Samsung: It's Now Apropos to Download PyeongChang 2018 Mobile App

Fresh from the PyeongChang 2018 home page, Samsung is encouraging free downloads of the Games' new mobile app.

Interpreting the Korean/English promotion, I gather this new app -- which took about 10 minutes to upload to my Galaxy 3 purchased after a slick demo during Sochi 2014 -- is free now through January 31.

It's unclear whether the app will then be available for a buck, er, won or two during February (make that 1,000 or 2,000 won).

Upon launching the app, I found it easy to navigate and fairly basic, likely to become expansive and delightful in ease-of-use during Games time when daily activities, venue updates, results and transportation items are all the buzz of many an Android and iPhone.

Very handy: weather updates on the home screen (in Celsius -- it's minus 12 in Korea as I write this post). A finger click on the weather plus sign (+) expands the to a venue-by-venue page and list including temps and icons indicating snow, sun or other current conditions across the Olympic region.

The home screen also dons Omega's Olympic Games Countdown clock followed by sections for news and a series of boxes in Korean that I suspect may become the advertising/promotional nod.

The list icon at the top left of the home page expands to two core sections for Games and Spectators, with schedules, sports, venues, cheering/fan, official partner/sponsor and links.

In these app sections, I simply LOVE the link to the 2018 Olympic Torch Relay in progress (great calendar, maps and photos).

Also LOVE the section for the Cultural Progamme. Did you know the Korean National Ballet will perform "Anna Karenina" at the Gangneung Art Center, for instance? And I just bought my ticket for the Jarasum International Jazz Festival on Valentine's Day, also in Gangneung, via the app. Music to my fingers.

Rounding out the Spectator section: Explore Korea, Tickets, Transportation, Accommodations and Store links to official merchandise.

The only thing silly I found about the app is the image created to promote it. Is the guy in the over-sized red sweatshirt supposed to be Korea's answer to illusionist David Seth Kotkin?

Samsung's 2018 Olympic app -- apropos for any Korea-bound traveler for next month!

Images via PyeongChang2018.org

Want to Carry a 2018 Olympic Torch?

With just a few more weeks until the Rio 2016 Olympics of summer, a key milestone just passed -- with an open invitation to perhaps carry a torch -- in the countdown to the next Winter Olympiad.

In celebration of the 600 Days to Games mark on June 20, organizers for PyeongChang 2018 announced a global Torch Relay Idea Contest open to anyone and everyone worldwide. 

On the competition homepage, entrants find the following greeting:

"The PyeongChang 2018 Torch Relay will shine the light of the Olympic and Paralympic flames on Korea's hidden potential. Please share your ideas for the torch relay, including potential routes, torchbearers, modes of transport or ways to spread the word about the event. 

"We especially welcome ideas that highlight Korea's defining qualities -- passion, creativity, dynamism and uniqueness. Make sure your ideas are based on your personal stories and experiences."

Entrants are instructed to read a brief history of the Olympic torch relay tradition, then consider what type of entry (route, runners, transport, publicity) they wish to suggest. 

From what I can tell, individuals or teams of up to three people may enter.  

In case contributing to Olympic history isn't enough of an incentive, the most creative entries in adult and "students under twenty" (ages 14 to 20) categories may win a trip to Olympia, Greece, to see the start of the 2018 Olympic torch relay, tickets to Winter Olympic events, cash and/or merchandise. 

Though the trip to Greece is billed as the top prize, perhaps second prize is more extraordinary in that it includes a runner's segment as torchbearer. 

Winners will be chosen through three stages of evaluation including basic entry requirements, "expert" review and a public vote, presumably online and worldwide. Multiple entries are encouraged. The contest is open through August 12.

I love that video files or images are allowed to enhance the entries -- it will be fun to brainstorm some creative options from Atlanta and to see what folks around the world contribute. 

Personally hoping a truly new addition to the Olympic torch relay tradition will be created through this contest, which would be a great legacy for the Korean hosts staging their second-ever Olympiad and first Winter Games. 

For anyone on the fence about entering, keep in mind "the most important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning but taking part."

Images via PyeongChang 2018