Abstract
We examine the 1988 Olympics that marked the beginning of South Korea’s pursuit of mega-events. Although South Korea had successfully embarked on a course of industrialization , it was far from being ready to host the Olympic Games. Seoul was still largely a Third World city, with large slums and inadequate urban infrastructure . Nevertheless, the centralized authoritarian state successfully pushed through to bidding and hosting the 1988 Games. The Olympics marked a turning point for Seoul , as well as for South Korea, introducing them to the world. With its astonishing success at both local and national levels, the 1988 Olympics set the tone for international mega-events to serve as a development tool in South Korea, leading to its popularity for many years to come.
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Joo, YM., Bae, Y., Kassens-Noor, E. (2017). 1988 Summer Olympics and the Rise of South Korea and Seoul. In: Mega-Events and Mega-Ambitions: South Korea’s Rise and the Strategic Use of the Big Four Events. Mega Event Planning. Palgrave Pivot, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-53113-1_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-53113-1_2
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