South Koreans roared with delight, danced, hugged and cried tears of joy after the town of Pyeongchang was awarded the 2018 Winter Olympics after two previous bids.
The ecstatic scenes played out Thursday after the vote by the International Olympic Committee was announced on a giant television screen at a ski jump venue Pyeongchang plans to use in 2018.
The town of 47,000 near South Korea's east coast was the favorite to win the vote, after being narrowly defeated by Vancouver and Sochi in its two previous attempts to host a Winter Olympics.
''This is indescribably joyous,'' said Lim Myeong-rae, a 53-year-old who recalled riding wooden skis on a Pyeongchang hill as a boy. ''The two previous defeats no longer feel bitter in my heart. There is nothing more I want in my life now.''
''I feel like I can fly,'' Lee Bom, a 15-year-old girl, said with laughter.
Following the IOC announcement, almost every major South Korean broadcasting station carried live footage of the celebrations taking place near the ski jump tower, which will serve as one of the 13 venues Pyeongchang has either built or planned to host the Olympics.
Despite the elation, worries about South Korea's northern neighbor likely will linger. The Pyeongchang province of Gangwon shares a tense border with North Korea.
North and South Korea ended their 1950-53 conflict in a truce, not a peace treaty. Tensions have been high since Seoul said the North sank a South Korean warship last year, killing 46 sailors. Also last year, the North bombarded a western South Korean island, killing four people, including two civilians.
Still, the two countries have cooperated before in the sports arena. In 2002, South Korea helped pay for North Korea to send cheerleaders to the Busan Asian Games. Athletes from the two Koreas also marched together in the opening ceremony at the Sydney and Athens Olympics.
Pyeongchang has stressed during its 10 years of bidding that a Winter Olympics would encourage a mood of peace and perhaps prod North Korea into reaching out more to the world.
In 2006, then-Gangwon Province Gov. Kim Jin-sun told reporters after a trip to North Korea that the North had voiced support for Pyeongchang's push to host the Winter Olympics.
However hostility between the rivals has steadily risen since Seoul's conservative government came to power in 2008 with demands that the North show progress in nuclear dismantlement in order for the South to continue large-scale aid.
Worries of a North Korean attack have concerned South Korean officials each time Seoul has hosted a major international event, the latest being the Group of 20 nations meeting last year.
South Korea increased its military vigilance when it hosted the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, though no provocation was made by the North.
In Pyeongchang, Cha Jeong-min, a 26-year-old elementary school teacher, said she's sure North Korea will rejoice along with the South.
''I believe North and South Korea will be united in the Olympic spirit and stay away from tension at least for the time we're holding the Olympics,'' she said.
After the announcement, locals chanted their town's name, and about 200 soldiers, who came from a nearby base, joined the cheering crowd to celebrate under a clear midnight sky that briefly lit up with fireworks.
College students danced in groups against the backdrop of the ski jump tower, while folk bands mingled with dancing locals, playing joyful tunes with traditional instruments.
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, speaking right after the announcement, called it a victory for all South Koreans, presidential spokesman Park Jeong-ha told Yonhap News Agency.
''A dream has come true,'' said Lee Hee-koo, a 65-year-old retired social worker who lives in another city in Gangwon Province. ''Gangwon people could not have done this alone. This was possible because we had the support of the entire nation.''
South Korea pointed in its bid to concrete evidence of a Winter Games already in the making at Pyeongchang, not just sketches or models.
Located 110 miles east of Seoul, Pyeongchang had a positive technical report from the IOC's evaluation commission and impressive levels of support. The country has a growing status in winter sports and an attractive position in the fast-growing region of East Asia.
The IOC technical report released in May praised Pyeongchang's compactness. All venues are within 30 minutes drive of each other. The $1.5 billion Alpensia resort would host the Alpine events, the main village and press and broadcast center. A second, smaller coastal hub comprising five venues - including figure skating - will be located a 20-minute drive down the mountain in Gangneung, a city of 300,000.
By 2017, a high-speed rail line will link Seoul to Pyeongchang in 50 minutes, and is expected to carry the bulk of Olympic visitors.
A new highway will reduce the driving time from 2 1/2 to less than 2 hours from the capital, home to many of the weekend skiers who accounted for the bulk of the 1.85 million visitors to the area last season.
