Cameron Spencer | Getty Images
An athlete trains during the Snowboard practice session during previews ahead of the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at Phoenix Snow Park on February 7, 2018 in Pyeongchang-gun, South Korea.
South Korean cities in the province have fared better than their neighbors north of the DMZ, but they have struggled to diversify their economy beyond old coal mines, farming and fisheries. Choi says few have dared to invest so close to the North Korean border, with tensions constantly flaring, making Gangwon among the poorest provinces in the country.
“Our province has been marginalized for more than 70 years,” he said. “So we are not as developed as other places in Korea.”
Still, Choi insists his push to host the Olympics wasn’t driven by the need for more development, but by a desire to bring both sides of his province together. North and South Korean athletes will march under a single Korean flag during the opening ceremony, while Korea’s female hockey players will compete for gold as a unified team.
The decision hasn’t been without controversy, given North Korean provocations, and constant threats from Pyongyang to launch its nuclear weapons. But Choi finds meaning in the Olympic gestures, largely because of where these athletes will compete.
The province’s name “consists of two syllables. The first one ‘Pyeong’ means peace, and the second one “Chang” means prosperity,” said Choi. “Pyeongchang together means peace and prosperity. Our hope for peace is in the name of the old land.”
