As the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics marked its 500-day countdown onTuesday, the organizing committee for Korea's first-ever Winter Games said that it is "on the right track in preparing for the upcoming mega sports event," according to Baek Byung-yeul of the KOREA TIMES. The 2018 Winter Games will take place in the mountain resort town of PyeongChang, some 180km east of Seoul and the neighboring towns in Gangwon Province. With less than 17 months to go until Korea's first-ever Winter Games, the PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (POCOG) said that it is "making the transition from the planning phase to operational readiness." The POCOG said, "Six out of 12 venues will be newly built and six venues will be refurbished to meet global sporting standards. As of September, 88 percent of the entire construction program is complete and right on track for the test events starting in November." There have been "potential transportation issues given the chronic traffic congestion to the venues." The POCOG said that the high speed railway "will be completed next June to reduce travel time between Seoul and PyeongChang from three hours to one hour, and from Incheon International Airport to PyeongChang from three and a half hours to less than two hours." Officials from the IOC "expressed satisfaction over POCOG's preparations." The POCOG has been "facing mounting criticism for hosting such a large scale event which would result in fewer benefits than costs," but the POCOG said that the 2018 Winter Games "will bring direct and indirect benefits not only for the local community but also for neighboring counties." The POCOG said, "PyeongChang 2018 is building human resources and nurturing talent for Korea to become a world leading winter sports nation. Through focused investment in sporting infrastructure and better support and information for the general public, the Olympic Winter Games will attract young sporting talent" (KOREA TIMES, 9/27).
