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South Korea and the Asian Games: The First Step to the World

2005; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 8; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/17430430500260511

1743-0445

Eunha Koh,

Korean Peninsula Historical and Political Studies

Abstract Despite the fact that 1986 Seoul Asian Games was the first international mega-event ever staged in Korea, the significance of the Games has been largely underestimated due to the emphasis on the impact in Seoul Olympics held in 1988. This contribution explores the politics and power structure surrounding the Games; discusses the influence of nationalism, globalism and Orientalism on the Games and examine the significance of the Games and its impact on Korean society. It is concluded that the hosting of the Seoul Olympic Games boosted the domestic economy and improved social infrastructure, as well as enhancing the national prestige of Korea. On the other hand, the Games were politically used to legitimize military dictatorship by diverting people's attention from democracy. Most notably, the Games were an opportunity for the manifestation and strengthening of nationalism, embracing globalism and orientalism at the same time by expanding Western sport and adopting Eastern sport. The influence of Seoul Asian Games on Korean sport and society is enormous, especially in terms of the expansion of active life-style and the growth of mass sport. Notes [1] See www.ocasia.org [2] Koh maintains that the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games 'is one of the great watersheds in modern Korean history. As the host of the biggest international sport event, Korea has jumped on the bandwagon of globalization experiencing rapid political, economic, and cultural transformation': 'Seoul Olympics Revisited: A Global Mega-Event and the Change of Korean Sportscape', Proceedings of the 3rd Asian Conference on Sport Science (Beijing, China, 2004). [3] Jong-Ha Kim, 'Dong-seo-wha-hap-eui jang-ie Doi-ut-dun Seoul Olympics' ['Seoul Olympics as a Site for East-West Harmony'], Seoul Sports, March 2003, online at www.seoulsports.co.kr, accessed ?? [4] This refers to the period from 1972, when the Yu-shin Constitution was enacted, to 1979. Yu-shin means 'revitalizing reforms'. The Yu-shin Constitution has been criticized for enabling the dictatorship of President Park to repress the people's rights and maximize the power of the president, while raising the flag of national security, economic development and democratization. [5] The fifth to ninth president of Korea. Inaugurated president in 1963 through the military coup of 1961, Park was in power, revising the constitution twice, until he was assassinated in 1979. [6] Hanjoo Kim and Eunha Koh, 'Il-gan-ji Yeo-sung Sport Sajin Bodo-ryang-eui Byunhwa: Dong-A Ilbo (1948-2003) reul Joong-sim-eu-ro' ['Photographic Coverage of Women's Sport in the Daily Newspaper, Dong-A Ilbo, from 1948 to 2003'], Korean Journal of Physical Education, 43, 4 (2004), 89–100. [7] The 11th and 12th president of Korea. Inaugurated the 11th president 1981 after Park Jung-Hee's death, he continued his presidency as the 12th president from 1982 to 1987. [8] This was imposed during the US military administration in September 1945 and was lifted in January 1982. [9] According to the National Statistical Office, GNI per capita, which was only $79 in 1960 dramatically increased to $1,636 in 1979. See www.nso.go.kr, accessed Mar. 30, 2005. [10] Tae-Young Lee, 'Busan Asian Game-ei Bodo Bang-hyang' ['Coverage of the Pusan Asian Games'], Kwanhoon Journal, Autumn 2002, 131–9. [11] The 13th president of Korea, the first president elected directly by the people and who stayed in office for five years. [12] J. Breuilly, Nationalism and the State (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1982), p.348 [13] Hee-Joon Chung and Young-Kyun Shin, 'Jiyuk-munwha-jawon-euro-seo Sport Events: 2002 Busan Asian Game-eul Modello Han Gaebal Bang-an Yun-gu' ['Sport Events as Local Cultural Resource: A Development Plan with the 2002 Pusan Asian Games as a Model'], Korean Journal of Sport Science, 13, 3 (2002), 57–75. [14] Ibid., p. 61. [15] Seoul Metropolitan Government, '1986 Seoul Asian Game Report' (unpublished document). [16] Seoul Olympics Organizing Committee, Che 24-hoi Seoul Olympics Kang-yo ['The 24th Seoul Olympics in Brief'] (Seoul: Korea Books, 1989), pp.177–217. [17] Seoul Metropolitan Government, '1986 Seoul Asian Game Report'. [18] Documents provided by Korea Olympic Committee, online at http://www.sports.or.kr/koc/docs/summer_o_g/a_g_10.htm, accessed Mar. 30, 2005. [19] Seoul