Governor Choi Moon-Soon of Gangwon-do Province (center) poses with other dignitaries and the Games' two mascots, Soohorang the white tiger and Bandabi the Asiatic black bear, at an official promotional center for next year’s Winter Olympics in the lobby of the Korea Center in Shinjuku, Tokyo, on April 11.

Governor Choi Moon-Soon of Gangwon-do Province (center) poses with other dignitaries and the Games’ two mascots, Soohorang the white tiger and Bandabi the Asiatic black bear, at an official promotional center for next year’s Winter Olympics in the lobby of the Korea Center in Shinjuku, Tokyo, on April 11.

By Kim Young-ah and Kim Young Shin
Photos = Gangwon-do Provincial Government

Korea has opened a promotional center for the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in the neighboring country of Japan.

The promotional area is in the lobby of the Korea Center in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Opened on April 11, it has photos and videos about next year’s PyeongChang Winter Olympics, which are less than a year away. There’s also an official photo zone with Soohorang the white tiger and Bandabi the Asiatic black bear, the two mascots for next year’s Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Governor Choi Moon-Soon of Gangwon-do Province said, “We will concentrate all our efforts on preparing and promoting the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games so that many visitors can make their way to Korea from our neighbor, Japan, and so that they will want to revisit Gangwon-do Province again and again.”

He also held a meeting with President Yoshiro Mori of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Summer Games organizing committee to discuss cooperation measures on promoting the two Olympic Games together.

Governor Choi Moon-Soon of Gangwon-do Province (left) and President Yoshiro Mori of the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee hold up the two mascots for the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, in Tokyo on April 11.

Governor Choi Moon-Soon of Gangwon-do Province (left) and President Yoshiro Mori of the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee hold up the two mascots for the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, in Tokyo on April 11.

Prior to visiting the promotional center, Governor Choi attended the 22nd Northeast Asia Provincial Governor’s Conference in Tottori Prefecture, Japan, on April 10. Governors from Korea’s Gangwon-do Province, Japan’s Tottori Prefecture, China’s Jilin Province, Russia’s Maritime Province and Mongolia’s Tuv Province met together and declared that they would accelerate sports and tourism exchanges between their regions and make use of the upcoming Winter Olympics as an opportunity to do so.

Finally, the five governors agreed that promoting tourism would bring the regions closer together. They agreed to invigorate sports, tourism and business between their regions, and pledged to use the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Games, the Tokyo 2020 Summer Games and the Beijing 2022 Winter Games as mediums to do so.

kimya124@korea.kr