Pyeongchang, South Korea, will host the 2018 Winter Olympics.

The resort city about 180 kilometers east of Seoul defeated Munich, Germany, and Annecy, France, in a vote Wednesday by the International Olympic Committee, meeting in Durban, South Africa.

Pyeongchang was bidding for the winter games for the third time, after close defeats for the 2010 games in Vancouver, Canada, and the 2014 winter games in Sochi, Russia. Munich was hoping to become the first city to host both summer and winter Olympics.

Pyeongchang's winning campaign before the IOC emphasized that returning the Olympics to the region would help promote winter sports in Asia. Japan is the only Asian nation to have previously hosted the winter games, with Sapporo in 1972 and Nagano in 1998.

On hand in Durban to help boost Pyeongchang's bid was the reigning women's Olympic figure skating champion, Kim Yu-na.