Pyeongchang

Pyeongchang (평창) is the alpine county that hosted the 2018 Winter Olympics, spread over a plateau at around seven hundred metres where Daegwallyeong records the coldest annual temperatures in South Korea. Yongpyong and Alpensia are the country's best-known ski resorts, running from late November into March, and the Olympic sliding centre and plaza remain as visitable venues. The other half of Pyeongchang is Odaesan National Park, whose valley floor holds Woljeongsa, a temple approached along a kilometre of ancient fir trees and one of the mountain monasteries listed by UNESCO. Higher up, Sangwonsa is the trailhead for the ridge walks. In the open uplands the Daegwallyeong sheep farm and the buckwheat fields around Bongpyeong, which flower white in September, draw a different crowd entirely.