Metropolitan Government, '1986 Seoul Asian Game Report'. [20] H. Preuss, 'The Economic Impact of Asian Games: Lessons Learned from Olympic Games', in Proceedings of 2002 Pusan Asian Games Sport Science Congress (Pusan, Korea, 2002), pp.174–84. [21] National Statistical Office, online at www.nso.go.kr, accessed Mar. 30, 2005. [22] A series of mass sport promotion plans were established and enforced after the Seoul Asian Games. They are Gook-min-saeng-hwal-che-yuk Jin-heung 5-gae-nyun Gye-hwek ['Five-Year Plan for National Sports Promotion'] (Seoul: Ministry of Culture and Sports, 1993); Sal-mei-jil Segyehwa-reul We-han Saeng-whal-che-yuk Whal-sung-wha Gye-Hoik ['Mass Sport Promotion Plan for the Globalization of Quality of Life'] (Seoul: Ministry of Culture and Sports, 1996); and Hodori Gye-hwek: Gook-min-saeng-whal-che-yuk Jin-heung Jong-hap Gye-hwek ['Hodori Plan: Master plan for Mass Sport Promotion'] (Seoul: Ministry of Sports, 1990). [23] Koh, 'Seoul Olympics Revisited'. [24] Ministry of Culture and Tourism, 2003 Che-yuk-back-seo ['2003 White Book of Sports'] (Seoul: Ministry of Culture and Tourism, 2004), pp.121, 176. [25] Korea Sports Council, 2003/4 Sport Jung-bo Jaryo-jip ['2003/4 Sport Information Book'] (Seoul: Korea Sports Council, 2004). [26] J.D. Horne and W. Manzenreiter, 'Accounting for Mega-events: Forecast and Actual Impacts of the 2002 Football World Cup Finals on the Host Countries Japan/Korea', International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 39, 2 (2004), 187–203. [27] See Eunha Koh, 'Chains, Challenges and Changes: The Making of Women's Football in Korea', Soccer & Society, 4, 2–3 (2003), 67–79 for the modernization and colonization of Korea during the early twentieth century. [28] Minjok is defined as a group of people that has been inhabiting the same area for a long time, sharing language, customs and culture, while gukmin is defined as people constituting a nation under the reins of a government. [29] Hyung-Gi Shin, Minjok I-ya-gi-reul Numu-seo ['Beyond the Nationhood Discourse'] (Seoul: Sam-In, 2003), pp.17–18. [30] See B. Anderson, Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism (London: Verso, 1991) for the invention of nation, nationhood or nationality in the course of the emergence of the nation state in the West. [31] Eunha Koh and Woo Young Lee, 'Park Seri-ae Dae-han Gi-up-minjo-jooeui-reul tong-hae Bon Hanguk-hyung Sport Celebrity-eui Jo-gun' ['The Condition of a Korean Sport Celebrity: Se Ri Pak and Corporate Nationalism'], Korean Journal of Sport Sociology, 17, 1 (2004), 121–37. [32] Jae-Ho Jun, 'Park Jung-Hee Che-je-eui Minjok-joo-yi: Damron-eui Byun-hwa-wa Gue Yo-in' ['The Nationalism of the Park Jung-Hee Regime: The Changes of Discourse and its Primary Factors'], Korean Political Science Research, 32, 4 (1998), 89-109. [33] A unique community development campaign initiated by President Park Jung-Hee in 1970. With 720 million won invested during the period between 1971 and 1984, the New Village Campaign was an import incident characterizing Korean society in the 1970s. [34] Kwang-Il Bang, 'Asian Games Cham-ga-sa' ['The History of Korean Participation in the Asian Games'], Monthly Sports, 262 (July 1990), 44–7. [35] To defeat Japan in sport means more than a victory for Koreans. Chan-Mo Chung emphasizes that 'ranking second at the Seoul Asian Games provided an opportunity to escape from the inferiority complex that was built through Japanese colonization': Chan-Mo Chung, 'Asia Gyung-gi-dae-hoi-eui Yuk-sa-juk Go-chal' ['A Historical Study on the Asian Games'], Korean Journal of Sport History, 8 (2001), 41–55. [36] The statistics up to the 1998 Asian Games are adopted from Young-Moo Lim and Hee-Sook Ahn, 'Asia Gyunggi-dae-hoi-eui Seo-gu-hwa-wa Gue Ban-sung' ['Reflection on the Westernization of the Asian Games'], Korean Journal of Sport History, 7 (2001), 56-69. [37] Others are: independence of OCA decisions; resolving political conflict between NOCs; the importance of games attracting media attention; and new world and Asian records. [38] The number of countries enjoying taekwondo increased from eight in 1966 to 55 in 1978. The number doubled to 118 in 1991 after the sport was introduced to both the Asian Games and the Olympics, and almost tripled to 153 in 1999: Jong-Wan Yoon, 'Taekwondo-eui In-ji-do Hyang-sang-ae Kwan-han Sil-jeung-juk Yun-gu' ['A Practical Study on the Globalization of Taekwondo and the Improvement of its Recognition'], Korean Journal of Physical Education, 38, 1 (1999), 147–61. [39] D. Lowe, 'Sport and the Repudiation of the Global', International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 38, 3 (2003), 281–94.