그 여대생은 중앙대학교 영자신문인 중앙 헤럴드(The Chung-Ang Hearlad)기자인데 평창의 2018년 동계올림픽유치관련 특집기사를 작성 중이라고 했다.
그래서 취재를 위한 인터뷰 요청이었다.
2010년 및 2014년 평창동계올림픽유치위원회에서 연이어 국제사무총장으로서 유치활동의 중심역할을 했지만 역부족으로 두 번 다 역전패를 당했던 터여서 2018년 평창유치에는 국제자문역으로 말 그대로 국제관계자문과 제한된 IOC위원들에 대한 접촉을 통해 평창2018 득표작업에 물밑으로 음지에서 참여해 오고 있는 처지라서 인터뷰는 사양했지만 미래 스포츠외교관을 꿈꾸고 열심히 공부하고 있는 대학생들을 위해 마지 못해 인터뷰에 응했다.
사실 국내외 방송이나 신문 인터뷰는 자제하고 있는터라 그래도 조심스러웠다.
30년간 국제스포츠외교 활동을 하면서 신문과 방송 그리고 인터넷 등을 통해 수 많은 인터뷰와 취재 기사들이 소개되고 알려져 왔었다.
특히 체육 계에서는 지위가 아주 높은 특정 인사 몇몇을 제외하고 아무리 취재 가치가 높아도 언론에 노출되는 것 자체가 '불특정 다수의 불필요한 적'들을 창출(?)해 내는 창구역할을 하기 때문에 출세하고 싶고 구설수에 오르지 않으려면 자제해야한다("튀지 말아야 한다")라는 불문율과 피해가는 지혜를 뒤늦게 나마 터득했다고나 할까?
하지만 대학 영문 월간지라서 부담은 적었다.
프레스 센터 7층 사무실로 찾아온 중앙대학교 영문월간지기자는 정말 열성적이고 열의에 차 있었다.
거절할 수가 없었다.
그 여대생 기자는 블로그를 통해 많은 지식과 정보는 익히 알고 있지만 현장감 있는 이야기 취재를 위하여 직접 인터뷰를 요청하게 되었노라고 하면서 "스포츠외교와 평창2018유치"에 관하여 많은 질문을 하였다.
그 기자가 보내온 인터뷰 취재 기사 내용(영문)을 소개한다.
Under the title ‘President of International Sport Diplomacy
Institute’ along with one too many, Prof. Rocky Kang-Ro Yoon has an
outdone profile. We were truly privileged to meet him to ask questions
about bid for 2018 PyeongChang Olympic Winter Game. He worked
as the Secretary General of 2010 and 2014 PyeongChang Olympic
Winter Game Bid Committee and is again working on 2018’s bid as an
International Advisor.
We started off by talking about how he came to earn the title,
‘President of International Sport Diplomacy Institute.’ “You studied
English Language at Hankuk University of Foreign Language and went
on to study interpretation and passed the exam. How did you come to be
involved with Olympics and sports?”
“Well, I was first of all, very fond of sports. I’ve learned taekwondo
and also enjoy gym in general. However, working in the field of IOC
(International Olympic Committee) came to be part by chance and part
by my effort. I was a good student in college. So, many opportunities to
participate, volunteer or work as an interpreter at world affairs came to
me with the help of my acquaintances. I was also volunteering at USO in
Seoul. An acquaintance from there led me by chance to be introduced to
the world of Olympics.”
“You’ve been running your blog for quite a while now. How did you
come to start it?”
“Yes, I think I’ve been running it since around 2008. In 2004, I started
to read many news articles regarding sports and made a collection or
summary of it and sent it to about 500 acquaintances a day. It took about
two hours every day! I wanted to start a blog because it’s a way to freely
share knowledge. It was really hard at first as an amateur blogger. I was
very slow at typing to begin with. Those little efforts amounted and I
collected a year’s worth of writing and published it as a book. Blogging is
a good way to write your ideas because those who want to and search for
it, it’s available and for those who don’t care or don’t want to don’t have
to read it. I’m shortly taking a break from blogging because I don’t want it
to have any political influence or trouble while running for the bid. Later,
I started the newsletter called. ”SpotLight On SportLife”(SOS). This
newsletter delivered different news within the Olympic movement and
people involved in it, mainly the IOC members.” Looking back on the
pieces that he’s written, he reminisced upon the piece that he wrote about
the late IOC President, Samaranch after his death. He remembered how
Samaranch had said, “This was the best Olympic games ever” after every
Olympics. He’d asked the readers “What we would say about his life.
