Secretary-General and Vice Chairman Kwon Kyung-sang of the 2014 

Incheon Asian Games Organizing Committee (IAGOC)

With less than three months before the Sept. 19 opening of the Incheon Asian Games 2014, the 17th edition of the event, Incheon is adding the final touches to its preparations for hosting the games, which is expected to be the most economical and efficient Asian Games to date and will be a role model for sports underdogs and developing countries wanting to host such large sports events. Following are excerpts of a NewsWorld interview with Kwon Kyung-sang, Secretary-General and Vice Chairman of the 2014 Incheon Asian Games Organizing Committee (IAGOC) in which he spoke of the upcoming sports event’s differences from previous games.

Question: The Incheon Asian Games 2014 is not far away. What are you focused on now?

Answer: The 100-day countdown began on June 11 for the opening of the Incheon Asian Games 2014, for which we’ve been preparing for the past six years. We’ve so far focused on publicizing Incheon and the Asian Games, Incheon, 2014 and making preparations for hosting the games. From now on, we have the task of implementing the contents we’ve prepared. 

With the opening of the games nearing, we're making final checks into our preparedness, and the Incheon Metropolitan City Government, citizens, and IAGOC officials are joining forces in preparation for welcoming visitors. 

Q: Will you introduce us to the Incheon Asian Games 2014 and the sports that will be included?

A:  The Incheon Asian Games 2014 will be held in Incheon from Sept. 19 through Oct. 4. Once North Korea is confirmed as a participating nation, some 23,000 people including athletes, officials and journalists from all 45 member countries of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) will descend on Incheon for the games.

Participating athletes will compete in 28 Olympic sports and eight non-Olympic sports, Baseball, Bowling, Cricket, Kabaddi, karate, Sepaktakraw, Squash, and Wushu.

New additions; Archery compound men’s and women’s individual and team events, mixed relay Triathlon event, men’s judo, and women’s team events, will bring the number of competitions to 439.

Q: Will you touch on the cultural events of the opening and closing ceremony of the Incheon Asian Games 2014 your organizers have put together?

A:   Korea’s iconic director Im Kwon-taek, recognized for producing films based on all things Korean, and director Jang Jin, dubbed the “Idea Treasure Trove,” serve as the Executive Director and  Artistic Director of the opening and closing ceremonies, respectively, so we are confident that the events will be fantastic. The two directors have told us they will showcase how much Korean digital technology has been developed as well as Korea’s cultural heritage and creativity. We pin high hopes on the opening and closing ceremonies, to be produced by Incheon and Incheon citizens, which are expected to represent Asia’s future while respecting each other. Poet Ko Un, soprano Jo Su-mi, Korea’s representative hallyu (the Korean Wave) entertainer Lee Young-ae, and Chinese pianist Lang Lang will perform during the opening ceremony, and we’re striving to invite more surprise superstars. 

There will be also hallu concerts in which globally-recognized idol groups will perform en masse, performances demonstrating Korea’s traditional beauty, and the Asian Food Festival which will feature renowned chefs from several countries. We’re trying to make the diverse cultural events which visitors will enjoy the harmony and dynamics of hallyu and globalism. 

Q: What events are you conducting to attract foreign tourists?

A:   Roughly 2 million people are expected to visit Incheon during the 17th Asian Games, Incheon 2014. Some 200,000 visitors, or about 10 percent of the total, will be foreigners. 

Incheon is in close proximity to China, a tourism powerhouse. We plan to attract half of the foreign target from China. A delegation from Incheon visited Wehai city in August last year and signed an MOU to sell overseas tickets to attract 100,000 tourists. 

Incheon has also been putting into practice plans to lure tourists from each Asian country. In cooperation with regional hospitals, the metropolitan city is striving to combine health-checks and beauty treatments while exploring deluxe tourist programs, tailored to meet tourists’ needs such as shopping and casinos. 

Q: Will you pick the most exciting match of the Asian Games, Incheon, 2014?

