PyeongChang’s bid for the 2018 Winter Olympics has been boosted by support from university students and a number of sports stars.

A student volunteer group led by professor Seo Kyung-deok of Sungshin Women’s University, has been traveling around Asia since the beginning of 2011 to help promote PyeongChang’s bid. 

They have recently completed collecting 2,018 messages across the Asian cities, including Nagano in Japan, Bangkok in Thailand and Guangzhou in China, and have sent the letters to members of the International Olympic Committee, according to the bid committee.

And the students have now received the backing of a group of Korean sports stars, including former national team footballer Kim Byung-ji and Lee Dong-gook and national team volleyball player Moon Sung-min.

The sports stars have also announced their backing for the PyeongChang’s bid and have decided to donate funds to the student group to support them as they continue to promote PyeongChang, the committee announced.

“It’s incredibly inspiring to see these young students work tirelessly to support PyeongChang’s bid. As a professional sportsperson I know that the country is passionate about Winter Sports, and it would be a great honor for us to host the Winter Games and welcome athletes from around the world to Korea in 2018,” Kim Byung-ji told the bid committee.

PyeongChang, the Gangwon Province city located some 180 kilometers east of Seoul, is bidding against Munich in Germany and Annecy in France to host the country’s first Winter Games. The host country will be chosen at the IOC General Assembly in Durban, South Africa on July 6.

By Oh Kyu-wook (596story@heraldcorp.com)