Most miserable resort I’ve ever been to. Completely overcrowded and the runs were littered with stones and ice patches. I’m in no hurry to go back there, but I still enjoy tooling around at Jisan.
I love watching the train wreck of people trying to spar with blueballs, the person, that is, not the condition.
Seaofcrap, you are correct that Sochi benefitted from the same factors that I mentioned in regards to Pyeongchang. Russia has never hosted a Winter Olympics, and will have to build as many or more of the facilities that Pyeongchang would have. I don’t think Sochi is worthy of a bid either, just as Pyeongchang isn’t, and for most of the same reasons.
I’m aware of the evaluations by the IOC. They evaluated a plan (since the actual site is virtually non-existant), and found the plan to be satisfactory. That doesn’t mean that Pyeongchang is a worthy site. It means they can formulate a plan to make it a worthy site in the eyes of the IOC.
There are loads of other sites around the world that don’t need plans to become good sites…because they’re already there. I think it’s ridiculous for the IOC to search out obscure, sub-par sites and promote them as acceptable when in fact there are plenty of sites that already have the facilities and requirements in place. It’s far better for the games themselves to choose superior sites than to play a game of checkers, skipping around the globe while trying to distribute games to new places that aren’t qualified.
I’ve been to Pyeongchang several years ago and I know what it’s like. The mountains are not Olympic caliber and the fact that they rely on largely man-made snow makes it a joke. They can plan to build all the hockey rinks and bobsled runs they want, but a good site requires topography and climate, neither of which can be bought.
My reading comprehension is fine, BB, I just don’t usually pay close attention to what you write.
Anyone that’s paid attention knows that this kind of victimhood scapegoating is like a sixth sense in Korea among children and adults alike. Where do you think that 6th grader learned that kind of conspiratorial blamegamery? From his 3rd grade sister or his 35-year old teacher?
Given your habit of not paying close attention to what I write, let me suggest you initiate a new policy of not commenting on what I write as well. It’ll save you the embarrassment of looking foolish and save me the time of responding. A “win-win” for both sides involved.
Whatever…Your first response was to throw insults. You need to learn a bit about self-control. Keep them coming if you want, I don’t care anymore. I’ve got a 3 year-old. Tantrums leave me unfazed.
I think Card made a good assessment on the “apres atmosphere” of the games. With thousands of foreigners here, I’m pretty sure they would be bored out of their mind, because of the lack of diversity. Except for Korean food, there aren’t many options there except chicken , Korean ‘toast’, or some tasteless sweet potato pizza from Pizza Etang. TV coverage would be all in Korean, as there are no English feeds in the country, and most people don’t want to sit in front of a computer all day and watch that for coverage. Being far away from cosmopolitan Seoul, there wouldn’t be a whole lot to do. During the World Cup, it was hard to get the bars at the beginning of the tournament to switch channels and put on a game that didn’t involve Korea. I don’t know if Sochi will be any better either in that respect, but from having friends who have participated in previous Olympics, the party scene is a big part of the Olympic experience (some really wild parties when the athletes finish their events).
For the athletes, I’m sure they would have no problems. They do a decent job of accommodating journalists and athletes. I remember the Asian Games in Busan a few years back, and the biggest complaints about the food was from the Korean team, because there wasn’t enough Korean choices and they weren’t allowed to order in.
If Korea becomes more diverse, instead of the usual forcing everyone to do everything the Korean way, I think they could put on a decent games. Small town Korea vs. Seoul is a very different ballgame in terms of attitudes and reluctance to change. Thousands of foreigners with no concept of how the culture works in Korea converging in small town Pyeongchang sounds like a Korea PR disaster waiting to happen.
North Korea has the peninsula’s only topography and climate suitable for hosting a winter games.
South Korea as a whole would benefit from having journalists willing to take a hard look at matters the way James Card did there.
Several comments about Sochi being subtropical, which is true. What is also true is that it sits at the foot of the Caucasus Mountains, which are up to 18,000ft (5000m). And Pyeongchang? This excerpt from wiki sums it up:
The altitude of Pyeongchang is 700m above sea level, with some areas over 1,000 m high.
Take a look at this short video of Sochi. Look at the sides of the slopes. That’s deep, natural snow.
Keep in mind that those who live in LA, Flagstaff, Arizona and Sante Fe, New Mexico–locales considered hot–are a short drive away from world-class skiing.
I’ve skiied Korea and Japan often, and the contrast made by Mr. Card is spot on. Though he didn’t dig deeply into the Nordic events (Norway Fighting!), that’s kilometers of track that needs to be covered with snow. And in winter what typically happens on those golf courses that were proposed for the Nordic events? Golf is played.
