“In Korea, winter sports have been a popular pastime for a number of years,” he reports. “Skiing and snowboarding have been popular for a while with the number of mountains in the country and the number of resorts in and around the Seoul area. Yuna Kim (whose many accomplishments in figure skating include being 2010 Olympic women’s champion) really helped the country develop a deep interest in winter sports, especially in figure skating, as its popularity exploded. The most recent increase in interest in a popular winter sport in Korea is curling. Normally, Korea is an unknown in the curling world, but the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics really helped to put a number of sports in the spotlight and Korea’s athletics as well. Curling is certainly one of those as the women’s team who qualified for the (2018 Winter) Olympics based on the country being the host nation and an unknown (women’s team) in the curling world won silver and beat out long-time curling heavyweights Canada, Switzerland and many more.”

Snape says the Winter Olympics were a huge success for Korea in that they highlighted Korea’s athletes, the destination, and helped further popularize winter sports in Korea. “For travel agents who were not familiar with destination prior to the Olympics, there are always a few things that they are able to recall now. The Olympics really helped to put Korea in the spotlight worldwide and truly makes approaching both consumers and agents easier as they are more familiar with the destination.

“Korea hosts a wide variety of resorts throughout the country as ski and snowboarding remain very popular winter sports. The ease of access to resorts surrounding the Seoul area with free shuttles being offered by the resorts has increased their popularity. Skating is also a popular past time and hockey is beginning to show some promise in the country as well. Curling is becoming big because of the Garlic Girls (the silver medal-wining women’s team, so named because they are from an area known for garlic production) and have become a sensation in Korea. For travellers who have never curled before, this is a must-have experience at the Olympic Venue in Gangwando, with a class on curling. This class is available year-round and from personal experience one of the best team building exercises that I have done for small groups..”

Meanwhile, Snape says those visiting Korea in winter needn’t fear that they’ll have to contend with extreme cold.

“Korea has the same seasons as what we would expect in Ontario without as much snow,”  he reports. “The cold is almost as cold, depending on where in Korea you are, so it is best that travellers prepare for winter with proper coats, etc. The capital of Seoul does receive snow, but not nearly the amounts that are received in the outlying provinces. I think it should be said that Korea did host a Winter Olympics and therefore snowy weather can be expected. We receive colder weather than Vancouver, but not nearly as cold as Calgary, Toronto or Montreal.”