Draft The 1988 Seoul Olympics

Title	1988 Seoul Olympics: Korea’s Rise in the World

1차 원고

A World Festival Held in Divided Korea

The 24th Summer Olympics hosted by South Korea provided a new opportunity for world peace amidst the Cold War. With the motto of “Harmony and Progress,” the Olympics resolved the Cold War era ideological conflicts and racial discrimination. For Korea, it was an opportunity to raise its international stature. 160 nations around the world competed in the Games.

The 1988 Seoul Olympics were held from September 17 to October 2, 1988. The 84th IOC Session and the 11th Olympic Congress held in Baden-Baden in September 1981 had decided Seoul as the host of the 1988 Summer Olympics. This decision had two major implications.

First, nations around the world divided between the two ideological poles, came together in Korea which was divided as a result of Cold War confrontation. At the 22nd Olympics held in Moscow in 1980, 60 nations including the United States boycotted the games to protest against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. At the 23rd Olympic Games held in Los Angeles in 1984, 18 Eastern European countries and the Soviet Union boycotted the event. The international community watched the boycotts with the concern that the Olympics might degrade into a political confrontation. The fact that the 24th Olympics would be held in divided Korea would be a new turning point.

Second, the fact that the Olympics were hosted by Korea which only 30 years ago suffered a war, was meaningful in itself. The Games helped Korea to discard the image of a war-torn and devastated nation. Instead, Korea transmitted to the world its cultural achievements and economic development.

Korea on the World Stage

There were 23 official events, 3 demonstrative sports including baseball, taekwondo and women's judo, and 2 exhibition sports including badminton and bowling during the Seoul Olympics. The Soviet Union ranked first (55 gold medals, 31 silver medals, and 46 bronze medals in total). South Korea ranked fourth with 12 gold medals, 10 silver medals, and 11 bronze medals.

The Seoul Olympic Games were also the last tournament in which countries such as the Soviet Union, East Germany, West Germany, North Yemen, and South Yemen participated as separate states. The Soviet Union was dissolved before the Barcelona Olympic Games held in 1992. Germany and Yemen were reunited before the Olympics. Korea could promote economic, cultural, and sports exchanges with communist countries and countries that had no previous diplomatic ties. Thanks to the Seoul Olympics, relations with communist countries improved rapidly. Through the Seoul Olympics, Korea demonstrated Korea’s unique culture and excellent game operation capability to the world, which showed the rapid economic and social growth it had achieved with the Korean War.

감수본

The 1988 Seoul Olympics: A Global Festival Held in Divided Korea

The XXIV Summer Olympiad hosted by South Korea provided a new opportunity for world peace amidst the Cold War. With the motto of “Harmony and Progress,” these games resolved some of the Cold-War-era ideological conflicts and racial discrimination. For Korea, it was an opportunity to raise its international stature, as 160 nations around the world competed in the events held from September 17 to October 2, taking advantage of Korea’s best weather.

When the 84th IOC Session and the 11th Olympic Congress held in Baden-Baden in September 1981 awarded Seoul as the host of the 1988 Summer Olympics, it had two major implications:

First, nations around the world divided between the two ideological poles, came together in Korea which was divided as a result of Cold War confrontation. At the 22nd Olympics held in Moscow in 1980, 60 nations including the United States boycotted the games to protest against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. At the 23rd Olympic Games held in Los Angeles in 1984, 18 Eastern European countries and the Soviet Union boycotted the event. The international community watched the boycotts with the concern that the Olympics might further degrade into political confrontation. The fact that the 24th Olympics would be held in divided Korea would be a new turning point.

Second, the fact that the Olympics were hosted by South Korea which only 30 years ago suffered a terribly destructive war, was meaningful in itself, as they helped it to discard the image of a devastated war-torn nation. Instead, Korea transmitted to the world its cultural achievements and economic development.

The Seoul Olympic Games were also the last tournament in which countries such as the Soviet Union, East Germany, West Germany, North Yemen, and South Yemen participated as separate states. The Soviet Union was dissolved before the Barcelona Olympic Games held in 1992. Germany and Yemen were reunited before the Olympics.

Korea could promote economic, cultural, and sports exchanges with communist countries and other nations with which it had no previous diplomatic ties. Thanks to the Seoul Olympics, relations with many countries improved rapidly. The reconnecting with China was an especially epocal event. Through the Seoul Olympics, Korea demonstrated Korea’s unique culture and excellent event-operation capability to the world, which showed the rapid economic and social growth it had achieved since the Korean War.