Located next to the Welcome Center in the Gangneung Olympic Village, athletes competing in the Winter Olympics will be able to enjoy various types of entertainment, including a hanbok rental service, an arcade, a souvenir shop, and a travel agency. (Image: Yonhap)
GANGNEUNG, Feb. 2 (Korea Bizwire) – The Gangneung Olympic Village Plaza is offering hanbok rentals, complimentary hair styling, and video game services to welcome athletes from around the world.
Located next to the Welcome Center in the Gangneung Olympic Village, athletes competing in the Winter Olympics will be able to enjoy various types of entertainment, including a hanbok rental service, an arcade, a souvenir shop, and a travel agency.
The Village Plaza can be described as a small city packed with all the requisite facilities including convenience stores, a bank, a post office, and a medical center, and consists of nine buildings with 922 apartments to accommodate over 2,900 people during the Winter Games.
The most popular spot during the Olympic Village’s opening day yesterday was the traditional culture experience zone run by the Gangneung Culture & Arts Foundation, where Olympic athletes and volunteers enjoyed tea ceremonies and posed for pictures in hanbok, traditional Korean attire, to keep records of the special moment.
The Gangneung Olympic Village Plaza is offering hanbok rentals, complimentary hair styling, and video game services to welcome athletes from around the world. (Image: Yonhap)
Since the opening ceremony on Thursday, the Village Plaza has been visited by national teams from Great Britain, the Netherlands, Poland and the Czech Republic, as many international athletes will be relying on the venue for everyday life.
The hair salon at the plaza will offer complimentary haircuts and styling services for athletes.
Unique among other more utilitarian facilities is a flower shop, perhaps an unusual choice of business for an Olympic village.
Though they have yet to sell a single flower, employees of the flower shop are hopeful things will start to pick up as more athletes start to arrive.
“We haven’t had customers yet, but many came to look around. When the Winter Games begin and people have reason to celebrate, we hope sales will increase,” an employee said.
Since the opening ceremony on Thursday, the Village Plaza has been visited by national teams from Great Britain, the Netherlands, Poland and the Czech Republic, as many international athletes will be relying on the venue for everyday life. (Image: Yonhap)
Though the Village Plaza is open to volunteers and the media, there are exclusive services available to athletes only.
Intel’s game center will offer video game services to athletes.
“As space is limited, we plan to provide video game services for athletes alone,” an Intel official said.
Hyunsu Yim (hyunsu@koreabiwire.com)