But you can get some decent dried fish & squid and the gamjatang is tasty. Even when some hillbilly blows his nose in your glove.
I’m not necessarily sure if that’s the case. Not to repeat the party line, but Koreans can be extemely welcoming to foreign visitors, Pyeongchang IS a resort town (albeit not on par with St. Moritz) and I’m sure the locals would be on their best behavior during the Olympic period.
Korea would have also had seven years to prepare for this thing. It’s not like the local and national authorities don’t know that Pyeongchang is a bit provincial and might need a bit of work to make it “foreigner friendly.” And yes, for foreign residents of Korea, Pyeongchang might be just another bumfuck Gangwon-do town, but for people coming to Korea for the first time, it might be charmingly exotic? Wasn’t that part of the draw with Nagano, a town I understand is not the most cosmopolitan in Japan (and where, apparently, foreigners were turned away from local pubs and restaurants and local eateries tried to organize a “no foreigners allowed” campaign*). I might also add that there’s a lot of culture in that area of Korea (Woljeong-sa Temple comes to mind)… it’s just a question of promoting it right and making it accessible.
I’m sure there are tons of towns in Europe and North America that would make a better Winter Olympic venue, but those regions have held all but two of the Winter Olympic games, so I don’t find it completely unreasonable that cities in other regions might get a premium simply by being non-European/North American… if for no reason that to spread the wealth and give other continents their 15 minutes of fame.
And lastly, while I’m sure Mr. Card had fun writing his piece — although I have to agree with nulji for once in that, really, who gives a shit whether Koreans eat dog or whether the Korea Times (which Koreans don’t read) makes shit up as it goes along — the fact remains that as wanting as Pyeongchang may or may not be, look who it lost to — a Soviet-era resort town with nothing in the way of infrastructure relying on Russian logistical efficiency to get in shape for the Games.
The IOC better hope to hell oil prices remain high, that’s all I’ve got to say.
And not for nothing, but for all the bitching about how Korea — and rural Korea in particular — isn’t “foreigner-friendly,” Korea is like the Bahamas compared to Russia, which has a nationalist streak as nasty as the Koreans’, but expressed through skinhead beatings as opposed to online bitching on Naver.com. I might add that while Card brings up those wacky North Koreans, Sochi is, what, less than a day’s drive from Chechnya and borders on Abkhazia, a breakaway province of Georgia (albeit a breakaway province backed by Moscow). And in the event of an emergency, it’ll be the Russian security forces coming to the rescue. K-pop and sleazy room salon girls don’t sound so bad now, do they?
Boy, that was a tell of gargantuan ptoportions, thoroughly befitting the length of the company line that you then unreeled.
Marmot: You sure you don’t have one of them blue marks on your ass, or is a newly branded one in the works?
No need to worry there. Even the mainstream media seems to be coming around to the fact that peak oil is upon us.
‘Sides, my conspiratorial muse tells me it wasn’t oil prices the IOC was thinking about at the time they chose Sochi. It was natural gas prices. And supplies.
British kids always talk about their tiny little country. Cry fucking babies! Okay! It’s a big deal that I didn’t know what curry was until I was 32! Wow you’re really amazing!
Yeah, I know, the only good thing that came out of it was Ella Fitzgerald and Route 66…Fine! Then cancel your honeymoon to Vegas faggot!
Russia was indeed a dodgy choice, politically, but they do have a Winter Olympics track record and decent mountains there. But let’s face it, the skiing sucks in Korea, what little of it there is. Virginia and possibly even Maryland are the best US comparisons.
If Asia is to host a Winter Olympiad, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, China, India, Iran, Pakistan all have the mountains and climate to do it. Not all of these are politically palatable or financially viable, of course. But the proximity to North Korea, which could implode or lash out with a desparate war one or two Olympiads from now, clouds any ROK bid, too.
I’d predict that the next cycle of Olympic bids in Asia — Tokyo for summer, perhaps a Chinese city for winter in two decades — will complicate the hopes of a PyeongChang or a Muju. In the meantime, perhaps Korean society will mature to the point where a significant number of voters/taxpayers won’t simply swallow the party line when their country is bidding for such events.
