Gangwon province governor Kim Jin-sun

To attract the 2014 Winter Olympics to Korea, Gangwon province, is mounting a publicity campaign activity at home and abroad, based on the idea of holding the event at Pyungchang winter sports resort. To this end the Pyungchang Winter Olympics Committee has been launched to help make this dream a reality and their many efforts are now beginning in earnest. Gangwon province governor Kim Jin-sun, underscores in an exclusive interview with The Korea IT Times, lthough Pyungchang gained a good assessment from IOC when making a bid for the 2010 Winter Olympics Committee last time, we can say that currently Pyungchang stands in a favorable position since international sports environment between that time and the present has changed so much. Said the governor in a determined manner, e have to prepare ourselves to start again from a clean slate. Thus, Governor Kim points out that Pyungchang attraction must be judged in a cool-headedly fashion. Though winter sports powers such as Sweden and Austria in Europe vie with Korea to lure the 2014 Winter Olympics, Gangwon province is sufficiently confident of attracting the worldwide sporting event, providing Korea promotes the optimal conditions that the resort has to offer and takes into account the arguments on behalf of Pyungchang. The governor stresses that to entice Winter Olympics, above all, nationwide enthusiasm and support are important, adding the nation degree of support is one of IOC cardinal points of assessment. In saying so, Governor Kim sets a high value on the fact that members of the Dongsamo (translated as inter sports-loving peoples gathering) web site totaling 100,000 people are enthusiastically active nationwide right now. In that respect, the governor said, angwon province asks for nationwide whole-hearted interest and encouragement so that our province may attract the 2014 Winter Olympics without fail in the upcoming Guatemala IOC Plenary Session on July 2007. To learn about Pyungchang 2014 Winter Olympics bid, The Korea IT Times met with Governor Kim for the following interview. Q: What is most appealing feature about Pyungchang 2014 Winter Olympics bid A: Provided we take advantage of optimal conditions and promote Gangwon advantages well, the province is confident of luring the 2014 Winter Olympics although such winter sports powers such as Sweden and Austria in Europe are actively competing as well. At present, Gangwon province is striving to make the best use of Pyungchang strong points and to continuously improve international awareness of the resort as well as win confidence internationally. Gangwon province has the capability to spread the popularity of winter sports in Asia and contribute to promoting peace upon the Korean peninsula. Our province also has been building confidence in the sporting world by international winter sports tournaments and improving local infrastructure such as making the resort much more accessible to traffic. In this way, our province is building confidence in Pyungchang. Q: Then, what are Gangwon province strong points, its strategy to lure the 2014 Winter Olympics as well as the effects of holding the Winter Olympics A: Of all things, Gangwon province has natural conditions such as the ideal altitude and snowfall for the Winter Olympics. The IOC already has officially approved Gangwon province 13 sports ground facilities and by means of our vision as well as the alignment of our vision and philosophy with the ideal of the Olympics movement idea, we wish to consolidate international sports world confidence in our province and our project. On the our strategy front to attract the 2014 Winter Olympics, Gangwon province will upgrade awareness of Pyungchang through continuously enticing a series of large-scale international tournaments as well as successfully hosting them. In the case that the Winter Olympics will actually be held in Gangwon province, they will re-christened as the orea Olympics following the 1988 Seoul Olympics, and thereby contributing to boosting the national image and improving its brand. In terms of regional impact also, Gangwon province will become known as a focal point of Asian winter sports and so help spread their popularity as well as their development. In regard to economic ripple effects, it is estimated that the direct effects will total approximately 45 billion won in terms of the income and expenditure that the Olympics will generate. Q: We understand that Gangwon province has been actively engaged in attracting foreign corporations to settle in Gangwon, which involved the governor traveling to Europe to pitch the advantages of the province directly. With regard to province as an investment destination, what would you say are Gangwon province cardinal incentives A: Before everything else, Gangwon industrial strategy is to nurture what you might call the ife and health industries. Through our investment promotion activities over the past 5 years from 2000 to 2004, Gangwon province has enticed 562 companies and aims to lure a total of 800 corporations by 2006. As for the buying cost of a plot for middle to large-sized scale industrial facilities, Gangwon province will subsidize their purchase to a maximum of 5 billion won. Q: You have recently stated that as part of your vision for Gangwon you intended to promote the province as a regional center and spur the influences of globalization. Could you please elaborate on your vision for our readers and how you see the province development progressing A: As domestic and outward circumstances surrounding Gangwon province are now changing rapidly, this means an opportunity for development as well as a turning point for the province. In order to take advantage of such circumstances our province will pursue a number of strategies. To produce tangible development strategies that will take us to 2020 and beyond, Gangwon province plans to attract, as I mentioned, the life/health industries, develop as a regional tourism zone of East Asia, and a logistical center for the East Sea among just a few initiatives that are being planned by my administration. Furthermore wee going to make it really easy to get back and forth from here to the capital; building up and improving the road network is one of my big priorities. We also plan to develop an abandoned mining area as a recreational area to improve the quality of life for all our residents. Q: According to a recent survey by KNTO (Korea National Travel Organization), Gangwon province is emerging as the most preferred travel destination in the nation. What can you tell our readers about Gangwon province plans to do to attract tourists and what broader strategies do you have relating to the travel industry A: As the number of tourists visiting Gangwon province has increased with the introduction of 5-day working week, Gangwon attracted a record 70.69 million visitors last year. Gangwon province travel industry basic strategy is to encourage tourists to stay a minimum of 2 days in all of the 4 seasons. With diversification as our key approach, Gangwon is looking to develop as a many-faceted tourist attraction and in so doing will look at a number of different target markets. To build confidence in Gangwon as at home and internationally wee out to change the local mindset in regard to service. To this end we have a 4-point plan wee going to promote which centers on friendliness, cleanness, order, and trust. Our basic aim, as you can imagine, is to make visitors feel welcome and to encourage them to come back. We will also intensively develop experience-oriented travel programs to strike a response with our target markets. For example, wee looking at temple stays, theme resorts, industrial tours, casinos, reen tourism, snow/ski packages, and traditional culture experiences. In particular, to stimulate anryu (Korean wave) travel, our province will aim to prolong it as much as possible, making money via Hanryu, and maximizing Hanryu associated effects.