Goliath doesn't always win. North Jeolla Province won the favor of South Korean sport in a vote pitting it against the capital, Seoul, to bid to host the 2036 Olympic and Paralympic Games. It will therefore bear the responsibility of bringing the Summer Games back to the peninsula, forty-eight years after Seoul 1988. Quite a surprise. The province's governor, Kim Kwan-young, was ecstatic in front of the press after the vote. "We have achieved a miracle", he said, all smiles. But how?
The Australian example
The vote, organized by the Korean Olympic and Sports Committee (KSOC), was a plebiscite. North Jeolla received 49 votes, against 11 for Seoul. The capital was nevertheless the favorite with its sports infrastructure, its transport network and its international dimension. However, the arguments of North Jeolla hit home. "Today, 88,5% of sporting events in South Korea take place outside the Seoul metropolitan area", the governor stressed, making it clear that the rest of the country could claim the nomination. This fall, the elected official also estimated that "the current capabilities of North Jeolla Province are much greater than those of Seoul in 1988".
"Australia has been awarded the Games three times in three different cities, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. This was done to ensure balanced growth of the country", he added, to highlight the contribution that the Games would have for the development of the province. North Jeolla presented a project based on several cities to limit costs and meet the requirements of economic and environmental sobriety: the province would send the athletics competitions to Daegu, archery and swimming to Gwangju, gymnastics to Cheongju, tennis to Hongseong County and surfing to Goheung County. Its representatives showed their willingness to carry out a virtuous project, to give birth to Olympic Games that have historically respected the environment. An ambitious strategy, which Seoul did not believe in. "We believe that the ecological approach proposed by the province does not correspond to the scale and requirements of the Olympic Games", confided an elected official from the metropolis to Korea Times a few weeks ago. Failed.
Turkey, India or Saudi Arabia as rivals
North Jeolla now needs to get approval from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Once that's done, the campaign can officially begin. "The real race starts now, we will embark on a journey that will lead us to victory. If we stick together, we will succeed", assures Governor Kim Kwan-young. The KSOC has promised to offer "all his support" to the province during the process. Competition will be tough since Turkey, Chile, India, Indonesia, Egypt, Hungary and Saudi Arabia are expected to join the fray.
While North Jeolla's international reputation and sporting expertise are not yet established, South Korea is used to hosting international events: the 2002 FIFA World Cup with Japan, the 2011 World Athletics Championships in Daegu, the 2018 Winter Olympics and Paralympics, the 2019 World Swimming Championships in Gwangju, the 2024 Winter Youth Olympics in Gangwon, etc. This year, the country will notably organize the World Archery Championships in Gwangju (September 5-12) and the World Climbing Championships in Seoul (September 21-28). It has also declared its ambition to organize the 2031 Asian Cup. Steps towards a return of the Games to the peninsula, which would make South Korea the seventh country to organize two editions of the Summer Olympics.