Would we say ‘He was the best President of IOC?’ We asked him what he
thought the answer was to his own question. Without any hesitation, he’d
said “Surely, if not the best, one of the best.”
“Now, moving on to the core of today’s interview, let’s talk about 2018
PyeongChang OWG (Olympic Winter Games) bid. There are three big
events: SportAccord, Technical Briefing, and 123th IOC session. What
does each event hold and how do they each give us the opportunity to
convince and earn the votes of the IOC member?”
“The first event, SportsAcccord, consists of various events like
exhibition, seminar, symposium, and general meetings will take place.
There will be about sixty to seventy IOC members coming to this event
so it’s obviously important to deliver an impressive presentation but also
work more ambiguously even during lobby sessions. At the Technical
Briefing taking place in May, all of the IOC members will be present and
it’d be the one last chance to present PyeongChang to them. We’ll be
given the opportunity to present for forty-five minutes and will then be
asked Questions for another forty-five minutes. The important part is the
Q&A session. It is important to not only to be prepared for any questions,
but it’s also important to know the delegate’s names and recognize each
of them for their contribution during the session to make them feel
favored towards voting for PyeongChang. Lastly, at the IOC session,
IOC members’ minds will be already set. However, we should run to the
finish line and put our best effort to the end of this event to promote
PyeongChang for even the smallest and slightest possibility of getting the
vote at the last minute.”
“There are many other cities that we could’ve chosen as bid for
Olympics. Why is it that it had to be PyeongChang? Is there a specific
reason? What are the conditions that the bidding country or county must
have in order to hold the Olympics?”
“There is a specific manual with 17 different conditions. However,
one of the crucial conditions that PyeongChang County satisfied was the
length of vertical drop. In order to hold the Olympics, the vertical drop
has to be over 900m. The only mountain that satisfied that condition was
in PyeongChang, which is called Balwang Mountain.”
“In Germany, there are many no-Olympic movements especially from
the environmental groups. What affect do you think this will have on the
bid?”
“We should be relieved or we shouldn’t be thinking that it’ll bring us
to a better position of winning the bid. The Olympic committee requires
about 70% of agreement of the citizens. Since majority of the citizens do
support the Olympic bid, we don’t think it would cause any problem.”
“Korean citizens seem strongly for the bid. Do you think it’s a good
thing or a bad thing? Do you think we are too easily overseeing any
possible problems?”
“No, it’s always a good thing to have such a strong support for the
bid. That’s the whole purpose and reason why we can hold such events.
Say no one cared about these athletes or the games. Would still be able to
organize something like this? It’s always a good thing to have such strong
support. It sets up the atmosphere and encourages the bid committee.
About the environmental problems, after evaluation, if it causes much
problem, the Olympic committee would not have qualified them in the
first place.”
“Why do you think we weren’t successful in the 2010 and 2014
PyeongChang Olympic bid?”
“Before 2010, people didn’t even know where PyeongChang was.
People often confused it with Pyeongyang, the capital of North Korea. In
2010, although we lost the bid it played an important role because by the
end of the bid, PyeongChang became known to the members of the IOC
and to the world. We did a pretty fair job in lobbying and presenting. The
reason why we didn’t get the vote is a little bit complicated. It was like a
power game between the European delegates and the American delegates.
In order to avoid New York getting the bid for the 2012 Summer
Interview with 2018 PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games
Bid International Advisor, Prof. Rocky Kang-Ro Yoon.
2011 June 493 | 23
Special
Olympics, many delegates from Europe gave the vote to Vancouver
so that the American continent won’t win all the bids for holding two
consecutive Olympics in their continent. In 2014, Putin’s effect was
performed pretty strongly and our human resources on lobbying and
acquaintances to earn the favor had ceased a bit.”
“What about this year? How much chance do you think we have? Do
you think we’ll win this year?”
“I can’t say for sure. I want to say yes, and I’m hoping that we will.
However, I cannot seem to guarantee anything. The important thing
is running to the finish line and to keep trying until it is over. The last
dot makes the drawing complete. It’s always the finish that determines
everything.”
“In what direction do you believe the international sport diplomacy in
Korea should go?”
