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Mega-Events and Mega-Ambitions: South Korea’s Rise and the Strategic Use of the Big Four Events

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  • © 2017

Overview

Authors:
  1. Yu-Min Joo

    1. Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

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  2. Yooil Bae

    1. School of Social Sciences, Singapore Management University, Singapore, Singapore

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  3. Eva Kassens-Noor

    1. School of Planning, Design and Construction & Global Urban Studies Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing, USA

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  • Analyses mega-events within the context of South Korea's political and economic development
  • Questions the limitations of the benefits of mega-events and our perceived over-reliance on them
  • Looks at a range of events in detail and assesses the success and failure of their marketing strategies
  • Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

Part of the book series: Mega Event Planning (MEGAEP)

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Table of contents (6 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xiii
    Download chapter PDF

  2. Mega-Events and Mega-Ambitions: South Korea’s Rise and the Strategic Use of the Big Four Events

    • Yu-Min Joo, Yooil Bae, Eva Kassens-Noor
    Pages 1-22

  3. 1988 Summer Olympics and the Rise of South Korea and Seoul

    • Yu-Min Joo, Yooil Bae, Eva Kassens-Noor
    Pages 23-46

  4. Daejeon Expo ’93 and Paving the Way for Future Development Aspirations

    • Yu-Min Joo, Yooil Bae, Eva Kassens-Noor
    Pages 47-67

  5. 2002 FIFA World Cup and the Rebranding of South Korea

    • Yu-Min Joo, Yooil Bae, Eva Kassens-Noor
    Pages 69-92

  6. PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics

    • Yu-Min Joo, Yooil Bae, Eva Kassens-Noor
    Pages 93-116

  7. Conclusions: The Art of Using Mega-Events for Development

    • Yu-Min Joo, Yooil Bae, Eva Kassens-Noor
    Pages 117-128

  8. Back Matter

    Pages 129-132
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Keywords

About this book

This book provides a holistic analysis of South Korea’s strategic use of mega-events in its modern development. It examines the Summer Olympics (1988), the World Expo (1993), the FIFA World Cup (2002), and the Winter Olympics (2018) over the past 30 years of the country’s rapid growth, and across varying stages of economic and political development. It explains how mega-events helped to secure South Korea’s position on the international stage, boost nationalism, propel economic growth in export-oriented national companies, and build cities that accommodate – as well as represent – South Korea’s progress. It thereby highlights the broader implications for today’s global phenomenon of increasing reliance on mega-events as a catalyst for development, while the criticism that mega-events do more harm than good proliferates. The book is ideal for academics, policymakers, and those with an interest in mega-events and their role in the development of non-western countries.

Reviews

“This book achieves its purpose of linking history of mega-events with national economic development … . By analyzing the costs and benefits of south Korea’s previously hosted mega-events, Mega-events and Mega-Ambitions is a worthwhile study that will help to contextualize the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics from historical, political, and economic perspectives.” (Thomas Fabian, Journal of Sport History, Vol. 45 (03), 2018)​ “Mega-events have become an increasingly controversial topic, with supporters arguing that they contribute to economic development and detractors contending that they are fiscally irresponsible and impose serious costs on residents and local businesses subject to displacement. This examination of South Korean mega-events indicates the circumstances under which they can make a contribution to national goals, shows how their effects differ within developed and developing countries, and highlights the politics of the developmental state in shaping the events. It is an extremely important contribution to the literature.” (Susan S. Fainstein - Senior Research Fellow, Harvard Graduate School of Design, USA)

“South Korea has embraced mega-events more than any other country, yet until now, the rationale and experience has not been widely accessible.  Mega-Events and Mega-Ambitions rigorously addresses the political and economic motives and implications of Korea's strategies to leverageevents for urban, regional and national influence and development.  An essential volume for anyone interested in mega-events, urban development and the use of soft power.” (Mark Wilson, Professor, School of Planning, Design and Construction, Program Leader, Urban and Regional Planning, Michigan State University, USA)

“This is an insightful piece of work on how a series of mega-events were instrumentalized for national economic development and political leadership and, in turn, how they constituted the nature of the developmental state. The authors effectively demonstrate that developmentalism penetrates through the four different mega-events at different times. At the same time, they trace how the interaction between the Korean developmental state and the mega-event has evolved in various contexts. Readers who are interested in developmental states and the politics of mega-events in the era of symbolic economy will gain perspectives from the contextualized case studies ofthis work.” (HaeRan Shin, Associate Professor of Geography, Department of Geography, Seoul National University, Korea)

Authors and Affiliations

  • Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

    Yu-Min Joo

  • School of Social Sciences, Singapore Management University, Singapore, Singapore

    Yooil Bae

  • School of Planning, Design and Construction & Global Urban Studies Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing, USA

    Eva Kassens-Noor

About the authors

Yu-Min Joo is an Assistant Professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore. She published several journal articles on the development and policy issues of East Asian cities, and is currently writing a book titled Megacity Seoul: Urbanization and the Development of Modern South Korea.


Yooil Bae is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the School of Social Sciences, Singapore Management University. He published on comparative politics and policy, urban political economy, and environmental politics in East Asia, in journals such as International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Pacific Review, Democratization, and Pacific Affairs. 

Eva Kassens-Noor is an Associate Professor of Urban and Transport Planning in the School of Planning, Design, and Construction (SPDC) at Michigan State University, USA. She holds a joint appointment in the Global Urban Studies Program. She is the author of Planning Olympic Legacies: Transport Dreams and Urban Realities (Routledge). 



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