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South Korea's military aerobatic team flies over the main stadium at the Universiade opening ceremony in Gwangju on Friday.Photo: EPA

A sporting host: how South Korea has continued to build on the legacy of the Seoul Olympics

A combination of national pride and desire for global approval spurred the state to hold a string of sports events, starting with the '88 Olympics

From the soccer World Cup to the summer Olympics, there are very few major sporting events that South Korea has not hosted.

The latest to grace its shores is the Universiade, an international multi-sport event for university athletes that kicked off in Gwangju on Friday.

But while some countries balk at the huge amounts of financial, political and social capital required for such major events, the South Koreans are always game for picking up the tab.

What makes the country arguably Asia's most enthusiastic host of international sports fests is a combination of national pride, a hunger for approval from the world and the potent legacy of the Summer Olympics held in 1988.

"It's a mix of cohesive national pride blended with a deeply rooted need to show the world that Korea is a sophisticated and successful country," said Bill Rylance, who provided strategic communications for both the 1988 Olympics and the country's 2002 World Cup.

Other tournaments that have been bestowed on the country include the Asian Games in 1986, 2002 and 2014. It will also host the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.

But it was the 1988 Seoul Summer Olympics that were a landmark. "The 1988 Olympics was basically the 'coming out party' for Korea on the world stage," said Lee Charm, former head of the Korea National Tourism Agency.

The Canadian Ben Johnson (left) signals victory as he wins the men's 100 metres final to take the gold medal over American Carl Lewis (right) in Seoul's Olympic Games in 1988. Photo: AFP

Before that, South Korea was known largely for the 1950-53 war. The games spotlighted a sunnier nation: recently industrialised, newly prosperous, competent - and hungry for recognition.

"Korea's fierce will-to-win characteristic is driven by a complex matrix of contemporary social dynamics but is also influenced by history's residue - an inferiority complex that drives the nation to constantly seek to 'prove' itself," added Rylance.

In a boost to patriotic pride, South Korea’s national sport, taekwondo, featured in the 1988 opening ceremony and as a demonstration event, a first step towards its current status as an Olympic sport.

Beyond the gloss added to the national brand, post-Olympic Korea garnered a slew of new diplomatic relationships and trade partnerships from former eastern bloc countries at a time when communism was collapsing.

The games even played a supportive role in national political development.

South Korea had won Olympic hosting rights in 1981 but as the 1980s proceeded, prodemocracy protests intensified. With "people power" demonstrations escalating in 1987, there were fears that then president Chun Doo-hwan would unleash a bloodbath.

"Had the government acted too strongly, it would have threatened the event - Los Angeles had offered to take the games," recalled Michael Breen, a reporter in 1988. "The country was pretty united on the Olympics and I think it played a crucial role in Korean democratisation, because it prevented the dictator from being tempted to crack down."

In the summer of 1987, Chun blinked and permitted free elections. The country has been democratic ever since.

The party gets underway at City Hall in Seoul after South Korea defeated Italy in the 2002 FIFA World Cup. A record number of South Korean fans poured onto streets across the country to watch their team's victory. Photo: AFP

Emboldened by those Olympics, South Korea has won hosting rights for multiple top-tier events, notably the 2002 World Cup and the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang – the latter after a never-say-die third bid.

Captains of industry have added organisational sinew and funding muscle. Hyundai founder Chung Ju-yung was a lobbyist for the 1988 Olympics, Samsung Chairman Lee Keun-hee is an IOC member, Hyundai Heavy Industries Chairman Chung Mong-joon is a former FIFA vice-president and Hanjin Chairman Cho Yang-ho heads PyeongChang’s Organising Committee.

National benefits have accrued as the government integrates event spending into national planning. Olympic infrastructure, including transport and telecommunications, was rolled into Seoul's five-year development plans. Korea's flagship Incheon international airport opened one year before the soccer World Cup and the Winter Olympics venue will gain new leisure and tourism facilities.

“Korea was globalised along with economic growth and the government encouraged sports as a means of leisure,” said Sung Baik-you, spokesman of the PyeongChang Organising Committee for the Winter Olympics. 2018 Olympic & Paralympic Winter Games. “Building facilities and hosting mega events was a means of achieving that.”

A final element is fun - something South Korea, famed during the 2002 World Cup for impromptu street carnivals, delivers. "It is very important in Korean culture to treat guests with great hospitality," said Pyeongchang Organising Committee spokesman Sung Baik-you. "And Koreans love to celebrate."

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Why S. Korea is game to be a sporting host
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