Thirty years since the 1988 Seoul Olympics, South Korea is finally hosting again. The Winter Olympics will be taking place in PyeongChang, from February 9th to the 25th. Ninety-two countries— including those from Europe, North America and Asia—will be participating and competing against one another for the gold medal in sports such as alpine skiing, ice hockey, and ice skating.

The Olympics is a significant sign of peace and unity. When it first started in Greece, city-states stopped war to watch. It is also an important event because people from all over the world can come together and watch the same event. South Korean president Moon Jae In has declared that the women’s hockey team will be joining hands with North Korea’s hockey team. However, reactions were not at all positive. Many women from each country had to be cut from their teams after training strenuously for four years since there would be too many participating. Some people said that combining the teams was an insane idea and it wouldn’t actually bring the two countries together in stopping Kim Jong Un, North Korean dictator, from launching a nuclear missile.

The PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (POCOG)—led by Kim Jin Sun, Cho Yang Ho, and Lee Hee Beom—have been very busy designing new buildings and camps for the upcoming event. Seven years after winning at a bid in 2011, South Korea is finally prepared.

With four until the major event, tickets are selling fast. The ticket prices were announced in April 2016, and since then the prices have gone up. According to the official Olympics website, tickets to the opening and closing ceremonies are about $190 and $1,293 respectively. Event tickets range from $17 to $776, and as of February 1st, 70% of all tickets have been sold, both domestically and internationally.

Nine days are left until the start of the Olympics. Despite all the ups and downs, the hard work in preparing for the Olympics will definitely pay off.