Jeongseon Alpine Centre (정선 알파인 경기장) was an

alpine skiing Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether for ...

area in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. It was located on the slopes of the mountain of

Gariwangsan Gariwangsan is a mountain between the counties of Jeongseon and Pyeongchang, Gangwon-do, in South Korea. It has an elevation of .An 2003, p.16. A skiing area hosted skiing events for the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang County. See also * ...

, in Bukpyeong-myeon in the county of

Jeongseon Jeongseon (''Jeongseon-gun'') is a county in the province of Gangwon-do, South Korea. It is famous as the hometown of "Jeongseon Arirang," a traditional Korean folksong. It is also the hometown of actor Won Bin and footballer Seol Ki-hyeon. Hi ...

Overview

Jeongseon was a venue for the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, hosting the alpine speed events of

Downhill Downhill may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Downhill'' (1927 film), a British film by Alfred Hitchcock * ''Downhill'' (2014 film), a British comedy directed by James Rouse * ''Downhill'' (2016 film), a Chilean thriller directed by Patrici ...

Super-G Super giant slalom, or super-G, is a racing discipline of alpine skiing. Along with the faster downhill, it is regarded as a "speed" event, in contrast to the technical events giant slalom and slalom. It debuted as an official World Cup event d ...

, and Combined. It accommodated 6,000 spectators. The technical events of

slalom To slalom is to zigzag between obstacles. It may refer to: Sports ;Alpine skiing and/or snowboarding * Slalom skiing, an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding discipline * Giant slalom, an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding discipline * Super-G ...

and

giant slalom Giant slalom (GS) is an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding discipline. It involves skiing between sets of poles ("gates") spaced at a greater distance from each other than in slalom but less than in Super-G. Giant slalom and slalom make up t ...

were scheduled for

Yongpyong Resort Yongpyong (Dragon Valley) Ski Resort is a ski resort in South Korea, located in Daegwallyeong-myeon, Pyeongchang, Gangwon-do. It is the largest ski and snowboard resort in Korea, and offers golf in the summer months. A 1949 news article covere ...

in the county of

Pyeongchang Pyeongchang (; in full, ''Pyeongchang-gun'' ; ) is a county in the province of Gangwon-do, South Korea, located in the Taebaek Mountains region. It is home to several Buddhist temples, including Woljeongsa. It is about east southeast of Seou ...

. The capacity of the venue was 6,500 (3,600 Seats / 2,900 Standing). The men's downhill started at an

elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Vert ...

of , with a course length of , to a finish area at . The vertical drop of surpassed the minimum drop of required by the

International Ski Federation The ''Fédération internationale de ski et de snowboard'' (FIS; en, International Ski and Snowboard Federation) is the highest international governing body for skiing and snowboarding. Founded on 2 February 1924 in Chamonix, France during the ...

(FIS). The women's downhill had a length of and a vertical drop of . In the initial plan, the men's course was projected to start at another Jung-bong (peak) area, an elevation of , but was integrated with the women's course starting at lower Ha-bong area, with some environmental criticism and protests. The venue Gariwang mountain is one of the most remote areas in South Korea. The centre officially opened in

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on January 22, two weeks prior to its first events, men's

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

speed The downhill on February 6 was won by

Kjetil Jansrud Kjetil Jansrud (born 28 August 1985) is a Norwegian former World Cup alpine ski racer and Olympic champion. He competed in all alpine disciplines apart from slalom, and his best event was the giant slalom where he has six World Cup podiums and ...

of Norway with a time of 1:41.38, and the super-G the next day was won by

Carlo Janka Carlo Janka (born 15 October 1986) is a Swiss former alpine ski racer. Born in Obersaxen, in the canton of Graubünden, he had the winter sports facilities right in front of his home. Janka has won gold medals at both the Winter Olympics and th ...

of Switzerland. The women tested the Olympic venue in

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with two World Cup speed events in early March. Both races had the same podium finishers with

Sofia Goggia Sofia Goggia (; born 15 November 1992) is an Italian World Cup alpine ski racer who competes in all disciplines and specialises in the speed events of downhill and super-G. She is a two-time Olympic downhill medalist — gold at the 2018 Winter ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

in first,

Lindsey Vonn Lindsey Caroline Vonn ( ; born October 18, 1984) is an American former World Cup alpine ski racer on the US Ski Team. She won four World Cup overall championships — second only amongst female skiers to Annemarie Moser-Pröll — with three ...

of the

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in second, and

Ilka Štuhec Ilka Štuhec (born 26 October 1990) is a Slovenian World Cup alpine ski racer, focusing on the speed events of downhill and super-G. She was a three-time junior world champion in three different disciplines, and was the world champion in downhil ...

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

in third.

Ecological Issues

Environmental groups raised concerns surrounding the deforestation from the slopes of Gariwang mountain to build the Jeongseon Alpine Centre. Officials claimed it is necessary as it is the only slope that could accommodate Olympic requirements and the forest was to be restored after the games were done. Environmental groups were skeptical as the forest includes old growth of ancient and rare species. A nearby stream was diverted into a reservoir at the base of the ski runs. The reservoir supplied water used to create

artificial snow Snowmaking is the production of snow by forcing water and pressurized air through a "snow gun", also known as a "snow cannon". Snowmaking is mainly used at ski resorts to supplement natural snow. This allows ski resorts to improve the reliabilit ...

for the ski runs.

Post-olympics

Jeongseon Alpine Centre was closed and facilities were partially dismantled. The cable cars were reopened to the public in January 2023 for a two-year run, after which time complete dismantlement of facilities and restoration of the mountain is planned.

References

External links

PyeongChang 2018
– Jeongseon Alpine Centre

– World Cup - Jeongseon (KOR)
Men's downhill - Jeongseon (KOR)
- 6 February 2016

Jeongseon County Ski areas and resorts in South Korea Venues of the 2018 Winter Olympics Olympic alpine skiing venues Sports venues in Gangwon Province, South Korea Sports venues completed in 2016 {{Winter-Olympic-venue-stub