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Sisters standing with literature display carts near a stadium used during the Winter Youth Olympic Games

FEBRUARY 29, 2024
SOUTH KOREA

Witnesses Reach Multilingual Audience at the 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games in South Korea

Witnesses Reach Multilingual Audience at the 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games in South Korea

The 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games were held across four South Korean cities from January 19 to February 1, 2024. Thousands of athletes, journalists, and spectators from more than 70 countries attended the event. Over 2,600 of Jehovah’s Witnesses participated in a special preaching initiative during the games. Literature display carts were set up at 34 locations, and Bible-based information was made available in four languages.

Two of the literature display carts that were set up in various locations throughout Gangneung, South Korea

A young Mandarin-speaking man approached two brothers and said he had noticed our carts at several locations throughout the city. However, after seeing the poster about family happiness at one particular cart, he decided to stop and learn more. The brothers explained how he could download the brochure Your Family Can Be Happy in Mandarin from jw.org. The man immediately visited our website on his mobile device and thanked the brothers for their help.

One Witness couple started an informal conversation with a man from Ukraine. Because they did not speak his language, they communicated with him using a translation app on their smartphones. During their discussion, the man showed them a photograph of the destruction caused by a missile strike in his hometown. The couple expressed their sympathy for his situation and showed him a Bible verse explaining that wars will soon be no more. Reading this Scriptural promise in his own language moved the man deeply. Arrangements were made to contact him again to continue their discussion.

A sister speaking informally with a couple at the Gangneung Olympic Park

A sister named In-Sook struck up a conversation in English with a young athlete and her mother from Europe. As they talked, our sister highlighted several topics on our website under the section entitled “Raising Teenagers.” The mother was pleased to have this information and said she would visit our website again.

We are happy that our brothers and sisters in South Korea had the opportunity to reach such a large audience during this international event and “praise the name of Jehovah.”—Psalm 148:13.