“Right now, the state of our international sport diplomacy could be
seen as one Elm-like tree standing by itself on a mountain. If the tree
falls, the mountain will be destroyed by landslide. We need to have more
of the smaller trees planted in order for it to stay strong and firm to hold
its place. So, we need the interests of young people aspiring to be active
in this field. Moreover, we need to help and train the best candidates, the
athletes, who have already spoken their name to the world of sports, to
become better diplomats. In Korea we don’t seem to have the system
that allows these young athletes or interested young people to be trained.
Then, we’ll see the power of sport diplomats growing in Korea.”
Even for this kind of bidding to be successful, it is clear that the sport
diplomacy is very important. We thank Prof. Kang-Ro Yoon for his
generosity in complying to the interview and also for his works and great
contribution in international relations in sports arena. They say three times
is the charm, let’s hope this time will ring the bell. May all their effort not
be in vain.
http://rockyoon.tistory.com
24 | The chung-ang herald
INTERVIEW
The Winter Olympics in Pyeong-chang 2018
By Cho Sung-bin
By Park Min-jee
By Ha Sang-ho
The Winter Olympics in Pyeong-chang, 2018.
Next month will be the decisive stage of Pyeong-chang. As the location for the 2018 Winter Olympics is determined on 6th July, people are paying attention to the matters more than ever. It’s getting more interest because it’s the third time to challenge since 2003. Coming the season of voting, it was natural to write an article related to the Winter Olympics. However, finding information and data, there were no objective and detailed materials. Even the cases of blogs and news articles, all of them showed only shallow and inaccurate materials. So projecting these special articles, Herald purposed to give high quality of information for everyone who is interested.
Present propelling condition of Pyeong-chang
For catching the prize of name tag ‘The venue for 2018 winter Olympics’, there are three cities making an effort currently. Those are Munich in Germany and Annecy in France. Needless to say, Pyeong-chang charges one of them. In case of evaluating by IOC representatives last February, each country insisted on their opinions with various advantages. And the result will brighten the ambiguous destination in June. Here is the propelling condition and merits of Pyeong-chang.
The only advantages of Pyeon-chang for the 2018 Winter Olympic
1) The most compact city between rival cities
If it goes ahead as planned, every player can move just in time of ’30 minutes’ from their lodgings by car. More detailed, 10 minutes are taken for the stadium on top of the snow by bus. In case of Coastal village of athletes, 5 minutes are spent for the stadium on the ice link.
2) The opportunity of preparing Olympism and Olympic movement
It will expand the winter sports toward Asia countries. What is to say, a new market will appear after the Olympics. Still now, there are so many people near Pyeong-chang who have never experienced winter sports. 10 billion people are living from the place that requires two hours by air. And the chance will spread the interests and passion to Asia in the end.
3) The passion of the whole nation for the Winter Olympics and powerful support from government
91.4% of Korea advocates being the host of the Olympic Games and 93.4% of Pyeong- chang citizens are supportive. Besides, the government showed their passion by supporting lots of related budget as building a new airport, roads, stadiums and facilities for disabled people. Also an organizing committee would supply labor for free then.
4) Olympic ideology and value-realization through education of youth
Not so long ago, there existed a proposal named ‘Dream Program’ which was to send our youth to many countries who are interested in the winter games. That was promised with the IOC as mentioning that 806 students will travel for 7 years to 42 countries.
5) A lot of successful experience of the global winter games
Korea has piled up unbelievable credibility by holding several global games meanwhile. For some time past, there was even an event that’s for a championship series. Korea has held 55 competitions since 1997 totally.
6) Constructing athletic facilities for players and audiences
Three stadiums are planned to be built as state-of-the-art. Those are for ski-jumping, cross-country and biathlon (Biathlon is a combination of cross-country skiing and shooting). It goes without saying, all of those new facilities are for players and audiences.
The advanced affairs of Pyeong-chang compared with 2007
1) The increase of the number of stadiums from 4 to 7
-Added Olympic stadium: ski-jumping arena, biathlon and cross-country race.
2) The visualization of Multi enjoyable Resort, Alpensia
It was the beginning construction time for 2007. That is to say, it was not sure to be built as Alpensia perfectly. However, seeing nowadays, IOC headquarters hotel was built finally and some of media village were completed. Moreover, the proposed businesses were propelled according to the schedule.
3) The expansion of a traffic network
The 2nd Yongdong Expressway was not presented in 2007. But, as there were some advances, the construction began finally and the East&West Expressway is preparing to open. The spent time to move from each city was decreased as Incheon Bridge was completed in the end. Anyway, the effectiveness from various fields was much improved.
