By Kang Hyun-kyung
The Gangneung Ice Arena was crowded late Saturday night when the two Koreas' joint ice hockey team played against Sochi Olympic bronze medalists Switzerland in their Olympic debut.
The crowd was unexpected in that hockey is not a popular sport in Korea. The Winter Olympics that opened Friday has enjoyed an unexpected early success as stadiums and Phoenix Park, where alpine skiing events take place, have experienced a surge in spectators.
According to the PyeongChang Olympic organizing committee, tickets for alpine and ice events held Sunday were sold out. That was also the case for tickets for the opening ceremony last Friday.
Among other factors, the express train connecting Seoul and Gangneung, which opened in December, played a key part in increasing Olympic visitors.
The train cut the travel time between the two cities drastically to 1 hour and 50 minutes. It helps people make day trips to the Olympics as well as tourist sites at the Olympic cities.
The train also helps ease accommodation woes. Accommodation fees soared last year as the Olympics neared, discouraging people from visiting the three eastern cities of Gangneung, PyeongChang and Jeongseon during the Olympics.
A series of dramas involving South Korean athletes also kept viewers tuning in. Some 12,000 spectators at the Gangneung Ice Arena burst into applause as South Korean female short-track speed skaters finished first in the semifinal even though one of the racers had a midrace tumble. Their comeback thrilled spectators.
The early success of the Winter Olympics has come as a surprise. There were several pre-Games worries that lowered expectations for the Olympics.
Winter sports in general are not popular in Korea. Before the opening ceremony, the cold was another headache that troubled the organizing committee. The temperature went sharply down in the early morning and night, so the organizers were deeply concerned about weather as a possible spoiler to the opening ceremony. But the temperature on Friday night was balmy.
There were several fear factors that worried organizers. The National Hockey League (NHL) of North America rejected a call for a mid-season shutdown to allow their players to represent their countries at the Olympics.
The decision worried the International Olympic Committee and the PyeongChang Organizing Committee. Ice hockey is one of the sports that enjoys the highest viewership overseas during the Winter Olympics. Hockey games without star athletes could cast a shadow on the success of the Olympics.
The two Koreas' agreement to field a joint women's hockey team had caused a public backlash and thus was seen as a negative factor for the Olympics. However, all worries were gone with the grandiose Opening Ceremony on Friday.
The Gangneung Ice Arena was crowded late Saturday night when the two Koreas' joint ice hockey team played against Sochi Olympic bronze medalists Switzerland in their Olympic debut.
The crowd was unexpected in that hockey is not a popular sport in Korea. The Winter Olympics that opened Friday has enjoyed an unexpected early success as stadiums and Phoenix Park, where alpine skiing events take place, have experienced a surge in spectators.
According to the PyeongChang Olympic organizing committee, tickets for alpine and ice events held Sunday were sold out. That was also the case for tickets for the opening ceremony last Friday.
Among other factors, the express train connecting Seoul and Gangneung, which opened in December, played a key part in increasing Olympic visitors.
The train cut the travel time between the two cities drastically to 1 hour and 50 minutes. It helps people make day trips to the Olympics as well as tourist sites at the Olympic cities.
The train also helps ease accommodation woes. Accommodation fees soared last year as the Olympics neared, discouraging people from visiting the three eastern cities of Gangneung, PyeongChang and Jeongseon during the Olympics.
A series of dramas involving South Korean athletes also kept viewers tuning in. Some 12,000 spectators at the Gangneung Ice Arena burst into applause as South Korean female short-track speed skaters finished first in the semifinal even though one of the racers had a midrace tumble. Their comeback thrilled spectators.
The early success of the Winter Olympics has come as a surprise. There were several pre-Games worries that lowered expectations for the Olympics.
Winter sports in general are not popular in Korea. Before the opening ceremony, the cold was another headache that troubled the organizing committee. The temperature went sharply down in the early morning and night, so the organizers were deeply concerned about weather as a possible spoiler to the opening ceremony. But the temperature on Friday night was balmy.
There were several fear factors that worried organizers. The National Hockey League (NHL) of North America rejected a call for a mid-season shutdown to allow their players to represent their countries at the Olympics.
The decision worried the International Olympic Committee and the PyeongChang Organizing Committee. Ice hockey is one of the sports that enjoys the highest viewership overseas during the Winter Olympics. Hockey games without star athletes could cast a shadow on the success of the Olympics.
The two Koreas' agreement to field a joint women's hockey team had caused a public backlash and thus was seen as a negative factor for the Olympics. However, all worries were gone with the grandiose Opening Ceremony on Friday.