‘because certain facts (no snow, no facilities, lack of diversity) are pertinent, unlike the the AD HOMINEM (pawi’s emphasis) psychobabble to which you constantly revert because the facts don’t support your prejudices.’ sperwer
‘pow pow…’ sperwer’s cute name for me
‘your cochroach pride…’ sperwer to pawi
‘looks like i gotta get my gun and shoot some geese..’ sperwer to pawi. ‘pawi’ means goose
‘…you constantly revert because the facts don’t support your prejudices.’ sperwer to pawi
‘although I have to agree with nulji for once in that, really, who gives a shit whether Koreans eat dog or whether the Korea Times (which Koreans don’t read) makes shit up as it goes along…’ marmot on pawi post. nulji old name for pawi
uh, sperwer, are you sure you ain’t full of han? lol.
and where’s those quotes from hawley indicating china won and korea lost? and the proof koguryeo ain’t part of korea’s timeline? lol. you’re too easy even with all that fancy verbage.
Based on IHBB’s analysis of Vancouver’s assets, I’d say either he’s lived in Vancouver, or the seamy side of our city is too well known.
Well, the South Koreans should be proud that they beat out Salzburg—Salzburg, in Europe, in the Alps!—twice in a row, even if they didn’t win the games.
Yeah Slim! Winter Games in Mongolia baby! Yurt place or mine!
Korea’s a great country, the coasts are fine, Soraksan is beautiful in the fall, and Pyongchang sucks. There’s nothing wrong about it being a quiet rural town, but when it gets inflated to “charmingly exotic” I question whether you’ve actually seen the place.
It’s not.
Wouldn’t Muju Resort have been the better candidate anyway?
This isn’t about Korea.
The point is, Putin never loses.
All I know is, you know how people here don’t mind nudging and bumping on subways, on sidewalks, in stores or in their cars? Well, they don’t get any more considerate when they strap on skis. My tips looked like someone had taken a machete to them. Please tell these people it’s not a contact sport. A freakin game of human pachinko. You don’t get extra points for running into every other person on the mountain.
Hey, keep the local leisure skier off the slopes and bring on the 2018 Olympics.
“There’s nothing wrong about it being a quiet rural town, but when it gets inflated to “charmingly exotic” I question whether you’ve actually seen the place.
It’s not.”
Yeah, except for the casino and the ski hill, there isn’t much there. Sure, it’s beautiful place with all the pine trees and the hills, but so is my backyard in Canada. I guess it’s exotic if you’re from Seoul. Nevertheless, it seemed to have been the better site of all the candidates.
“The point is, Putin never loses.”
Putin’s name would make you snicker if you knew French.
Marmot:
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.
A temple might be exciting for about an hour, but at the end of the day, there’s still not a whole lot of entertainment options there in my opinion that are language friendly, or culturally exciting that would be fun for thousands of foreign spectators, journalists, athletes etc. K pop concerts certainly aren’t going to do it for foreigners, especially when it is all done in Korean only.
The World Cup was a lot of fun, if you knew Korean,and knew how to get around by yourself, but the atmosphere and excitement at the rest of the games, and on off-day Korean games was minimal at best. In Germany, it was a big party everyday, with lots of events for every game. Maybe by 2018, if they try again and win it will have changed, then best of luck to them to host the games.
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?
“The World Cup was a lot of fun, if you knew Korean,and knew how to get around by yourself, but the atmosphere and excitement at the rest of the games, and on off-day Korean games was minimal at best. In Germany, it was a big party everyday, with lots of events for every game. Maybe by 2018, if they try again and win it will have changed, then best of luck to them to host the games.”
So few tickets were sold for the non-Korean team games, they were busing in school kids to fill in the empty seats.
“So few tickets were sold for the non-Korean team games, they were busing in school kids to fill in the empty seats.”
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.
mbk> ha ha that is so true. during the world cup, I ran into several hugely famous players in… Hollywood ! and several days in a row for that matter !
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…
I guess in Nagano everyone ate soba:
http://gojapan.about.com/od/at.....ympics.htm
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.
it took the koreans years to put a subway station in itaewon and noksapyong in preparation for the world cup
god knows how long to buildup infrastructure for a small resort town
http://www.goski.com/resorts/k.....amp;bc=RIR
http://www.goski.com/resorts/k.....amp;bc=RIR
http://www.goski.com/resorts/j.....amp;bc=RIR
http://www.goski.com/resorts/j.....amp;bc=RIR
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.
“mbk> ha ha that is so true. during the world cup, I ran into several hugely famous players in… Hollywood ! and several days in a row for that matter !”
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).
“Putin’s name would make you snicker if you knew French.”
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…
How can you bust on Hollywood? Where else in this country can you find such a high concentration of EuroTRASH and female Russian and Brazilian models/hookers?