Pyeongchang Wins 2018 Winter Olympics

The International Olympic Committed announced today that Pyeongchang, South Korea will be the host of the 2018 Winter Olympics. Pyeongchang beat out the two other contending cities, Munich, Germany and Annecy, France.

Pyeongchang won the bid with 63 votes, significantly more than Munich's 25 and Annecy's 7 votes.

The South Korean county is about 80 miles from Seoul, located in the Taebaek mountains.

Many put Pyeongchang as the head of the Olympic-bid pack. South Korea has applied for the Winter Olympics three times, losing the 2010 games to Vancouver and the 2014 games to Sochi, Russia.

South Korea has never hosted a Winter Olympic Games. It hosted the 1988 Summer Olympics.

I believe Pyeongchang winning the bid will also help accelerate establishing peace on the Korean peninsula, President Lee Myung Bak told reporters prior to the vote. Winter sports aren't enjoyed widely in Korea or other parts of Asia. It is my mission to help winter sports be widely enjoyed in this region.

The application process for the 2018 games took almost exactly two years. The IOC opened the process on July 31, 2009 and the winner was announced at the 123rd IOC Session in Durban, South Africa.

Hyundai Research Institute estimates that the Winter Olympics will inject almost $20 billion into South Korea's economy during the event, and another $40 billion over the next ten years thank to tourism.

The 2018 Olympic games themselves will take place between the 9th and 24th of February, 2018.