Two-thirds of South Koreans expect Pyeongchang 2018 to be a success, a survey has found ©Getty Images

Two-thirds of South Koreans expect next year's Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in Pyeongchang to be a success, a Government survey showed today.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism reported that 66.6 per cent of the respondents said the event would be successful.

But only 39.9 per cent of South Koreans admitted they were interested in the Winter Olympics. 

And even fewer plan on buying tickets. 

The Ministry had previously conducted surveys on Pyeongchang 2018, the first Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games to take place in South Korea, in March, May and July. 

For September, the ministry polled 1,000 South Koreans aged 15 to 79 last Friday and Saturday (September 22 and 23).

In the first poll, only 55.1 per cent predicted a success, but the number rose to 62.9 per cent in the second poll and 63.8 per cent in the third survey.

On the flip side, 7.4 per cent claimed they were pessimistic about the Olympics and Paralympics, while 26 per cent were noncommittal.

South Koreans may be optimistic that Pyeongchang 2018 will be a success but less than 40 per cent of them are actually interested in the Winter Olympics and even less plan to buy tickets for the Games ©Pyeongchang 2018
South Koreans may be optimistic that Pyeongchang 2018 will be a success but less than 40 per cent of them are actually interested in the Winter Olympics and even less plan to buy tickets for the Games ©Pyeongchang 2018

The Opening Ceremony was the most anticipated event of the Games, with 38 per cent of people polled saying they would consider purchasing tickets for it. 

It was followed by short track speed skating, at 32 per cent, speed skating at 16.7 per cent and figure skating at 15.2 per cent.

However, only 7.1 per cent said they would definitely attend Olympic events, down from 7.9 per cent in the previous survey, and 81.7 per cent said they would watch the competition on television.

By the end of last month, only 22.7 per cent of of the 1.18 million tickets available had been sold.

Only 4.85 per cent have been sold in South Korea, even though it was forecast that the host nation will account for 70 per cent of the overall total.

Earlier this week, it was announced that the Korea Federation of Banks plan to buy ₩1 billion (£654,000/$879,000/€746,000)  worth of tickets to try to bolster sales. 

The Winter Olympics are due to take place from February 9 to 25 next year and the Paralympic Games from March 9 to 18.