GANGNEUNG, South Korea, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- "Play Winter Zones" near major venues of the 2024 Gangwon Winter Youth Olympic Games have been offering fans and audience the chance to experience winter sports and culture.
The zones lie at five locations in the four cities of South Korea's eastern Gangwon province, including Gangneung, PyeongChang, Jeongseon and Hoengseong, during the two-week winter sports event which runs through February 1.
An outdoor ice rink has been set up in front of the Gangneung Hockey Center to allow visitors to skate freely.
The Alpensia Ski Jumping Center in PyeongChang and the Welli Hilli Park in Hoengseong have given visitors chances to experience the ski jumping and the skiing on slopes.
In the PyeongChang 2018 Legacy Foundation, visitors can draw dolls of the mascot, called Moongcho, while hanging down from a crane as in a claw machine.
Teenagers can join one-point lessons from Olympians, while South Korean Winter Olympic legends will hold a talk concert at the legacy foundation on Sunday.
"[The zone] is a space created to let visitors learn about the Olympics and enjoy cultural experiences through these programs. When the Gangneung Play Winter Zone is counted, about 2,000 to 3,000 visitors are directly experiencing it each day," Choi Young-min, a manager of the zone in Gangneung, told Xinhua on Saturday.
Participants have varied from Gangwon residents to crowds from across the country, as well as visitors and athletes from different countries and regions, Choi noted. ■
