Michael Chege Mwangi (right) from Kenya on Feb. 23 participates in the Dream Program by skiing at Yongpyong Resort in Pyeongchang-gun County, Gangwon-do Province.
By Kim Hayeon
Photos = Lee Jun Young
Gangneung and Pyeongchang-gun County, Gangwon-do Province
Michael Chege Mwangi from Kenya, who came to Korea for study, had never seen snow until about a year ago. He began his undergraduate studies at Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul, majoring in electrical engineering and computer science, and experienced snow for the first time in December while doing an experiment at a lab.
“It was exhilarating, beautiful and new,” he said. “It was like opening a new door.”
Nowadays, he not only skis and skates but also enjoys higher-level winter sports like ski jumping and luge thanks to the Dream Program in Pyeongchang-gun County, Gangwon-do Province.
“If I were a few years younger, I would’ve dreamed of becoming the very first Kenyan to compete in the Winter Youth Olympics,” he said. “It feels like discovering a talent that I never knew I had.”
Participants in the 18th Dream Program learn how to skate.
The Dream Program is a camp for winter sports training and Korean cultural experience for international youth from developing countries that get no snow. It was organized under a pledge made by Pyeongchang-gun in its bid to host the 2018 Winter Olympics.
Since its inception in 2004, the program has been held annually except in the year of the PyeongChang Olympics in 2018 with a combined 2,398 participants from 95 countries.
The program has even fostered participants who went on to win international competitions in winter sports. In 2009, Elvis Opmanis from Latvia learned to ski for the first time through the program, and in January 2020, he won an International Ski Federation (FIS)-sanctioned men’s alpine competition at Yongpyong Resort in Pyeongchang-gun.
Korea.net on Feb. 23 visited Gangneung Gymnasium in Gangwon-do and the resort during the 18th edition of the program. This year, the event was held twice, first from Feb. 14-20 and second from Feb. 20-26, but was limited to 151 foreign participants living in Korea from 37 countries due to COVID-19.
During the period, participants got a taste of winter sports like skiing, skating, ski jumping, bobsleigh, biathlon and luge and Hallyu (Korean Wave) activities like K-pop songs and dance, samulnori (traditional farmer’s percussion music) and taekwondo, as well as touring the province.
Participants in the 18th Dream Program follow their ski instructor’s guidance.
The young participants in the program saw a world they had never seen before and could not hide their happy faces.
Ava Safaeipour from Iran said, “Everyone is kind, the programs are diverse and it’s good that participants get to choose,” adding, “I’d like to recommend it to my friends because they can experience various things.”
Nani Xenia from Moldova was a participant in the program last year but returned this year as staff. “I could’ve been a participant this year, but wanted to repay the program for showing me such a great time last year, so I decided to volunteer as staff this year.”
She said she changed before and after being in the program, saying, “I think I have no fear of taking on new challenges after taking part in the Dream Program last year.”
Kim Han-min, sports manager of the 2018 PyeongChang Memorial Foundation who organized the program, said, “Just like the name ‘Dream Program,’ I hope that participants find new dreams,” adding, “The Gangwon Winter Youth Olympics will be held in 2024, and I hope to see participants show more interest and even sign up for this event to spread the legacy and value of the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics.”
hayeounk8@korea.kr
