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The Pyeongchang Olympics Has A (Local) Ticket Selling Problem

Reports say with under 100 days before the Winter Olympics, South Korean organizers have only sold about 30 percent of the tickets they've wanted to.

The Pyeongchang Olympics Has A (Local) Ticket Selling Problem
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There are less than 100 days before the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, and South Korea has a problem — ticket sales. 

Bloomberg reports organizers have sold about 30 percent of the 1.1 million tickets they want to sell. 

Many of the Olympic venues are just 60 miles from the North Korean border — an oft-cited concern.

Yet while tourists may be less used to North Korean threats, their sales numbers have actually been better.

The New York Times notes despite having more than twice as many tickets available to them, South Koreans so far have bought fewer tickets than international fans.

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It's unclear when the incidents happened, and officials haven't verified the report from Japanese media.

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The outlet reports as of Oct. 24, 57 percent of 320,000 tickets reserved for international fans had been sold. But only about 20 percent of 750,000 tickets saved for South Koreans had been purchased.

Sluggish local interest isn't a new problem. Both Brazil and Italy had issues selling tickets leading into their respective Olympic games. 

South Korean officials say when it comes to planning, their countrymen are known for being late-buyers. That's the same reasoning Italian officials gave for Turin in 2006 and Brazilian officials gave for Rio de Janeiro last year.