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Disused Winter Olympic venue at center of preservation vs. reforestation debate

Published: 15 Apr. 2026, 14:45 Updated: 16 Apr. 2026, 15:54

Jeongseon Alpine Centre in Gangwon just six months after the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics [JOONGANG ILBO]

Eight years after the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics ended, the Jeongseon Alpine Center in Gangwon is again the focus of a bitter fight over whether to preserve the sporting venue or fully restore the site to its previously forested state.

The standoff resurfaced after the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee formally opposed plans to demolish the venue on Wednesday.

The roots of the controversy go back to a promise of “conditional development” made in 2012 when the venue was developed.

Mount Gariwang was originally part of a designated nature reserve containing centuries-old old-growth forest.

Despite the region's high ecological value, the area was chosen as the best site in and around Pyeongchang that met the International Ski and Snowboard Federation’s requirement for an Olympic alpine downhill course with a vertical drop of at least 800 meters (2,625 feet).

Jeongseon Alpine Centre in Gangwon during the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics [JOONGANG ILBO]

The clash between forest conservationists and proponents for development was acute from the start. A compromise eventually emerged: the slopes required for the alpine downhill course would be cleared, but the area would be fully restored after the Games.

That consensus began to unravel after the Olympics ended. Environmental groups and the Korea Forest Service demanded that all race-related structures be removed and the forest restored as originally promised.

The sports community and Jeongseon residents, however, began calling for the venue to be preserved. Both groups argued that tearing down an international-standard venue built with a massive government budget of about 200 billion won ($134 million) would be a "national waste and a misstep that weakens Korea’s winter sports competitiveness."

On the surface, the conflict appears to be a simple choice between preserving sports heritage and restoring valuable forest resources. In reality, the issue is more layered.

Jeongseon Alpine Centre in Gangwon during the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics [JOONGANG ILBO]

Restoring the forest to its original state is far from easy due to technical constraints and the high cost of environmental restoration.

Replanting large numbers of trees and reviving the ecosystem on the steep slopes is expected to cost even more than building the venue itself. Some experts say full restoration may be impossible given the area’s terrain and geological conditions.

Dismantling a world-standard Olympic-level winter sports facility could also raise questions about the country's support for its athletes. While the Jeongseon Alpine Centre has remained largely idle amid the long-running dispute, national alpine athletes have continued to travel abroad each year to train at enormous cost.

“We have no choice but to train overseas because Korea has no snow sports facilities where national team-level athletes can train,” said an athlete who competed at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, noting that the process "costs hundreds of millions to billions of won every year.”

The Jeongseon Alpine Centre in Gangwon is marked as ″permanently closed″ according to Google Maps [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Demolishing the venue would also force Korea to build a similar facility somewhere else if it bids again for the Asian Winter Games or the Winter Olympics in the future.

Some Jeongseon County officials have proposed retaining tourism infrastructure, such as the gondola, while designating the broader area as the "Mount Gariwang National Garden" rather than tearing everything down. The idea is to end the venue's use for sports while developing the site into a tourist destination centered on both forest resources and Olympic heritage.

But that proposal has won little support from either side because it offers incomplete forest restoration while still eliminating the sports venue.

The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee says it sees full restoration as unrealistic and that the downsides of demolition are too clear to ignore.

“The Jeongseon Alpine Centre must remain because it is key infrastructure for maintaining local training sites for athletes, broadening the base of winter sports, attracting international competitions and revitalizing the local economy in Jeongseon,” the committee said on Wednesday.

Another alternative proposed by the committee is the partial preservation of the winter sports facility, which would allow some restoration of the area's ecology. The idea is to protect core ecological zones while using part of the already-cleared slope area as both a national team training ground and a public mountain tourism space.

Such a measure would require the government to assume some of the costs of maintaining the site and its facilities, which have largely been borne by Gangwon and Jeongseon, and to promote the public character of operations through measures such as an Olympic legacy management law.

“Strict guidelines can be drafted and enforced so the winter sports facility can remain in operation while minimizing forest damage and preserving the ecosystem,” a Korean Sport & Olympic Committee official said. “A coexistence model that protects both sports heritage and the environment is fully achievable.”

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY SONG JI-HOON [[email protected]]