Today (January 19) a series of symbols of the coming 2024 Gangwon Youth Olympic Winter Games were revealed at the Yongpyeong Resort’s first year ceremony in PyeongChang.
The event, which marks the countdown to Gangwon 2024, was also organized as the opening day of the Korea Winter Festival 2023 to promote the Year of Visits to Korea 2023/24.
The Gangwon 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games will be held in Gangneung City as well as PyeongChang, Jeongseon and Hoengseong Provinces from January 19 to February 1, 2024, with 1,900 athletes – 950 women and 950 men – from over 70 countries.
The ceremony began with a message from IOC President Thomas Bach wearing a sweatshirt with the words “Grow Together, Shine Forever” printed on the chest.
Gangwon 2024 Ambassador Yuna Kim, Organizing Committee Secretary General Kim Cheolmin, Legacy PyeongChang 2018 Foundation Chairman Yoo Seungmin, and Korea Sports and Olympic Committee President Lee Kee Heung were also present at the ceremony.
Created by designer Park Suyeon, the Gangwon 2024 mascot Moongcho was born from the snowball that PyeongChang 2018 mascots Soohorang and Bandabi played in snowball fights. The mascot was chosen from as many as 601 candidates submitted in a nationwide competition.
The Gangwon 2024 Organizing Committee hosted a competition, open to youth aged 14 to 24, aimed at engaging young people in the competition.
The official theme song “We go high” was composed by a student named Kim Keunhak.
The song’s choreography, created by Kim Sori, was performed on stage by 60 young people, including 15 from abroad, who took part in the Dream Program run by the PyeongChang 2018 Legacy Foundation.
One of the performers was none other than Kim Yeri, who won a bronze medal in the breakout at the 2018 Buenos Aires Youth Olympics.
Also known as Yell’s B-girl, Kim has become the second ambassador for Gangwon 2024 and will be working alongside Yuna Kim.
“To be honest, I never imagined that I would become an ambassador for a sporting event,” she admitted. “I thought this kind of role was for people who were more influential than me, but I’m motivated to work harder because I got the role.
“When I participated in the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, I thought that young athletes could compete as well as their older colleagues in terms of physique and skills. So I expect there will be more talent at Gangwon 2024.
“There are so many people who worked hard from a young age, long before they became seniors. This is a great opportunity for them to participate in the Youth Olympic Games, whether they win medals or not.”
