Salt Lake City, Utah, and Pyeongchang in Gangwon Province are widely regarded as the local governments that hosted the most successful Winter Olympics in history.
The two cities posted similar surpluses, but Utah has far outpaced Pyeongchang in putting its Olympic legacy to work. The old ski jump ramp, for instance, was converted into a summer sliding dive pool and continues to draw large crowds year-round.
Even outside winter, the park offers a luge-style ride facility modeled on a velodrome, while ski lifts run in reverse during the warmer months, treating riders to a thrilling aerial panorama. The Olympic museum was built with what locals call a "young and fun" spirit — closer to a virtual arcade than a conventional exhibition hall.
Utah's Salt Lake City is precisely where Pyeongchang's Olympic legacy authorities should look for guidance. For a time, figure skater Kim Yu-na served as a bridge strengthening the friendship between Utah and South Korea.
Around the time Salt Lake City was pursuing its bid to host the 2034 Winter Olympics, a Utah delegation visited Pyeongchang and expressed admiration for the city's Dream Project — a more than two-decade-old initiative that teaches winter sports to young people from hot-climate and developing countries, trains them as athletes, and gives them a chance to experience hallyu. After that visit, Utah secured its place once again as an Olympic host city.
Utah has also signed a three-way agreement with Gyeonggi Province and Delta Air Lines.
The Utah Office of Tourism, which has grown increasingly close to South Korea, recently visited Seoul and held a "Utah Day" seminar for key players in South Korea's travel industry. Representatives from the Utah Office of Tourism, the Salt Lake City tourism authority and the Salt Lake Temple attended in person, sharing the latest tourism information about Utah and exchanging ideas with industry practitioners.
The "temple" here refers not to a Buddhist shrine but to a house of worship of the Latter-day Saints — a faith community known for its disciplined and virtuous way of life. The Salt Lake Temple is one of the most recognizable symbols of both Utah and Salt Lake City. Until earlier this year, it had been undergoing extensive renovation.
The seminar moved beyond the conventional tourism briefing format, offering programs that let participants directly experience Utah's history, culture and lifestyle, drawing strong interest and enthusiasm from attendees.
The event opened with a special lecture on "Utah's History and Culture" by professor Kim Bong-jung, well known as a speaker on the tvN program Beolgeobeoseun Segyesa, a history documentary series. Kim traced the westward expansion of the American frontier, the founding of Salt Lake City, and the historical background behind Utah's distinctive culture and identity today, weaving the material into an engaging narrative that helped participants understand Utah more deeply as a travel destination.
That was followed by a hands-on program in which participants made "Dirty Soda" — a beverage style central to Utah's drink culture that has been gaining popularity across the United States. Working in teams, attendees mixed various ingredients to craft their own versions and competed on creativity and taste in a group activity.
"We hope this seminar gave travel industry professionals a broad understanding of Utah — not just its stunning natural scenery, but also its history, culture and emerging tourism attractions," said Choi Ji-hun, director of the Utah Office of Tourism's Korea office. "Going forward, we will continue to introduce Korean travelers to the distinctive experiences that only Utah can offer, and work with the travel industry to develop a diverse range of tourism products and energize the market."
The Utah Office of Tourism also announced at the event that it plans to actively support the development and sale of Utah travel packages using Delta Air Lines' Incheon–Salt Lake City direct route, which marked its first anniversary this year.
The office also shared news that the Salt Lake Temple, one of Salt Lake City's most iconic landmarks, has completed its major renovation and will hold a free public open house from April through October 2027.
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