Pyeongchang’s Rebranding Ahead of the 2018 Winter Olympics

The South Korean region that will host the 2018 Winter Olympics has decided to rebrand itself amid fears that it will be mistaken for the capital of North Korea.

Pyeongchang county, which is set to host the 2018 Games, has opted to capitalize the ‘c’ in its name to distinguish itself from North Korea’s capital city, Pyeongyang. The governor of Gangwon-do, the province in which Pyeongchang county is located, noted that there may be confusion for visitors due to the similarity of the two names. In an instance from 2014, Daniel Olomae Ole Sapit, a member of the Maasai tribe in Kenya, mistakenly purchased a ticket to North Korea instead of attending a UN conference in Pyeongchang.

Consequently, local officials and Olympic organizers anticipate that capitalizing the ‘c’ in Pyeongchang will aid visitors in remembering the name, thereby reducing any confusion regarding the location of the Games.

For further information, refer to reliable news sources like Taipei Times.