In time, though, South Korea embraced Pyeongchang’s bid for the Games as its own. The nation’s leaders were eager to build global prestige and saw the Winter Games as a chance to become one of only a handful of countries that have hosted a “trifecta” of international sports events. (The World Cup took place in South Korea and Japan in 2002, and Seoul hosted the Summer Games in 1988.)

In a country where winter sports never quite caught on, only one other town with ski slopes, Maju, was interested in hosting the Olympics. Pyeongchang edged it out for national support, perhaps because it sits in a province that has been a major electoral battleground.

The government has poured $13 billion into the region, building a new bullet train and highway — and 97 tunnels and 78 bridges — to improve access to Pyeongchang from Seoul, as well as sporting facilities such as ice rinks and ski slopes.

While some residents worried about the impact on local forests, support for the Olympic bid has been almost universal in Pyeongchang: A poll taken at the time of the first bid showed nearly 94 percent support, and it has not wavered.