Breaking away from continuity and unambitious predictions, the province of North Jeolla became the official candidate of the Asian country last week to host the 2036 Summer Olympics, surpassing Seoul, the great favourite, in an electoral race that continues to raise questions.
Despite the overwhelming result of the vote (49-11) cast by the evaluation committee of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC), not many had anticipated the triumph of the province, a superiority that invites analysis and an exploration of the reasons that may have tipped the balance in such a way.
The starting point on which Seoul placed its bet in this endeavour focused especially on three fundamental pillars: making the most of its grandiloquent role as a capital city with global recognition, showcasing the strength it has accumulated in terms of infrastructure to host a mega sporting event of this scale, and recalling that it has ample experience after having been an Olympic host city in 1988.
Perhaps it was precisely this display of self-sufficiency that paradoxically ended up burying Seoul’s chances. The city had already more than proven its capacity to act as a host for projects of this kind, and it is possible that the interest of the KSOC is now aimed at developing and promoting on a global scale the sporting image of other peripheral regions with more discreet trajectories.
North Jeolla Governor Kim Kwan-young made it clear that this trend is indeed happening, stating that nowadays, 88.5% of all tournaments in South Korea take place outside the metropolitan area of Seoul. He also added that Australia has hosted three Summer Games in three different cities: Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane, which was inteto ensure balanced growth in that country.
It is precisely within this context that North Jeolla’s candidacy appears. Despite few examples of international-level event organisation, its potential in this regard suggests a promising future. In the voting, the KSOC decided that the province’s turn had come, that the baton for broadening South Korea’s horizons was to change hands.
The provincial government designed a strategy of collaboration between cities to achieve balanced regional growth and to use the existing sports facilities in different areas. Kim made his presentation before the evaluation committee under this premise and defined his Olympic bid as a national project for regional development, without limiting the economic benefits of the event to his province.
The plan set out states that the province will share the hosting of Olympic events with metropolitan cities and adjacent counties, including Daegu, which would take charge of athletics, Gwangju, which would be the epicentre of archery and swimming, and Hongseong, which would host the tennis competitions. Kim assured that North Jeolla’s proposal will align with the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) push to make costs more profitable and to ensure stronger regional development.
The vision of balanced growth that Kim advocates comes at a time when the areas of the country furthest from the capital are suffering from the exodus of the local young population towards more central urban hubs, where business concentration is higher: At the beginning of the year, the number of inhabitants of Seoul and its metropolitan areas represented 50% of the country’s population.
Seoul’s proposal centred its powers of persuasion on sports facilities, transport, accommodation, and experience. The city’s Mayor Oh Se-hoon also stated in his presentation that more than 85% of Seoulites supported the bid. However, these factors ultimately failed to impress KSOC members in the voting.
Following the victory, Governor Kim stated that “Now North Jeolla will strengthen solidarity with neighboring cities to win the international competition. We’ll do our best for North Jeolla to become the host for the 2036 Summer Olympic Games.” The province still needs the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Ministry of Economy and Finance to approve its Olympic proposal. Once approved, the KSOC will submit the province’s official candidacy to the IOC. The newly elected head of the KSOC has already given his support to the region. Ryu Seung-min said that he plans to cooperate with North Jeolla and help the province win the bid.
The province will compete with Istanbul (Turkey), Santiago (Chile), Indonesia, and India for the rights to host the 2036 Olympic Games, and more candidates, including Egypt, are expected to join the race. The final decision will not be made before 2026, said the IOC.