A:   All 36 sports are interesting, but the most eye-catching match will be a competition between Korean swimmer Park Tae-hwan and his Chinese rival Sun Yang, as well as whether Korean rhythmic gymnast Son Yeon-jae will grab the gold medal. Korean gymnast Yang Hak-seon, shooters Jin Jong-oh and Kim Jang-mi, and other star athletes will likely heighten the excitement of the games. 

Baseball, which has been excluded from Olympic Games, is the sole sport at the Incheon Asian Games to grant Korean medalists exemption from military service, and ball sports such as Football and Basketball will enjoy popularity. 

It is very exciting to see new star players for each of the events at the Incheon Asian Games 2014.

The main stadium of the 2014 Incheon Asian Games. (Photos: IAGOC)

Q: How do you expect the Korean national team will fare?

A: Korea has retained the second position after China since 1998 when the Bangkok Asian Games took place. 

Korea ranked second by grabbing 76 gold, 65 silver, and 91 bronze medals at the Guangzhou Asian Games 2010, following China, which swept 199 gold, 119 silver and 98 bronze medals. What is the most important is how much Korea can narrow the gap with China. 

Q: Some circles worry about a lack of budget and issues related to infrastructure, including game facilities. What steps can you take to cope with these issues?

A:    Due to budgetary constraints, the central government reduced its support to the Incheon Asian Games 2014 from the original 545.4 billion won to 482.3 billion won. We’re tightening our belt, as we originally planned to make the Incheon Asian Games the most economical and efficient one. We’re also stepping on the gas to conduct marketing activities to cope with budgetary constraints. 

We already held opening ceremony of the Incheon Asiad Main Stadium in the Yeonhui-dong in western part of Incheon where the opening and closing ceremonies as well as athletics will take place. The main stadium, with 62,848 spectator seats and a floor space of 113,620 sq. meters and built at a cost of 490 billion won on a lot of 631,975 sq. meters, also has an auxiliary stadium and auxiliary facilities. All the facilities will be handed over to the IAGOC in July after final touches are made. 

We have no problems with competition venues, as 16 out of the 49 sports venues necessary for the hosting of the Incheon Asian Games 2014 are being built and 13 sport facilities in Incheon’s nine co-host cities, Seoul, Goyang, Ansan, Hwaseong, Bucheon, Suwon, Anyang, Hanam, and Chungju, will be utilized. We are also operating an additional 49 facilities to train athletes participating in the upcoming games. 

Q:  How will organizers deal with safety?

A:    Police, firefighters, military, the Environment Ministry, Health and Welfare Ministry, immigration, customs, Food and Drug Safety Ministry, and electricity and gas authorities are devoting themselves to ensuring safety in their own areas of responsibility. A joint safety countermeasure headquarters has been inaugurated to coordinate and negotiate on inter-ministry safety-related activities. 

The IAGOC is going to conduct primary steps to ensure safety against sport facilities in such routine and regular fields as patrol, entry control, and maintenance of order in accordance with the “user pays” principle.    

Q: What’s the goal of the Incheon Asian Games 2014 and what’s the difference between this and previous games?

A:  There is a four-point difference between the upcoming and previous Asian Games. First, the 2014 Incheon Asian Games will be the most economical and efficient one, making it a new role model for sports underdogs and developing countries wanting to host the Asian Games. This is in sharp contrast to the 2006 Doha Asian Games and the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games that splurged. 

Second, we’re striving to make the Incheon Asian 2014 a sports event of sharing and careful concern among 4.5 billion Asians, not one that is focused on a few countries. To this end, the IAGOC has the “Vision 2014 Program” in place in order to support overseas training for athletes and sports leaders from sports underdogs and provide sports equipment. The program is to promote balanced development of sports in Asia. 

Third, the Incheon Asian Games 2014 will be a sports event outfitted with advanced IT technologies. 

Fourth, now that Incheon, a city of environmental preservation, has attracted the Secretariat of the Green Climate Fund in Songdo, the Incheon Asian Games 2014 will be a low-carbon, eco-friendly sports event.