Let the Gangwon Games begin

The long wait for the Gangwon 2024 Youth Winter Olympics is finally over. Nearly 2,000 of the best young athletes from around the world will vie to leave their mark in Korea as they make their debuts as Olympians.

Athletes competing at the Gangwon 2024 Winter Youth Olympics walk past mascot “Moongcho″ at the Olympics village Gangneung-Wonju National University in Gangneung, Gangwon on Thursday. [NEWS1]

The long, long wait for the Gangwon 2024 Winter Youth Olympics is finally over.

A total of 1,950 athletes from 79 countries will be in action in four regions of the eastern Korean province — the city of Gangneung, Pyeongchang County, Jeongseon County and Hoengseong County — from Friday through Feb. 1.

Groups of youth athletes who've already touched down in Korea were greeted at the airport by a rosy-cheeked snowball, Moongcho, the mascot for this year's Youth Winter Games, whose face has been plastered across billboards and social media in the months leading up to the elite youth tournament.

The Winter Youth Olympics won't only be a chance for the youth athletes to add to their growing medal counts, but a rare opportunity to leave their mark on a fleeting international stage.

Most, if not all, will have just one shot to compete in the junior tournament, open only those between the ages of 15 and 18.

Young athletes who already proved themselves as prodigies will make their debuts as first-time Olympians, such as figure skater Shin Ji-a and snowboarders Choi Ga-on and Lee Chae-un.

Shin is a two-time World Junior Championships silver medalist while the snowboarders both medaled last month at the International Ski and Snowboard Federation World Cup, where Choi took gold in the women's event and Lee grabbed silver in the men's.

Medaling at the Youth Games will perhaps be even more meaningful for the youth athletes, as they will skate and slide and board at the same venues their seniors did during the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics.

This year’s Youth Games will see youth curlers Jang Yu-bin and Lee So-won look to recreate Team Kim’s 2018 glory. Team Kim — Kim Eun-jung, Kim Yeong-mi, Kim Seon-yeong, Kim Kyeong-ae and Kim Cho-hi — won a silver medal at the 2018 Olympics in curling at Gangneung Curling Centre in Gangneung where Jang and Lee will compete.

Others will also compete at venues used in 2018, including Gangneung Oval, Gangneung Ice Arena and Gangneung Hockey Centre.

And the young Olympians will also get access to one of Korea's newest and most exclusive neighborhoods — the athletes' village, which has set up a shop at Gangneung-Wonju National University in Gangneung.

Finnish athletes arrive at Gangwon 2024 Winter Youth Olympics village Gangneung-Wonju National University in Gangneung, Gangwon on Wednesday. [NEWS1]

Choi Jong-ku, the co-chairperson of the Gangwon Winter Youth Olympics Organizing Committee, said during an interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily last week that the organizing committee’s preparations and efforts will ensure the Youth Games are a success, unlike the most recent large-scale international youth event hosted in Korea.

The World Scout Jamboree, held in Saemangeum in Buan County, North Jeolla, last summer, was criticized by the public for gross mismanagement, as the grounds lacked shade, making it unsuitable for camping, while event facilities were unsanitary.

The opening ceremony of the Winter Youth Olympics, set to feature K-pop stars like Hwasa and Kim Tae-yoon, will take place at Gangneung Oval in Gangneung and will be livestreamed at Pyeongchang Dome in Pyeongchang on a big screen inside.

The closing ceremony will take place at Gangneung Olympic Park in Gangneung on Feb. 1.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]