Incheon Asian Games Organizing Committee president Kim Young-soo said he hoped that the Games would become recognized as the most successful sporting event in South Korean history.

Although there have been difficulties including budget cuts, the IAGOC has worked to make the Games different from past events and entertaining for all Asians.

Aiming to raise the Asian Games to a new level, the IAGOC aspires to host a Games at which athletes can display their full potential and participants can enjoy Korean culture through various programs.

Kim believes the Games will not only offer Asians the opportunity to unite but will also leave a great legacy for the city and the country.

The 17th Asian Games Incheon 2014 will be the third Asian Games to be held in Korea.

KH: How did you go about planning this event?

Kim: First, we tried to show our distinct characteristics with the minimum budget we had at our disposal and prove that even a small nation can host the Asian Games.

Next, we focused on bringing about harmony between all Asian countries, which is the basic idea and purpose behind the Asian Games. As part of this plan, we have been sponsoring small countries in sports through a program called Vision 2014, providing field training, coaches and equipment. We have also applied cutting-edge technologies to add value to the Asian Games. For instance, the OCA ran an online torch relay program called the Smart Torch Relay, which we introduced at the Incheon Asiad Main Stadium in June.

Last but not least, we have tried to reduce carbon emissions to a minimum to make the Games environmentally friendly.

KH: The torch was lit in New Delhi, India, for the first time in the history of the Games.

Kim: The OCA happily accepted our proposal to light the torch in the city that hosted the first Asian Games, just like how the Olympic torch was lit in Athens, the first city to host the Olympics. This was part of efforts to promote unity among Asians.

We hope that this becomes a tradition that can continue to bring out the best in the Games.

KH: Can you tell us about accommodation and transportation for the event?

Kim: We prepared an athletes’ village with 6,660 rooms, a media village with 2,900 rooms and hotels with (a total of) 2,200 rooms for OCA members and their families. Tourists can visit and stay at some 1,300 lodging facilities in Incheon.

We have some 2,040 cars for athletes and executives for safe and comfortable transportation. We established six temporary parking lots and are operating subway trains that cover nine stations. We had 400 shuttle buses running at one- to five-minute intervals during the opening, and will run them again during the closing ceremony to ease traffic congestion. There will be 820 shuttle buses running during the Games as well.

KH: How will the stadiums be used after the event?

Kim: The newly built and upgraded stadiums and facilities, including the main stadium, will be used as sporting and leisure facilities such as theaters and shopping malls for Incheon citizens. Various artworks, commemoration parks and galleries related to the Asian Games will contribute to improving the quality of the citizens’ lives.

KH: What preparations have you made to welcome North Korea?

Kim: We created the Inter-Korean Cooperation Team in August and a task force to ensure that North Korean participants face no problems regarding their entry and departure, as well as safety, transportation and accommodation.

We made sure that the Games will be perfect for all 45 OCA members.

KH: Could you tell us more about the safety measures?

Kim: We are working with the National Intelligence Service, military, police and fire department to ensure everyone’s safety. We will continue to carry out thorough safety education and emergency evacuation training for participants and tourists through videos. We even had mock training in August for a possible outbreak of infectious disease, and bioterrorism (incidents).

We are also providing high-quality medical services with 74 designated hospitals and 1,876 staff, and have set up 105 medical offices in the athletes’ village and stadiums. There is a special committee for food safety as well to prevent food poisoning.

KH: Could you provide more details on the budget?

Kim: We had to tighten our belts because of the budget reduction from 545.4 billion won ($526 million) to 482.3 billion won. However, we could not cut expenses that were essential for running the Games. So we decided to slash expenses such as labor costs by reducing the number of employees and volunteers.

KH: There are concerns that people are not as interested in big sports events as they used to be.

Kim: People’s interest in the Games may have dropped because it is being held after big events such as the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics and the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil.

However, we will surely attract people’s attention with many exciting sporting and cultural events as the Games moves forward. We also carried out various promotional activities such as TV and radio advertisements (and have displayed) signboards and banners in major regions.

The 17th Asian Games Incheon 2014 will be the perfect opportunity for Incheon to develop into a global city. It will not only improve the city’s image but also give people a sense of pride.

Given that the Asian Games is a national event, I would like to ask for everyone’s interest and support so that the event is a success.

(Asian Games News Service)