Пхёнчхан қаласы: Таэбэк тауларындағы Олимпиада мекені

County in Gangwon do, South Korea

Pyeongchang (/lang//,//p//j//ʌ//ŋ//'//tʃ//ɑː//ŋ/ pyungCHAHNG, ; in full, Pyeongchang gun ) is a county in the province of Gangwon do, South Korea, located in the Taebaek Mountains region. It is home to several Buddhist temples, including Woljeongsa. It is about east southeast of Seoul, the capital of South Korea, and connected by expressways and high speed passenger railways. Pyeongchang's slogan, "Happy 700 Pyeongchang", is taken from its average elevation of approximately
Pyeongchang hosted the 2018 Winter Olympics and the 2018 Winter Paralympics. It was officially rebranded as "PyeongChang" (with a capital 'C') for the purposes of the 2018 Games, in order to avoid confusion with Pyongyang in North Korea.

Pyeongchang region was ruled by the Goguryeo Dynasty during the Three Kingdoms period, and it was called Uk o hyeon (욱오현). After the Silla dynasty conquered the Goguryeo Dynasty and Baekje Dynasty, it was renamed Baek o hyeon (백오현). After the Goryeo Dynasty was established, it renamed Pyeongchang hyeon. Then, it was under control of Wonju. When a 10 provincial system was enforced, the north of Pyeongchang region was involved in Sakbang do, and the south of the region was involved in Jungwon do. When a new administrative system was carried out by King Hyeonjong, the east of the region was involved in Dong gyeo, and the rest of it was included in Yanggwang do. An administrator for the region was sent from the central government, and it became independent of Wonju in 1299. When the Joseon Dynasty was founded in 1392, the region was promoted from a hyeon to a county (gun). After the territory was divided into 8 Provinces under the reign of King Taejong, it was involved in Gangwon do. After the territory was divided into 23 districts in 1895 with the 8 provincial system abolished, it was included in Chugju bu. When a 13 provincial system was enacted in 1896, it was involved in Gangwon do.

The altitude of Pyeongchang is wide ranging, with 84% of its territory comprising mountains with average elevations of
Its best known place, the township of Daegwallyeong myeon, averages between above sea level, with some areas over high.

The Pyeongchang Odaesan Historic Archive (Historic Site No. 34) was one of five archival locations in the latter part of the Joseon Dynasty for the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty and Sonwon kyebo kiryak.

Odaesan Mountain is the home of historical Buddhist temples including Sangwonsa and Woljeongsa. It was designated as a national park in 1975. The highest peak, Birobong Peak is high. Two major ski resorts in the county were the home of the 2018 Winter Olympics. Alpensia ski resort has six slopes for skiing and snowboarding, with runs up to long, for beginners and advanced skiers, and an area reserved for snowboarders. The resort is open year round. Alpensia hosted the majority of the Olympic snow events. Yongpyong Resort, which has a total of 28 ski slopes, hosted the technical alpine skiing events. Alpensia will be the focus of the 2018 Cultural Olympiad, with a new, purpose built concert hall within the resort with an indoor water park. Samyang Ranch is the largest highlands farm in Asia, located in the hills of Daegwallyeong at 850 to 1,470 meters above sea level. It is operated as a petting zoo and features a pastoral landscape. The ranch is operated by the leading Korean food and dairy company Samyang food, the first company to introduce ramyeon instant noodles into a poverty ridden South Korea in the 1960s. It is the filming location of the drama Autumn in My Heart and the movie Lover's Concerto.

Pyeongchang hosted the 1999 Asian Winter Games and 2013 Special Olympics World Winter Games. The 2018 Winter Olympics were also held in Pyeongchang, as well as the 2009 IBU Biathlon World Championships.

The Asian Winter Games was held in 1999 in Gangwon Province including Pyeongchang. Originally, it hoped to host the 3rd Asian Winter Games, which North Korea gave up; however, Harbin was announced to host the 3rd Games. It was decided that Gangwon would host the 4th Asian Winter Games at the same time. In total, 799 athletes participated in the Games. Alpine skiing, cross country skiing, biathlon, short track speed skating, and figure skating events were held in Pyeongchang.

On 6 July 2011, Pyeongchang was announced as the host of the 2018 Winter Olympics and the 2018 Winter Paralympics. The other candidates were Annecy, France and Munich, Germany. It is the third Winter Games in Asia after the 1972 games in Sapporo, Japan and the 1998 games in Nagano, Japan. It also is the first Asian locality to host the Winter Games outside Japan. Pyeongchang won their 2018 bid after two previous failed attempts for the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics, to which it lost to Vancouver, Canada, and Sochi, Russia, respectively. For the 2018 Olympics, Pyeongchang was marketed with the CamelCase spelling of "PyeongChang", so the global audience would not confuse it with Pyongyang, the capital of neighboring North Korea. The two main facilities created for the 2018 Winter Olympics were the PyeongChang Olympic Plaza (where the opening / closing ceremonies and victory ceremonies were held) and the Gangneung Olympic Park (where the men's and women's short track, speed skating, figure skating, ice hockey, curling events were held). The 2018 Winter Paralympics was held in the same venues starting 9 March 2018.

In preparation for the 2018 Olympics, the region built facilities including hotels and a world class ski resort, named Alpensia. The region also ran the "2018 Dream Program", a program initially created in relation to the 2010 bid. The 2018 Dream Program was the fifth iteration of this sports and cultural program, involving 124 participants from 31 countries, who were invited because they live where there is no snowfall and have no opportunity to participate in winter sports.

Gangwon Province, which includes Pyeongchang, was chosen as the host for the 2024 Winter Youth Olympics. Outdoor venues in Pyeongchang used in the 2018 Winter Olympics will be reused for these games.

Pyeongchang County is traversed from west to east by the Gyeonggang Line and Yeongdong Expressway. The railway and expressway both originate in the Seoul metropolitan region.

A new KTX line, named the Gyeonggang Line, was built between Wonju and Gangneung via Pyeongchang for the 2018 Winter Olympics, connecting Pyeongchang to Seoul with a journey time of less than 80 minutes. The new line, which was officially opened on 22 August 2017, provides a main line high speed rail service that passes through Pyeongchang from west to east, with KTX trains calling at Pyeongchang station and Jinbu station (for the Olympic Stadium). KTX trains to Jinbu station were increased for the duration of the 2018 Olympics.