(ATR) Ski shop owners in the mountains close to PyeongChang are banding together to protest the Winter Olympics until the Gangwon provincial government provides compensation for lost business.
Outside the Phoenix Snow Park - around one hour from PyeongChang - they have set up tents to stage sit-in protests. The tents are adorned with signs that say "2018 PyeongChang Olympics kill us! Keep our right to live!"
Around the Rings paid a visit to the protest site where ski shop owner Cheon Lim Jong said that his business had been closed since Jan. 22 because of the Olympics. As the Games are being held at the Phoenix Park ski resort, only the hotel at the venue received compensation. The rest of the businesses are private rental shops that cater to seasonal tourists.
The Phoenix Snow Park will host freestyle skiing and snowboard disciplines at the Winter Olympics.
Jong said the Olympics and Paralympics are running through the end of the ski season in South Korea, meaning all of the businesses are closed for the year. So, far no government officials have approached the protesters to answer their concerns.
Athletes have already begun arriving at Phoenix Park, with training underway for the past couple of days.
The protesters plan to make their presence felt when Olympic spectators come to the venue.
"Maybe if we continue to do this it will give a bad impression to the audience. But we have to since we have stopped our business early and we don’t have any money," Jong toldATR. "We cannot open our shop or get guests from outside, because no one [besides Olympians] will come here to ski or snowboard. We don’t have cash flow during this time."
In his pre-Games press conference, PyeongChang 2018 president Hee Beom Lee said it was not the organizers responsibility to address the protests. Lee said it was a question for the government.
"When we were bidding [for the Olympics] there were ups and downs, and with hosting the Olympics we have already earned consensus of shops in the region," Lee told journalists. "[This is] is not the organizing committee, but the province having these conversations."
Written by Aaron Bauer
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