COMMENTARY | Pyeongchang, South Korea, has been officially selected by the International Olympic Committee as the site of the Winter Olympics in 2018. The South Korean city was favored to win this year, as it had been a front runner in the two previous selections. The country's economic stability and state-of-the-art transport were likely factors in the selection, notes PlanetSKI.
Given the large investment and small return of hosting the Olympics, I believe Pyeongchang is as good of a choice as any. Visitors will likely agree if they give the city a fair chance; the best choice is always the venue that wants it more. However, not all considerations for a South Korean Olympic bid are peaches and cream. Here are the top three disadvantages to the I.O.C.'s choice of Pyeongchang for 2018.
North Korea is right next door
The first and obvious disadvantage is the political instability inherent in bordering a rogue communist state such as North Korea. Keep in mind that 2018 is over six years away, and on Sept. 10, 2001, we were practically oblivious to Al Qaeda. On top of the natural sociological changes that can take place in six years, Kim Jong Il's apparently declining health makes a transition of power before then likely.
There are so many variables at play regarding the political climate of the Korean peninsula that forecasting conditions next year is very subjective, and six years is near impossible. In 2018, a large crowd of America's supporters and South Korean citizens may be a tempting target for political activists.
Political corruption is the new trend
Olympic committees have been notorious for rampant corruption, especially since the 2002 Salt Lake games led to the expulsion of I.O.C. members. The New York Times reports four of the major leaders in promoting Pyeongchang's bid have been convicted of financial malfeasance or political corruption in the past, leaving many to question just how much the I.O.C. is committed to cleaning up corruption in the process of choosing host cities.
Lee Kun-hee, member of the I.O.C. and chairman of Samsung, was pardoned for a conviction of tax evasion last December. South Korea's President Lee Myung-bak expressed the wish that the pardon would aid Pyeongchang's success in its Olympic bid. The other leaders with convictions are Park Yong-sung for embezzlement (later pardoned), Lee Kwang-jae for taking bribes, and Cho Yang-ho for tax evasion.
Winter Sports are not that popular in Asia
While the country is positively in love with the idea of hosting the Winter Olympics, its enthusiasm for the actual sports is questionable. Koreans themselves recognize this, and have been fervently trying to promote involvement in winter sports to aid in their bid. The main obstacles for Asians are the lack of training facilities and high cost of equipment and training compared to summer sports. There is a perceived lack of necessary weather conditions by a large percentage of the population, and lack of exposure leads to low popularity.
To put the popularity of winter sports in perspective, note that in the 2008 Summer Olympics, China led in gold medals with 51 out of 302, which is a 17 percent win ratio. The highest scoring Asian country in the 2010 Winter Olympics was South Korea (fifth) with six gold medals out of a possible 86, or a win ratio of 7 percent. Shouldn't regions that are particularly fond of winter sports be awarded with a Winter Olympic selection?
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