Do You Remember the Last Time Korea Hosted the Olympics?

When Seoul was chosen as host for the 1988 Summer Olympics, their neighbor to the north wanted in. The dream of reunification was still in the air. The North wanted to co-host. South Korea said "whoa! wait a minute ... not so fast."  Working through the IOC, the South offered the North five events: some early games of the soccer tournament, archery, the cycling road race, table tennis and women's volleyball. This pissed off North Korea and talk of a boycott ensued. Boycotting the Olympics was a big thing in the 80's.

If the North's outrage stopped there, we could live with it, but in 1987, they bombed a Korean airliner killing 115 people.  A couple of assassins boarded Korean Air Flight 858 with two time bombs, one disguised as a bottle of cognac and the other in a Panasonic radio and left them in the overhead bin. They deboarded the plane at a stop over in Abu Dhabi. The plane departed for Baghdad and it exploded over the Andaman Sea killing everyone on board.  When caught, the two assassins took cyanide pills hidden in cigarettes. The male, Kim Seung II, died. The female, Kim Hyon-hui, survived. 

Hyon-hui was supposed to be executed, but her interrogators realized that she was brain washed. She was lead to believe that Seoul was filled with starving and a pawn of the United States. She was exposed to a film of modern day South Korea and taken for outings outside the prison to see Seoul in action. She realized that she had been duped and broke down, confessed to everything and pleaded for mercy. The president of South Korean, Roh Tae-woo, pardoned her.  She still alive today and plans to watching this year's Olympics in Pyeong Chang, South Korea, from her home. It will included a unified team North and South Korean team during the opening ceremony and a unified women's hockey team.  Who says sports doesn't promote peace?

Historically, you could say that this event marks the downhill trajectory for North Korean. Forever playing one-upmanship with their southern neighbor, they responded by planning what the World Festival for Youth and Students in 1989 in the capital of Pyongyang. It was a socialist response to the Olympics. They spent billions of dollars building sports arenas, hotels and expanding airports.  The event was a flop.  A few years later North Korea's number one trading partner, the Soviet Union, collapsed. They would have recovered a lot easier if they hadn't spent their war chest. In the 1990's they were hit by floods and droughts throughout the country resulting in famine. That is how we got the North Korea we know and don't love today. 

For the South, the '88 Olympics had the opposite effect. It was their coming out party. The building boom stimulated their economy and helped convert Seoul into a modern city.  The world learned to love Korea. Since I have friends in South Korea, I wanted to attend this year's games but it just didn't happen. My wife and I have always wanted to attend the games.  I'm hoping for another Montreal or Lake Placid Olympics.