The test events for the upcoming 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games are in progress, the first one to kick off on Feb.3. The PyeongChang Games, which most Koreans have long anticipated, remain less than a year away. South Korea won the “Grand Slam in Sports” by hosting both the summer and winter Olympics, the World Cup, the World Championships in Athletics, and Formula One. There are only five countries in the world to have achieved that. By holding the Olympics in Korea, there is speculation that the number of tourists will increase and Korea’s economy will grow. But is that true?

The argument that international events will attract tourists is false. In Busan, the number of tourists, which was 1,630,000 in 2000, jumped to 2 million in 2002 due to the World Cup and the Asian Games. However, it fell to 1.47 million in the following year and 1.41 million in 2006. There was no ‘Asian Game effect;’ rather, it went backwards. Tourism in Daegu, which also hosted the World Cup and the Universiade in 2003, decreased after the competition. There is no city where tourists have increased because of the Olympics or the World Cup.  In short, tourism events do not attract tourists.

In addition, the economic effects are temporary. The huge investment put into the infrastructure such as stadium, streets and accommodation is packaged as a beneficial economic effect. It is a strategy that ignores the calculation of cost and benefit. In the end, the residents forget the fact that they may have to pay more taxes. In fact, Montreal, which had hosted the 1976 Olympics, paid off about $1.5 billion in debt in 2006, which was 30 years after their Olympics. Nagano, which hosted the Olympics in 1998, poured in $19 billion but suffered a severe depression after the closing ceremony. In the end, the Japanese government owed $11 billion in debt. It is called “the curse of Nagano.”

Likewise, the problem starts after the closing ceremony. Gangneung, a city with five stadiums, has voiced related concern. There are too many facilities for a city with 210,000 citizens. Maintenance costs are made because there is a demand for facilities. However, the maintenance cost is estimated to be about 10 to 20 billion Korean won per year. Similarly, PyeongChang’s debt will be taken over by the state, and the debt will ultimately be shouldered by the citizens’ tax. That is why establishing plans for the use after the closing is important as well as preparation.
For the success of PyeongChang, it has to be reborn as a world-class winter sports attraction based on existing infrastructure, with its natural beauty and Olympic promotional effects.

Unfortunately, this kind of dream does not happen overnight. Nagano and Vancouver also dreamed of Winter Olympics jackpots, but the results were terrible. As long as the Olympics are organized with long-term policies, the joy of attraction will lead to national profit. Let us open up a true “New Horizon.”