South Korea spent roughly $12.9 billion preparing for these Winter Games.
That's nearly double the amount initially projected during that bid seven years ago.
But, with the games lasting just over two weeks -
how big of a boost can it really provide to the local economy?
South Korea is one of the few countries that's seen economic benefits from the Olympics.
Thirty years ago, Seoul hosted the Summer Games, propelling South Korea onto the global stage.
The event marked an important turning point - transforming the country
from an emerging market into an economic powerhouse in Asia.
But that was Seoul - Korea's biggest city.
The Winter Olympics are being held in the Gangwon province - where the population is
one-sixth the size of the Korean capital.
The Winter Olympics have been good for Gangwon's economy so far.
Job growth accelerated here from 2015 to 2016,
with the unemployment rate dropping to 2.9 percent -
that's lower than South Korea's national unemployment rate.
New construction projects in the region also outpaced
any other province in the country in 2016,
thanks to infrastructure needed for the Winter Games.
Connecting Seoul to the remote Olympic venues has meant
investing significantly in highways and high-speed railways.
That's made the area more accessible to tourists.
But the politics stemming from North Korea's weapons program
threatens to derail the province's ambitions,
especially with the demilitarized border just 50 miles away.
Last year - Chinese visitors to South Korea were nearly slashed in half,
after Beijing banned all group tours to the country to protest
Seoul's decision to install the THAAD anti-missile system.
And then of course - there's the venues.
It's very important for us to make sure that all of these venues
are used after the Olympic Games because the last thing we want to do
is finish the games and just turn off the lights.
This speed skating rink is one of the cheaper venues.
The total budget?
$118 million.
The entire structure was built on an area that used to have just rice paddies.
This ski jump is one of six existing venues that were renovated for the games.
It used to be a training facility for the national team.
Now, you'll see the world's top athletes going straight down - 98 meters.
To avoid the fate of abandoned venues at previous Olympic Games,
organizers here developed apartment units,
instead of hotel rooms, for the athletes' villages.
They'll be owned privately after the games.
And in welcome news for organizers, all of the units have been sold.
Some of the new buildings made for the games will be demolished.
That includes a brand-new $109 million Olympic stadium
that will host just four events before half of it is knocked down.
Well this area here, Pyeongchang, there's only 5,000 residents, so it really doesn't need
a 35,000 person stadium to have in this area.
But we don't want to remove the legacy altogether,
so we'll have one portion of the stadium still standing after the games
to keep it as a reminder so that people remember that
this is where the Pyeongchang Games took place.
Pyeongchang's struggles aren't unique.
Four years ago the Winter Olympics in Sochi also blew past its budget.
Those games, eventually became the most expensive Olympics in history - Summer or Winter.
Russia still hasn't carved out a cost-neutral future for its Olympic campus four years on.
South Korea's hoping careful planning - helps it avoid the same fate.
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