4) The pursuit of environmental friendly Olympic
Constructing and managing IBC/MPC as a permanent facility for the solar system is the changed thing as the original plan was to use temporary building. Besides, using natural gas and electric vehicles are the noticeable point compared with 2007.
5) Drastically growth of accommodations
The whole number of lodging players and related people was increased as there were lots of complaints last poll. Therefore, the budget was invested to the accommodations for adding more than 36,504 rooms than the established rooms to 62,947.
Government should gain citizen’s confidence and support.
In Germany, some parts of people oppose holding the Olympics in Munchen. Because Germans must spend a huge sum of public money to hold the Olympics and it has high risk of falling into debt. In addition, construction of huge-size Olympic stadiums, infrastructure and so on can cause environmental contamination. Actually, in Korea, the public corporation of Kang-won-do is now under debt which cost 1,000,000,000,000won because it failed to sell in parcels of ‘Alpensia’ resort. Moreover, Kang-won-do has spent 45,000,000,000won for preparing the first and second trial, which had been in vain. And the amount of money allocated to the third trial is 368,000,000,000won.
However, supporting public opinion is one of the most decisive and important factors for being selected as host of the Winter Olympics. In order to solve the problems which stem from economic and environmental demerits, Korea should emphasize the economic benefits and efficiency as well as environmental-friendly aspects. As to economic benefits, we can get profits from sponsors, fees of broadcast and tickets, tourism and so on. And especially for Phyung-chang’s citizens, job occupations will be created and they can expect redevelopment. In 1988, during and after the Seoul Olympics, infrastructure developed and Seoul had a surplus from investment. There are many cases that other countries created economical benefits; Salt Lake City in 02’, Nagano in 98’, Barcelona in 92’, and so on. In regard of environment, Kang-won-do changes a IBC/MPC system into a photovoltaic system and it will be the symbol of renewable energy and legacy of the Winter Olympic. And visitors can use electronic or natural gas cars in the Olympic sports complex of Pyung-chang.
To go one more step, as it has been hot-potato before the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup, the government should suggest a blueprint of how to utilize Olympic stadiums and other infrastructures after the Olympic Games and in case of failure, which is one of the most important selection criteria. In addition, the government needs to let people know that holding the Olympics can improve national brand and is a good chance to take a leap to tourism power and balanced development.
Policy needs to follow the world flow or trend.
Green energy is a global issue. So it is needed to be considered “Green”, “Environment”, “Energy saving” in order to achieve global goal. For a bad case, Qatar has been criticized because they suggest they will artificially cool down all the stadiums for 2022 World Cup games. Contrary to this, Pyung-chang is called ‘the Alps in Korea’, which means the nature has graceful scenery and is well conserved. If we engage this environment into a world trend, it must affect as strong point.
The ideal of the modern Olympics is to develop humans and enhance world peace by sports. In Middle East in early 2011, there were ‘democracy and peace winds’ while the relationship between North and South Korea worsen and there’re internal conflicts in North Korea after power succession. Korea’s government can insist that if the Winter Olympic is held in Korea, it is more meaningful than other cases amid flow of pursuing democracy and peace.
Government has to focus on selection criteria but not too much.
According to the interview with secretary general of committee for attracting selection, △Infra structure, △Support from central government, △Approval rating of citizen are 3 main variables that determine the selection of winter Olympic. In other word, it is much more efficient to invest to these factors than others. But too much is as bad as too little. If we focus too much on these criteria without considering others, the chance of corruption increases and the result can be all in vain. Much is as bad as too little.
Public Relations will maximize the efforts.
It is common to consider Pyung-chang as the best proposed site by domestic and foreign press. However the outstanding infra cannot get full attention without public relations. It is better to set ‘Pyung-chang where world citizens hope to visit’ as the goal. We can nominate world famous sports stars like Kim Yun-ah for patronage of Pyung-chang. In addition, it’s good way to combine Korean wave or Korean tourist attractions with the Phyung-chang Olympic games. Moreover, in cyberspace, YouTube, Social networks like Facebook, Twitter and some other methods have high-efficiency for PR to more broad and various targets.
Public Relations to IOC members is so important as well. There is a chance to present each proposed sites’ projects during selection process. We can demonstrate some small sports meetings or events in new stadiums to them before the Olympic. It must shed light on the high quality of infrastructure of Pyung-chang and we can get feedback after demonstrations.
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