Alpensia Resort
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The Alpensia Resort ( ko, 알펜시아 리조트) is a
ski A ski is a narrow strip of semi-rigid material worn underfoot to glide over snow. Substantially longer than wide and characteristically employed in pairs, skis are attached to ski boots with ski bindings, with either a free, lockable, or partial ...
resort A resort (North American English) is a self-contained commercial establishment that tries to provide most of a vacationer's wants, such as food, drink, swimming, lodging, sports, entertainment, and shopping, on the premises. The term ''resort ...
and a tourist attraction. It is located on the territory of the township of
Daegwallyeong-myeon Daegwallyeong-myeon () is a myeon (township) in the county of Pyeongchang in the province of Gangwon-do, South Korea. It is located in the northeastern part of the county. The total area of Daegwallyeong-myeon is , and, as of 2008, the populatio ...
, 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 ...
.


Overview

The ski resort is approximately 2.5 hours from Seoul or Incheon Airport by car, predominantly all motorway. From Seoul Cheongrangri KTX station (NE Seoul) as well as Seoul KTX station 1 and half hour KTX Jinbu station newly-opened from Feb. 22, 2017 exclusively-built for PyeongChang 2018. There are purple ski shuttle buses to the resort 3 or 4 times a day. Alpensia has six slopes for skiing and
snowboarding Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralympi ...
, with runs up to long, for beginners and advanced skiers, and an area reserved for snowboarders. While the resort is open year-round, the off-season turns the bottom of the slopes into a wild flower garden estimating 100,000-square meters. When the ski and snowboarding season opens, all runs are serviced by chairlifts and are named: Alpha (beginner), Bravo (beginner/intermediate), Charlie, Delta, Echo and Foxtrot catering for intermediate ability. All slopes are closed between 4:30 pm and 6:30 pm each day for piste-maintenance. Night skiing is available from 6:30 pm to 10 pm. Alpensia is a 5–10-minute car ride to the more extensive
Yongpyong Ski 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 cover ...
which has a full range of runs. In the resort village are three main accommodation providers - Intercontinental Hotel, Holiday Inn Hotel, and Holiday Inn Suites. The Alpensia Ski Jumping Stadium is located within the station and was the location of the ski jumping events of the
2018 Winter Olympics , nations = 93 , athletes = 2,922 (1,680 men and 1,242 women) , events = 102 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = , closing = , opened_by = President Moon Jae-in , cauldron = Kim Yun-a , stadium = Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium , winte ...
. Alpensia was the focus of the 2018
Cultural Olympiad An olympiad ( el, Ὀλυμπιάς, ''Olympiás'') is a period of four years, particularly those associated with the ancient and modern Olympic Games. Although the ancient Olympics were established during Greece's Archaic Era, it was not until ...
, with a new, purpose-built
concert hall A concert hall is a cultural building with a stage that serves as a performance venue and an auditorium filled with seats. This list does not include other venues such as sports stadia, dramatic theatres or convention centres that may ...
within the resort as well as an indoor water park.


History

The decision to build Alpensia resort was taken in 2003, in the frame of the ambition of the Gangwon Province to host the Winter Olympics. The resort was built on vacated farmlands and potato fields. The facility was completed in 2011. In 2013, Alpensia Resort was one of the venues of the
2013 Special Olympics World Winter Games The 2013 Special Olympics World Winter Games ( ko, 2013년 동계 스페셜 올림픽 세계대회, 2013-nyeon Donggye Special Olympics Segye Daehoe) was a Special Olympics, a multi-sports event that was held in Pyeongchang, South Korea from Janu ...
. In 2021, the resort's convention center, Alpensia Convention Center, was used as a filming location for '' Loud'', where remaining contestants went there for the second round.


2018 Winter Olympics

The Alpensia Resort has been the focus of the outdoor sports of the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. The venues are the following: * Alpensia Ski Jumping Stadium – Ski jumping, Nordic combined *
Alpensia Biathlon Centre Alpensia Cross-Country Skiing Centre (알펜시아 크로스컨트리 경기장) and Alpensia Biathlon Centre (알펜시아 바이애슬론 경기장) are sport venues in the Alpensia resort, located in Daegwallyeong-myeon, Pyeongchang-gun, Gangw ...
– Biathlon * Alpensia Nordic Centre – Cross-country skiing, Nordic combined *
Alpensia Sliding Centre The Olympic Sliding Centre (올림픽 슬라이딩 센터) is a bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track that is located in Daegwallyeong, Pyeongchang, South Korea. The centre is located between the Alpensia and Yongpyong Resort. The venue is one of ...
– Luge, bobsleigh and skeleton In addition, Alpensia is the location of an
Olympic Village An Olympic Village is an accommodation center built for the Olympic Games, usually within an Olympic Park or elsewhere in a host city. Olympic Villages are built to house all participating athletes, as well as officials and athletic trainers. Afte ...
and the nearby
Yongpyong Ski 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 cover ...
will be the venue for alpine skiing technical events (
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 ...
). The 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 will be held at
Jeongseon Alpine Centre Jeongseon Alpine Centre (정선 알파인 경기장) was an alpine skiing area in South Korea. It was located on the slopes of the mountain of Gariwangsan, in Bukpyeong-myeon in the county of Jeongseon. Overview Jeongseon was a venue for the Pye ...
, currently under development. After the Olympics, Alpensia Resort also hosted the
2018 Winter Paralympics ) , nations = 49 , athletes = 569 , events = 80 in 6 sports , opening = 9 March , closing = 18 March , opened_by = President Moon Jae-in , cauldron = Kim Eun-jung Seo Soon-seok , stadium = Pyeongchang Olympic ...
.


Financial problems

In 2012, it was announced that Alpensia Resort was threatened by bankruptcy, having accumulated losses of $55 million annually. Although this has been denied by Kim Jin-sun from the POCOG in January 2013, the financial problems had not improved as of September 2013. Some Gangwon Congress members insisted on selling Alpensia before it was too late. Others argued either to request financial support from the government or to withdraw from the acceptance of the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.


References


External links

* {{2018 Winter Paralympic venues Ski areas and resorts in South Korea Venues of the 2018 Winter Olympics Tourist attractions in Pyeongchang County Sports venues in Pyeongchang County