24,000 Volunteers on Hand to Ensure Success of Pyeongchang Olympics

Volunteers pose at a stadium in Pyeongchang, Gangwon Province last week.

An army of more than 24,000 volunteers on Tuesday started work to help ensure the success of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.

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The organizing committee of the Olympics recruited 24,449 volunteers for the Olympics and Paralympics, 117 percent of the estimated voluntary manpower needed, to ensure there is no staff shortage if some volunteers quit.

Women account for 70.5 percent of the volunteers, while some 83.3 percent are under 30 years old. Many female college students signed up as they tend to have better language skills, which are required to volunteer for the Olympics. 

Some 1,090 foreign volunteers from 62 countries are doing their bit for the quadrennial international sports event, too. Those from the U.S. comprise the biggest group with 258 participants, followed by Canadians (128) and Russians (127). 

The organizers began recruiting volunteers in July 2015 to perform 17 jobs including spectator guides, traffic wardens, accommodation assistants, interpreters, and award presenters. The competition ratio was 1 to 4.1. The volunteers have been dispatched to 188 locations in Pyeongchang, Gannueng and Jeongseon, Gangwon Province as well as Incheon and Yangyang airports.